Black Futurism and the End of the World

Description from DukeHub

In this course, we explore how Black writers, musicians, filmmakers, and religious thinkers have imagined catastrophe, liberation, and new futures. Bringing ancient Jewish apocalyptic literature into conversation with modern Black cultural production, we examine how visions of the end of the world respond to oppression, social crisis, political uncertainty, and notions of the sacred. Topics include apocalypse and resistance, Black religion, Black futurism, and the imaginary as a form of critique. Figures and works shift but commonly include the biblical book Daniel, the ancient apocalyptic book 1 Enoch, and modern artists like Octavia Butler, Jordan Peele, Public Enemy, and Kendrick Lamar.

Skills

No skill passed the confidence bar. Weak matches go to review instead of this page: an AI pass that has to quote the description, then a person.

AI-resilient: 1 of 5 1/5

• No: Physical, lab or field work
• No: Live work with people
• ✓Yes: Judgment someone is accountable for · "ethical"
• No: A craft you practice with your hands or body
• No: Small, in-person format

The checks lean on Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025), which found generative AI applies least to physical work and hands-on work with people. A signal, not a promise. How the score works

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