Graduation Year

2026

Date of Submission

4-2026

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Religious Studies

Reader 1

Daniel Michon

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Abstract

This thesis explores Afrofuturism as a framework for understanding how Black identity, reality, and liberation are constructed and reimagined under conditions of enslavement. Drawing on Isaiah Lavender III’s claim that the Black experience of slavery can be understood as a form of science fiction, this project centers the poetry of Phyllis Wheatley to examine how enslaved Black people were forced to navigate multiple, often contradictory realities. While student poetry is briefly referenced to show the continued relevance of these ideas, the primary analysis remains focused on Wheatley’s work. Through close readings of poems such as On Being Brought from Africa to America, On Virtue, and To a Lady and Her Children, this thesis argues that enslavement produces a fragmented sense of reality in which violence is reframed as salvation and identity is reshaped through imposed belief systems. Wheatley’s poetry reveals how enslaved Black people were made to operate within a system that controlled not only their physical conditions, but also their emotional expression, sense of self, and understanding of the world. This creates a condition that reflects science fiction, where individuals are forced to exist within imposed timelines that distort reality. At the same time, Wheatley uses imagination as a way to move between these realities, creating space to envision alternative forms of existence. This thesis also examines nature as a site of healing and reclamation, offering a model of reciprocity outside of domination. This project argues that Afrofuturism is not only a genre, but a method for understanding how Black individuals navigate, critique, and imagine beyond oppressive systems.

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