Speculative Whiteness

"Carroll reminds us that our future is contingent. Fascists have a vision for the future that excludes most of humanity, but fascists can be defeated. The future is for everyone—if we make it that way."—Los Angeles Review of Books

Reveals the alt-right’s project to claim science fiction and—by extension—the future

Fascists such as Richard Spencer interpret science fiction films and literature as saying only white men have the imagination required to invent a high-tech future. Other white nationalists envision racist utopias filled with Aryan supermen and all-white space colonies. Speculative Whiteness traces these ideas through the entangled histories of science fiction culture and white supremacist politics, showing that debates about representation in science fiction films and literature are struggles over who has the right to imagine and inhabit the future. Although fascists insist that tomorrow belongs to them, they have always been and will continue to be contested by antifascist fans willing to fight for the future.

Jordan S. Carroll is author of Reading the Obscene: Transgressive Editors and the Class Politics of US Literature, which won the MLA Prize for Independent Scholars.

Open Access Manifold Edition

Season 1, Episode 5: Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right ft. Jordan S. Carroll