Worlds Beyond Worlds: Origin Stories

Patrick J. D’Silva (Worlds Beyond Worlds/WBW) and Josh Perez (Sweet & Condensed) discuss what motivated Patrick’s course on race, religion, and science fiction and how it evolved from an upper-level “Religion and Science Fiction” class into a special-topics course explicitly centered on race.

Patrick describes key themes—defining the human, encountering the other, and how race, gender, sexuality, and disability are woven through speculative fiction—covering topics such as racism in Lord of the Rings, Star Wars/Star Trek, Indigenous Futurism, Afrofuturism/Africanfuturism, cyberpunk (Neuromancer), monsters (Frankenstein), and Jediism as a fiction-based religious movement.

He explains his pedagogy, emphasizing student autonomy (co-editing the syllabus, choosing evaluation methods, flexible formats, and deadlines) and unEssays” (creative projects such as illustrated journals, roleplaying games, cookbooks, audio tracks, paintings, zines, and original fiction), shaped by his teaching experience, parenting, and the pandemic.

They also discuss why film/TV are central to teaching today—visual media’s cultural dominance, immersive “magic,” merchandising/participation, and the impact of on-screen representation.

Time Stamps: 00:28 Why This Conversation Now

02:37 Course Origins and Big Questions

04:34 Race and Futurisms Units

06:48 Student-Led Syllabus and Grading

08:30 unEssays Creative Projects

10:47 Rethinking Traditional Pedagogy

13:09 Parenthood and Student Needs

15:09 Pandemic Compassion and Flexibility

17:45 Holistic Learning and Autonomy

23:32 Movies as Magic and Orientation

26:54 Why Film in the Classroom

27:59 Students Struggling to Read

30:17 Reading vs Watching

31:16 Video Culture Shift

33:27 Teaching Without Ego

35:34 Frankenstein Revisited

37:44 Movie Magic Immersion

41:45 Representation On Screen

46:35 Student Creative Projects

50:22 Improvising In The Classroom

52:07 Fandom As Religion

56:38 Wrap Up And Plugs