Author of Shadowshaper Cypher, the Young Adult series (Scholastic); Bone Street Rumba urban fantasy series (Penguin); and the upcoming Flood City, a middle grade sci-fi adventure (Scholastic). eRecipient of the International Latino Book Award and nominated for the Kirkus Prize, Mythopoeic Award, Locus Award, Andre Norton Award, and World Fantasy Award. Shadowshaper was named one of Esquire’s “80 Books Every Person Should Read.” His short stories and essays have appeared in The Guardian, on NPR, Tor.com, Salon, and BuzzFeed. He has taught at Voices at VONA, Mile High MFA Program, Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA Program, Boricua College, St John’s University, and Rikers Island, among other sites. Website: danieljoseolder.net. SLC, 2017–
Previous Courses
Speculative Craft: The Radical Fantastic: Speculative Fiction Against the Machine
Craft—Fall
Mythology has always played a central role in how we view and interact with our world. Junot Díaz said, “Tolkien could have been talking about the power of stories when he described his One Ring: stories rule us, they find us, they bring us together, they bind us, and, yes, they can pull us apart as well.” More often than not, mainstream speculative fiction reiterates dominant normative fantasies about gender, race, and power in our society. But what about counternarratives? Throughout history, subversive writers have used science fiction and fantasy to explore possibilities of radical change and expand our ideas of what’s possible, often while looking with unflinching eyes at a bleak, desperate future. Change begins with the imagination; and in this course, we will stretch our imaginations toward a radically different future than the one we were given. We will read work from DuBois, Butler, LaValle, Alexie, Anzaldúa, Okorafor, and others. Additionally, we’ll discuss elements of narrative structure, world building, character development, voice, and rhythm.