Department of English

 “SPEC Country” is an informal working group born out of our current common isolation and hope for communal life in a remote reality. What brings us together is the prescient magic of speculative fiction—notably as it comes to us through innovative contemporary TV and film productions. Speculative fiction is an umbrella term grouping science fiction, fantasy, and horror, as well as any number of hybrids and mélanges of their sub-categories, whether it be the gothic, weird fiction, post-apocalyptic fiction, ghost stories, superhero narratives, counterfactuals, steampunk, dystopia, slipstream, magic realism, Afrofuturism, and more.

For its inaugural COVID moment, SPEC Country is turning to the recent unprecedented rise of Afrofuturist productions in order to come together through watch parties (live-streaming of episodes online) and emergent discussions using a dedicated Slack channel. We are beginning with HBO’s Lovecraft Country and will then take a collective vote to select our next speculative show.

Current grad student representatives are Arianna James <aqjames@sas.upenn.edu> and Kiana Murphy <kianam@sas.upenn.edu>, in collaboration with Professor Jean-Christophe Cloutier <cloutier@english.upenn.edu>. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you would like to know more and/or join our Slack channel!

How to subscribe (or unsubscribe) to the SPEC Country Listserv:

https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/english-spec-country