Better Futures through Solarpunk with Andrew Dana Hudson

The planet is in unprecedented trouble; mobilizing to fix it will require telling new stories about its potential future. There is a growing hunger for fiction that thinks deeply about the climate crisis and offers a vision of a sustainable world. This class will take up that challenge, exploring the evolution of climate fiction and the solutions-oriented genre of solarpunk.

The course will include lectures, discussion, and workshopping of ideas and stories to help students submit great stories to venues such as Stories from Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors.

Each session will be divided into a lecture and a discussion portion. Discussion time will be spent sharing story ideas or workshopping story starts. 

To get the most out of this class, we highly recommend you come prepared to share and give feedback on story ideas and to participate via chat, voice, and/or video.

Suggested reading:
"A Worm to the Wise," "Tidings," and "A Holdout in the Northern California Designated Wildcraft Zone." 

This class meets online for three 90-minute sessions. 

Meeting Dates:

March 16, 23 and 30, 1-2:30 PM

About the Instructor: 

Andrew Dana Hudson is a speculative fiction writer, sustainability researcher, futurist, and Clarion UCSD alum. He is the author of Our Shared Storm: A Novel of Five Climate Futures and over twenty short stories appearing in top markets. In 2016, his story “Sunshine State” won the first Everything Change Climate Fiction Contest, and in 2021, he served as a story reviewer on Grist’s Imagine 2200 Climate Fiction Contest. He often teaches and lectures on climate fiction, solarpunk, and other approaches to thinking about futures.

Andrew has a master’s degree in sustainability from Arizona State University, where he is an Imaginary College Fellow at the Center for Science and the Imagination. His research, partnering with institutions like Luleå University of Technology in Sweden, uses speculative fiction to explore the entwined social and technical dynamics of future scenarios, particularly the challenges and opportunities of decarbonization and climate repair.

Website

This event will be held in Zoom. By registering for this class, you agree to follow the Clarion West Code of Conduct and Zoom policies. 

Limited Free Seating: 

We offer a percentage of seats in every class to People of the Global Majority (Asian, Black, African, Latina/o/x, Middle Eastern, Indigenous, Pacific Islander, and/or have been racialized as 'ethnic minorities') for free, regardless of financial need. 

Eligible folks should complete this form to enter the lottery for free seats.  If a seat is available, we will email you 7-10 days before the class begins. For more information, see our equity and inclusion policies.

Sliding Scale Pricing:

The Supporting Tuition rate is shown for each class or workshop for folks who can pay it. Paying the Supporting Tuition rate enables us to continue to pay our staff and instructors equitably, as well as support access to classes for others who may be in a different situation. 

The Helping Hands rate is available to folks under more limited economic circumstances, no matter your background.

For more information, see our financial aid policies.

Our Refund Policy:

Clarion West will refund all class fees if the request is made 30 days before the class date. Refund requests made within 30 days of the class will be honored if we can fill the seat.

Any exceptions are subject to approval by our workshop staff.