Vision: Imagining the Future
Fri 19 Sep – Fri 14 Nov 2025 NZDT
Vision: Imagining the Future
Check out the course webpage for more details!
How can we let go of the world as it is to bring about the world we want? To build the future of our dreams, we must first imagine it. But how can we do the work of letting go of what is to explore what might be? And how can we work together to ensure that others share our vision and that our vision makes space for everyone?
This class will bring together some of the best socially-aware science fiction writers of our time to explore how they do the work of imagination and of creating vision. What does it take to be bold and imagine a different kind of future – and how can we all work towards contributing to a powerful vision of a different kind of future?
Guest speakers will include Annalee Newitz, Charlie Jane Anders, Paolo Bacigalupi, Monica Byrne, Claire Coleman ... and more to come!
Your Facilitators
The Dark Times Academy team!
Zoom sessions
19 September - 14 November
NZST: Friday 12:00 noon
EDT: Thursday 8:00 pm
PDT: Thursday 5:00 pm
AEST: Friday 10:00 am
Note: Daylight saving time will happen in multiple places during this course! We will follow the time change in Aotearoa New Zealand. Please check the time for each week below using the link to confirm for your location!
Class Outline
Week 1 Vision--Dreaming the world into being
19 September
For our first week, we will come together and get to know each other and our hope and dreams for this class--and the future. We will explore our own ideas of what it means to have visions, visions that have inspired us, and explore the work of some of the best visionaries imagining today. We will also talk about project ideas, how we want to welcome our guests, and how we can create a community of learning--together!
Week 2 26 September
Guest: Claire Coleman (author of Terra Nullius, The Old Lie, and other works)
Week 3 3 October
Guest: TBC
Time Zone Finder Link (Note time shift for DST in some locations)
Week 4 10 October
Guest: Paolo Bacigalupi (author of The Water Knife, The Drowned Cities, and other works)
BREAK 17 October
Week 5 24 October
Guest: Charlie Jane Anders (author of Victories Greater than Death, The City in the Middle of the Night, and other works)
Week 6 31 October
Guest: Annalee Newitz (author of Future of Another Timeline, Automatic Noodle, and other works).
Week 7 7 November
Guest: Monica Byrne (author of The Actual Star, The Girl in the Road, and other works)
Time Zone Finder Link (Note time shift for DST in some locations)
Week 8 14 November
Class Project
Classes like this are lots of fun and part of that is coming up with ways we can take our learning turn it into something we can share with the world--or just each other. We will talk over ideas at the first class and go from there! Previous classes have designed games, run events, and even written submissions to political leaders! There's a whole world of exciting options out there we can explore together!