London: Theorizing the Present

September 2026

Black British Cinema and the Speculative Archive
(CCCT 14516 / CMST 14516 / RDIN 14516 / FNDL 14516)

Allyson Nadia Field, Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Studies and Fundamentals

This course will explore forms of speculation thinking in contemporary Black British media practices. We will consider works that engage with speculation as both a necessity of archival and evidentiary paucity and a generative site for imaginative intervention. We will ask: how do these artists reimagine history? How do they negotiate archival absences, silences, and erasures? How have these artists engaged with moving image media as both assertion of a Black British identity and a counterimage—and counternarrative—to critical, social, and artistic effacements of blackness. Finally, what potentialities can critical theory draw from audio visual works that creatively engage with speculation formally and thematically?

To approach these questions, we will look at familiar discourses of Afrofuturism, Afrosurrealism, and critical fabulation, but approach them through the lens of speculation as a form of creative reckoning with the past, present, and future in the context of Black British media practices. Topics include: archival absence, archival “repair,” recouperation, historiography of loss, speculative archives, speculative historiography, problems of evidence, conflicting accounts, informed speculation, reenactment, histories of the present, appropriation, compilation, speculative media forms, and utopias/dystopias.

As a discussion-based course that satisfies the Arts, Music, Drama Core requirement, our focus will be on direct engagement with primary texts—in this case moving image media—and we will attend to course material formally, thematically, narratively, and with attunement to historical and social specificity. Each week we will watch moving image and time-based artworks, ranging from short pieces to feature-length films. Screenings will take place in class and will be supplemented with public screenings and museum and gallery exhibitions across London.

Faculty who teach on this program rotate from year to year. The faculty roster is designated by the program faculty director.

London program participants usually reside in shared, furnished studio apartments in central London. The apartments include fully equipped kitchens, private bathrooms, laundry facilities, and wireless internet access.

It is important to recognize the cultural context of student housing in the UK and understand that the amenities of the student apartments may vary. Although some of these differences may take some getting used to, remember that cultural differences extend to all aspects of your experience abroad. Having realistic expectations for your term in London will help you approach the study abroad experience with a positive attitude.

Participants in the London September program will take and receive credit for one 100-unit course. This course is considered part of the students’ Summer Quarter course load and is recorded as a course enrollment on their Summer Quarter registration. The course title, units of credit, and grade are placed on the College transcript.

Completion of a September course abroad will earn students 1 point toward Global Honors, the College’s recognition of exceptional global engagement. Visit the Chicago Language Center’s website for information on how to apply for Global Honors.

Study abroad students pay regular Summer Quarter tuition at the one-course rate, a program fee, and a nonrefundable study abroad administrative fee. The tuition and program fee are paid in conformity with the home campus payment schedule, and a deposit toward the nonrefundable study abroad administrative fee is submitted when accepting a place in a program. Precise figures for the London September program during the 2025-2026 year are listed below:

Summer tuition for one course: $4,980 (Summer 2026)

Study abroad administrative fee: $675

London September program fee: $4,000

Previous program participants report spending in the range of $200 to $250 per week on meals and incidentals while on the program, though frugal students may spend less, and others could spend much more. Bear in mind that the cost of living in London is relatively high and that, while it is possible to live frugally, it is also possible to run short of money if you are unwary. It is therefore essential that you budget your funds prudently, apportioning your resources so that they last for the duration of the program. If you are planning to travel before or after the program or on weekends, you should budget accordingly.

Participants in summer College-sponsored programs are eligible for need-based financial aid, following the procedure described on the Summer and September Aid page of the Financial Aid website. For more information about financial aid resources, please see our general Tuition, Fees, and Funding section.

The London September program is open to University of Chicago undergraduate students only. Applications from outside the University are not accepted.

The program is designed for undergraduates in good academic and disciplinary standing who are beyond their first year in the College. While the program stipulates no minimum grade point average, an applicant’s transcript should demonstrate that they are a serious student who will make the most of this opportunity.

Each application is examined on the basis of the student’s scholastic record and personal statement. If you are interested in applying for this program, please fill out the online application.

To discuss London: Theorizing the Present and the possibility of participating in this program, please contact Naira Ovsepyan.