Revisiting Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower in 2024

This program will be the first in a two-part series of webinars focused on issues of climate change and climate justice as addressed through young adult literature featuring Ayana A. H. Jamieson, Assistant Professor, Ethnic and Women’s Studies Department, College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; founder of the Octavia E. Butler Legacy Network, and Shelley Streeby, Professor of literature and ethnic studies, University of California, San Diego.

This program will be the first in a two-part series of webinars focused on issues of climate change and climate justice as addressed through young adult literature featuring Ayana A. H. Jamieson, Assistant Professor, Ethnic and Women’s Studies Department, College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; founder of the Octavia E. Butler Legacy Network, and Shelley Streeby, Professor of literature and ethnic studies, University of California, San Diego.

In this series, Radcliffe is inviting leading thinkers, writers, and educators to participate in conversations about how authors and readers of young adult literature engage with climate change, leveraging the power of storytelling as a way to learn about, cope with, and address this extraordinary challenge.

Literature can move people of all generations, including students and educators, as well as scientists, policy makers, journalists, and the public. “Parable of the Sower,” anticipating global climate disasters, was first published in 1993 but takes place beginning in 2024. This and other seminal works by Octavia Butler have reached many thousands of young readers, engaging them in complex climate issues through fiction while demonstrating the power that arts and literature can have on our communities.

Visit the event page for more information and to register.

Contact: events@radcliffe.harvard.edu