Written by Dr. Elea Proctor, Assistant Professor of AAAS
------------------------------------
On May 4, the Department of Deep Discussions learning community at the London Correctional Institution (LoCI) had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Adriana Green, most recently a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University. Dr. Green is an expert in Black speculative fiction, Black feminisms, and the politics of futurity. In the 2026–7 academic year, she will be working on her first book project, Nevermind the Moon: Outer Space, U.S. Empire, and Black Futures. Her work this year will be supported by a prestigious fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS)—congratulations, Dr. Green!
In preparation for her visit, the learning community read the first eight chapters of N. K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season, the first in Jemisin’s Hugo Award-winning Broken Earth trilogy. Members of the learning community were already familiar with Jemisin’s work, as we had previously read her short story “The Ones Who Stay and Fight”—a response to Ursula K. Le Guin’s classic short story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”—earlier in the semester. We were excited to read more of Jemisin’s work, and The Fifth Season did not disappoint. It is a work of science-fantasy (a combination of science fiction and fantasy), and it begins with the end of the world: the Stillness, the single supercontinent in a world wracked by earthquakes, breaks apart, leading to a catastrophic season of climate change (called the “Fifth Season”). Actually, we learn that the world does not break apart on its own; it is deliberately shattered by a man who is so oppressed that the only way he sees out of the current system is to destroy it entirely. In this world, there is a caste system, and people born with the ability to move and manipulate the earth (called “orogenes”) occupy the lowest rung. They are powerful and therefore feared. The first part of the book follows three women orogenes as they navigate life’s changes, including the ongoing apocalypse, and their struggle for freedom. (It is difficult to say more without spoilers!)
Dr. Green began her visit by showing the group images of Earth and outer space taken from satellites. She asked simple but generative questions about how we know what we are seeing in these images. The exercise led into a broader discussion of epistemology (how we know what we know) and how world-building works in speculative fiction, where the rules governing reality are deliberately reimagined. Through close readings of early passages in The Fifth Season, Dr. Green highlighted Jemisin’s skill as a worldbuilder, noting how she carefully embeds clues about how the fictional world operates without fully explaining its rules upfront (“That would make speculative fiction really boring!”). Our discussion of the novel’s plot up through chapter eight expanded into reflections on oppressive systems and how one might imagine alternative worlds in which freedom is possible. This connected closely to the learning community’s overarching theme of Utopias & Dystopias.
By the end of Dr. Green’s visit, she asked whether members of the learning community would be interested in continuing to read Jemisin’s book on their own. The response from the room was a resounding Yes! Dr. Green has remained in contact with the learning community and has recommended several individual reading assignments for members interested in “Black androids.” We appreciate Dr. Green’s continued engagement and look forward to her forthcoming book!