In moments of crisis, artists and writers often turn to visions of the future as a means to escape, correct, or improve upon the flawed present. Today, much of the literary and artistic production of this kind is categorized under the umbrella term of “Futurism.” Yet historically, when Futurism first arose in Italy, it was envisioned as a nationalistic movement. In the Founding Manifesto of Futurism (1909), Filippo Tomasso Marinetti declared war as the only hygiene of the world and called for destruction to make way for a new form of modernism in Italy. For several decades, Marinetti and his followers explored technology, science fiction, and machine aesthetics, creating works that transgressed historic divisions between art, literature, theatre, music, and design. But even as the movement’s members continued to forward the nationalistic ethos of Italian Futurism, they spread the ideals of the movement to other nations while simultaneous absorbing foreign traditions. As a result, Futurism evolved throughout the twentieth century, becoming a multicultural movement with diverging branches developing across the globe in a variety of languages and contexts.

In recent years, “Futurism” has become more readily associated with the numerous contemporary futurisms arising in the context of activism and community engagement within a variety of marginalized identity groups. Movements like Afrofuturism, Arabofuturism, Indigenous Futurism, Queer Futurism, and Feminist Futurism share little ideological resemblance to the Eurocentric and misogynistic Futurism of the Italian avant-garde. In their literary and artistic works, figures associated with these new forms of Futurism envision dynamic futures, often reframing the minority experience as one of power rather than oppression. Using strategies like subversive parody and the reclamation of popular science fiction narratives, these artists and writers figure a better existence for themselves and their communities. 

Nevertheless, throughout its complex and pluralistic development, Futurism overflows with mechanical bodies, mechanolatry, and techno-utopic narratives focused on the visualization of future worlds. This session seeks to address the contemporary and historical engagement of Futurism(s) with technology, science fiction, and machine aesthetics. We welcome presentations from scholars of literature, philosophy, art history, the history of science, music, and theatre as well as Futurist practitioners including writers, translators, and artists.