Our English class read Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower as an introduction to the worldbuilding unit. We analyzed the theme of afrofuturism, contemporary political issues, and the effects of climate change in her novel. At the end of last semester, we completed a research essay on a social, cultural, political, economic, technological, or environmental topic of our choosing. I chose to write my paper on whether or not tech corporations are obligated to address the housing crisis in San Francisco.
These research essays influenced the worlds and stories that we designed during our third quarter, and we used narrative techniques to attempt to address the controversial topics in our papers. I worked in a group with NatalieE and EvaH to write the narrative treatment for a southern gothic story about the amalgamation of church and state, and religious fanaticism. We organized and created unique pieces of visual media to complement our narrative pitch presentation.
