AF AMER 112BAboard Mothership: Introduction to Afrofuturism
African American Studies · 4 units · Undergraduate upper division (100-199)
Anchored by Ryan Coogler’s historic Afrofuturistic film Black Panther, use of speculative fiction of Octavia E. Butler, Samuel R. Delany, Tananarive Due, Nnedi Okorafor, Steven Barnes, and other writers—as well as short films by Kenyan filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu and British/African filmmaker Kibwe Tavares and others—to examine scope and impact of Afrofuturism, growing international cultural movement binding elements of history, sociology, technology, magical realism, politics, and futurism to create alternate reality for children of African diaspora. Exploration of influence of music of George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic (Mothership Connection), Sun-Ra, Janelle Monáe, and others.
P/NP or letter grading.
When it runs
- Spring 2026
- Spring 2027
Scheduled, not typical — from UCLA’s Schedule of Classes, which publishes Fall 2025 through Spring 2027 and nothing before it.
Requisites
UCLA lists no requisites for this course.
Requires
Everything that has to come before this course, not just the courses named in the requisite above.
Nothing — this is an entry point.
Unlocks
What this course is a requisite for, and what those courses lead to in turn.
No course in the catalog lists this as a requisite.