{"id":2217,"date":"2021-02-17T12:00:48","date_gmt":"2021-02-17T16:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/?p=2217"},"modified":"2021-02-16T22:42:49","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T02:42:49","slug":"imagining-things-better-practicing-alternative-futures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/17\/imagining-things-better-practicing-alternative-futures\/","title":{"rendered":"IMAGINING THINGS BETTER, PRACTICING ALTERNATIVE FUTURES"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\"><i>Are there any futures written out there in which my communities survive?<\/i> This question provoked a conflict of distress and hope within me, launching my research on contemporary speculative fiction. It fueled my study on published Latina and LatinX writers, mentored by <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/english.uiowa.edu\/people\/claire-fox\"><span class=\"s2\">Dr. Claire Fox<\/span><\/a> at the University of Iowa\u2019s English department. It drove everything that I read last semester, from the <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/ohiostatepress.org\/books\/titles\/9780814255896.html\"><span class=\"s2\"><i>Latinx Rising<\/i><\/span><\/a> anthology (OSU Press 2020) to <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/561572\/a-peoples-future-of-the-united-states-by-edited-by-victor-lavalle-and-john-joseph-adams\/\"><span class=\"s2\"><i>A People\u2019s Future of the United States<\/i><\/span><\/a><i> <\/i>(One World 2019) to <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.upress.umn.edu\/book-division\/books\/latinx\"><span class=\"s2\"><i>LatinX<\/i><\/span><\/a> (UMN Press 2020). It still reverberates deep in my soul.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Back in November, I reached out to Matthew David Goodwin, editor of <i>Latinx Rising<\/i>, for an interview. I couldn\u2019t believe that the person who called for the first LatinX science fiction and fantasy (SFF) anthology was a professor at the <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cayey.upr.edu\/\"><span class=\"s2\">University of Puerto Rico in Cayey<\/span><\/a>. \u00a1Qu\u00e9 mundo peque\u00f1o! In fact, it was my first semester in three years where I wouldn\u2019t be traveling to Iowa and would instead be staying home in Puerto Rico to finish my undergraduate studies. I could not bear the coincidence without taking the opportunity to chat with Goodwin, so I asked a common friend for an introduction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Pandemic precautions made me write a long introductory email explaining my interests in gender and sexuality within <i>Latinx Rising<\/i>, and inviting Goodwin to a Zoom interview. Having recently \u201cdiasporaed out\u201d to New Jersey, his answer was an encouraging \u201cYour topic is perfect! Just let me know when!\u201d Three days after our correspondence, we virtually met. Goodwin received my call with an eager disposition, feedback on my writing, colorful SFF art in the background, and sporadic cameos from his toddler\u2014a real treat!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-2227 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-9.12.28-PM-300x167.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"223\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-9.12.28-PM-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-9.12.28-PM-1024x572.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-9.12.28-PM-768x429.png 768w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-9.12.28-PM-360x201.png 360w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-9.12.28-PM.png 1270w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Per two of my Latina professors\u2019 advice, I began my speculative journey over the summer, reading <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/539893\/parable-of-the-sower-by-octavia-e-butler\/\"><span class=\"s2\"><i>Parable of the Sower<\/i><\/span><\/a> (Four Walls 1993) by the illustrious <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.octaviabutler.com\/\"><span class=\"s2\">Octavia E. Butler<\/span><\/a>. It quickly became one of my favorite books, which popped up again when I read <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/catherinesramirez.com\/\"><span class=\"s2\">Catherine S. Ram\u00edrez<\/span><\/a>\u2019s \u201c<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/americanfuturesiup.files.wordpress.com\/2013\/01\/ramirez-afrofuturism-chicanafuturism.pdf\"><span class=\"s2\">Afrofuturism\/Chicanafuturism<\/span><\/a>\u201d later in the semester. Studying how Ram\u00edrez picked up creations by Butler, <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.auntlute.com\/gloria-anzaldua\"><span class=\"s2\">Gloria Anzald\u00faa<\/span><\/a>, and <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marionmartinez.com\/\"><span class=\"s2\">Marion C. Martinez<\/span><\/a> to theorize a futurism particular to Mexican Americans, blew. My. Mind. So after discussing some of the stories in <i>Latinx Rising<\/i>, Goodwin and I took off pondering on the usefulness of this framework without, of course, coming to a clear answer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">As we jump in, I want to clarify how I use the term LatinX, a <i>currently<\/i> evolving and far from perfect name. I generally refer to the ever-changing group of Latin American and Caribbean subjects living in diaspora. I also do not intend to undermine anyone\u2019s humanity by switching out the expected suffixes \u201co\u201d or \u201ca\u201d for \u201cX\u201d; or to assert a \u2018new label\u2019 when Latin American and Caribbean migrants and descendants have existed for centuries, and when the undefinable \u2018x\u2019 has long been in use as a binary disruptor. Rather, I want to recognize the creative individualities as well as urgent collectives that this group can ideally represent. Latina\/o are still relevant terms\u2014mostly gender- and location-specific, like how Hispanic highlights the Spanish language presence or how Chicanx\/a\/o emphasize Mexican-American nuances. But more than a definable group, it has helped me to reframe LatinX as a diasporic phenomenon, reconstructed daily by generations of people across the globe. Moreover, LatinX invites the conjunction of multiple identities: nationalities and citizenships, races and ethnicities, genders and sexualities, languages and dialects \u2026 However, we must recognize that within these intersecting layers often resides ardent supremacy\u2014a foundation upon which the term\u2019s problematic usage presides.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2231\" style=\"width: 260px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2231\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-2231\" src=\"https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/latinx-rising-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"369\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/latinx-rising-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/latinx-rising-692x1024.jpg 692w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/latinx-rising-768x1137.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/latinx-rising-1038x1536.jpg 1038w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/latinx-rising-360x533.jpg 360w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/latinx-rising.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2231\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Latinx Rising, a SFF anthology edited by Matthew David Goodwin.<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">With that in mind, let\u2019s proceed \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">To my question about whether a wider \u2018LatinXfuturism\u2019 lens seems plausible, Goodwin considers himself \u201con the more critical side\u201d of such categorizations and framing. Futurism, Goodwin abounded, was an art movement in early 20th century Italy that glorified technology. Later on, the same decade Butler released <i>Parable<\/i>, Afrofuturism was coined by <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.markdery.com\/\"><span class=\"s2\">Mark Dery<\/span><\/a> and further developed by <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.alondranelson.com\/\"><span class=\"s2\">Alondra Nelson<\/span><\/a> to address the African diaspora\u2019s relationship with technology. Now, we have more nuanced streams, like <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/nnedi.com\/\"><span class=\"s2\">Dr. Nnedi Okorafor<\/span><\/a>\u2019s Africanfuturism and the aforementioned Chicanafuturism. Plus, there\u2019s the neutral act of thinking about the future, which has, dare I say, always existed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Recognizing the benefits and challenges of playing around with the term \u201cfuturism,\u201d Goodwin reflects: \u201cI think it\u2019s worthwhile having those categories to put different things together \u2026 and see how they\u2019re overlapping \u2026 and sort of ignore the genres like science fiction, fantasy, all that stuff. It\u2019s useful for <i>that<\/i>. But at the end of the day, that framework is worth examining as well. And are there other ones that would be more helpful? \u2026 Should we adopt this framework: ethnic group-, racial group-futurism? \u2026 I guess there\u2019s different types of futurisms.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">The work of contemporary futurist writers partially resonates with exactly that: reclaiming dominant concepts that frame imaginations of the future, to fit their experiences where they haven\u2019t been imagined or centered before\u2014regardless of genre. Yet, SFF and most genres are historically white, heterosexual, and male; only in the past few years have we seen Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and women, trans, and nonbinary folk take up <i>significant<\/i> space within any mainstream canon. Otherwise, we are written as the Other\u2014and even with this alien figure, the X, explored in scholarship and fiction alike, there is much left to be deconstructed and decolonized.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">BIPOC are and should continue focusing on ourselves, instead of negotiating with the mainstream. Nevertheless, BIPOC are and should continue radicalizing SFF. Not only has the legitimacy of writing about science, technology, and the future been whitewashed, but supremacists also use these same SFF tools to imagine their extreme versions of the future. Above all, I learned from Afrofuturism that futurism can become a practice in personal and communal survival, in imagining possible futures for those existing in the margins of predominant history and culture. Butler\u2019s <i>Parable<\/i>, for instance, unflinchingly exposes a white minority\u2019s takeover of apocalyptic California as corporations enslaving workers of color, monopolizing natural resources, and ignoring a health crisis. Sound familiar? However vague or confident it may feel, a response like that of protagonist Lauren Olamina is something we can actively strive for: an informed vision of tomorrow prepares us better for the change that will undoubtedly come, thus increasing our chances of survival. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">For Goodwin as well as Ram\u00edrez, a crucial aspect within the possibility of imagining things better lies on the basic need for conversation across futurisms. \u201cI want to expand that dialogue,\u201d stresses Goodwin, \u201cbecause I think we all have interesting things to say to each other.\u201d Observing a trend myself of the theory (mostly by Chicana\/o writers) grounding LatinX speculative arts in history and economics, I followed up with a question on what might still be under-explored within this expansive field. In fiction, Goodwin sees alternative utopias (net positive futures) as a \u201cgentle intervention\u201d to cut through the abundance of dystopias (net negative futures): \u201cIs it possible to imagine things better?\u201d In scholarly work, he concurs, \u201cA lot of these key works are about gender and sexuality and they have not been theorized or examined\u2014together, especially \u2026 I\u2019m thinking of <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.samueldelany.com\/\"><span class=\"s2\">Samuel Delany<\/span><\/a> and Octavia Butler, both of whom used science fiction to really rip out the binary system and just explore all these third ways and fourth ways of expanding out the possibilities in that. And that allows you to imagine it and see it. That\u2019s one of the powers of speculative fiction: it enables you to <i>see<\/i> what may be only in theory in action and, in someways, normalized. And it might be in an alien or a robot, but it\u2019s there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-2229 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-9.13.27-PM-300x167.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"399\" height=\"222\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-9.13.27-PM-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-9.13.27-PM-1024x570.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-9.13.27-PM-768x427.png 768w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-9.13.27-PM-360x200.png 360w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-9.13.27-PM.png 1272w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 399px) 100vw, 399px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">From my continuously evolving research and position as a Puerto Rican woman, I would add that there is still only a handful of Caribbean, Afro-descendant, and trans authors featured within this group of texts, in both mainstream fiction and theory. When Goodwin described the contemporary LatinX SFF community as \u201cthreads of connection throughout the country [U.S.],\u201d it felt urgent to me to highlight artists <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrYoFiggy\"><span class=\"s2\">Yomaira C. Figueroa-V\u00e1squez<\/span><\/a> and <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.alanpelaez.com\/about-me\/\"><span class=\"s2\">Al\u00e1n Pelaez Lopez<\/span><\/a>, whom are <i>currently<\/i> expanding the definition of LatinX and the assumption that it is created only in the U.S. (rather than in multiple diasporas). Some of the best art is being done by queer and Black and Indigenous creatives, and there is simply no LatinX without them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Significantly, Goodwin noted the recent push for Afrofuturist and LatinX speculative stories over the last five years, right before I could ask him to ruminate on <i>why<\/i>. Recognizing the extent of our collective knowledge and speculative capabilities, he nonetheless illuminated some of the intersecting causes people have floated around: 1) real socioeconomic barriers to LatinX getting into science and thus science fiction, 2) a deep nationalism and racism involved in publishing barriers which pigeonholes LatinX writers in the magical realism or urban mystery genres, and 3) the reactionary white supremacist movement.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2230\" style=\"width: 260px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2230\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-2230\" src=\"https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/IMG_3329-202x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/IMG_3329-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/IMG_3329-689x1024.jpg 689w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/IMG_3329-360x535.jpg 360w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/IMG_3329.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2230\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Speculative Fiction for Dreamers, an anthology for young adults edited by Goodwin, Alex Hernandez, and Sarah Rafael Garc\u00eda, forthcoming from Ohio State University Press.<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">For a case in point, Goodwin recalled about his experience teaching at UPR Cayey: \u201cA lot of the students want to be scientists, doctors, medical technologists \u2026 They really connected to those kinds of characters in LatinX science fiction, which do not appear basically anywhere else in LatinX literature. It\u2019s a small little thing in some ways. Being able to imagine yourself in the profession that you want to be in, I think is really powerful \u2026 And students really had trouble getting out of the dystopian mindset, which is really the dominant cultural expression.\u201d Furthermore, Goodwin referenced influential speculative works that grapple critically with the past\u2014Cherr\u00ede Moraga\u2019s <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/cherriemoraga.com\/index.php\/productions\/the-hungry-woman\"><span class=\"s2\"><i>The Hungry Woman<\/i><\/span><\/a> (West End Press 1995), Ryan Coogler\u2019s <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1825683\/\"><span class=\"s2\"><i>Black Panther<\/i><\/span><\/a> (2018), and HBO\u2019s <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt7049682\/\"><span class=\"s2\"><i>Watchmen<\/i><\/span><\/a> (2019)\u2014to point out, \u201cThat\u2019s a real incomplete answer, but \u2026 speculative fiction can also give a framework for thinking about history.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Not everything BIPOC create has to rise to the bait of supremacist futures. Nevertheless, everything should be connected so that we can celebrate our victories and support our pains together. As Butler\u2019s <i>Parable<\/i> taught me, we must actively prepare ourselves for the worst, but we can never give up on the best that change has in store for us. Goodwin himself wrapped up our conversation with a most fitting: \u201cMy future is unknown at this point, I\u2019m not sure where things are going.\u201d I\u2019m not sure either, nor have I come close to answering my original question. But as daunting as this ever-changing world may seem, I know I have my dreams, my words, my actions. I <i>can<\/i> manifest positive futures for my communities and myself as self-fulfilling prophecies, like many people before me have done and as many to come will do. Whether that takes the form of scholarly writing, creative arts, communal interactions, everyday thoughts\u2014will you join me?<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Excited? Check these out: <\/span><span class=\"s2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.latinospeculativefiction.com\/speculativefictionfordreamers\">https:\/\/www.latinospeculativefiction.com\/speculativefictionfordreamers <\/a><\/span><span class=\"s2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.alanpelaez.com\/afro-latinx-anthology\/\">http:\/\/www.alanpelaez.com\/afro-latinx-anthology\/ <\/a><\/span><span class=\"s2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/zoraidacordova.com\/books\/reclaim-the-stars\/\">https:\/\/zoraidacordova.com\/books\/reclaim-the-stars\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/melissa_mraga\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-2223 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Melissa-2-1-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Melissa-2-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Melissa-2-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Melissa-2-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Melissa-2-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Melissa-2-1-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Melissa-2-1-360x270.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/>Melissa Mart\u00ednez-Raga<\/a> (ella\/she\/they) is a writer and bookworm puertorrique\u00f1a. She is an editor associated with magazines <i>Fools<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0<i>Spanglish Voces<\/i>, and assistant to upcoming author Xochitl Gonzalez. She is currently pursuing an English B.A. at the University of Iowa, where she is also exploring her interests in Literary Theory and Interdisciplinary Studies, particularly Latina\/o\/x Studies and Gender, Women\u2019s, and Sexuality Studies. Find her words in\u00a0<em>Fools Magazine<\/em> and <em>El BeiSMan<\/em>.<\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are there any futures written out there in which my communities survive? This question provoked a conflict of distress and hope within me, launching my research on contemporary speculative fiction. It fueled my study on published Latina and LatinX writers, mentored by Dr. Claire Fox at the University of Iowa\u2019s English department. It drove everything [&hellip;]<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2222,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[61,76,79],"tags":[694,735,720,687,711,690,727,684,713,576,736,744,726,700,705,741,693,674,368,688,752,701,718,418,755,272,686,550,678,421,708,732,722,714,706,746,709,190,716,682,737,748,751,717,696,517,691,692,583,680,725,370,529,707,719,681,754,753,721,703,704,730,749,697,683,731,536,229,448,738,723,698,743,733,695,702,739,677,724,747,715,679,235,710,676,712,675,742,689,750,729,699,740,555,685,728,745,734,593,16],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.13 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>IMAGINING THINGS BETTER, PRACTICING ALTERNATIVE FUTURES - Spanglish Voces Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.spanglishvoces.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/17\/imagining-things-better-practicing-alternative-futures\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"IMAGINING THINGS BETTER, PRACTICING ALTERNATIVE FUTURES - Spanglish Voces Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Are there any futures written out there in which my communities survive? This question provoked a conflict of distress and hope within me, launching my research on contemporary speculative fiction. It fueled my study on published Latina and LatinX writers, mentored by Dr. Claire Fox at the University of Iowa\u2019s English department. 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