Intimacies of the Future: Techno-Orientalism,All-under-Heaven (Tian-Xia天下), and Afrofuturism

Abstract:In this article, I draw out the intimacies between techno-Orientalism, All-under-Heaven (Tian-Xia 天下), and Afrofuturism. Using Lisa Lowe’s framework of “intimacies,” I put together these three different areas of study by linking international relations theory with the study of speculative fiction. I expand on criticisms of the Euro-Modern linear liberal narrative by connecting this to Black scholars who push back against the invisibility of Black people in science fiction. I also complicate the image of an advanced “East” as merely a “Western” imagination by connecting that to Asian political imaginations of their own future, specifically those of Chinese political leaders and scholarly elite. Last, I highlight the radical promise of speculative artwork in creating new political imaginations through a close reading of Afrofuturist philosophy and media productions.