Worldmaking in the dark with Octavia E. Butler

This session explores the speculations and theorizing of Octavia E. Butler and her histouturist ways of "composting" the rubble left behind by misogynoir, patriarchy, colonialism, and ecocide. Butler understood the underlying archetypes of foundational stories as well as new guises, uses, and ways of experiencing new paradigms. We will use the framework of the archetype of Change, the organizing pattern which undergirds all her work. Butler understood that the darkness, decay, and even death were the fertilizer for sustaining new life. Change is not linear, one-sided, or wholly positive. It is sometimes brought about by rupture, resistance, chaos, and rebirth. We will explore examples of Butler's perceived prescience couched in in-depth research via her published and unpublished works. Butler laid the groundwork for imaging our shared futures with lessons to contemplate our interdependence.