Michigan State University has joined the Georgia Institute of Technology in the Earthseed Project, a humanities-centered research initiative that uses Afrofuturist literature to connect horticulture, climate resilience and food sustainability knowledge and practices.

The Earthseed Lab and research project launched in 2021 at Georgia Tech by Susana Morris, associate professor of literature, media and communication. Morris was inspired by Afrofuturist author Octavia E. Butler’s prophetic “Parable” series of novels (“Parable of the Sower” and “Parable of the Talents”) describing a dystopian California struggling with climate challenges, societal inequity and political instability.

“Looking at work like Butler’s gives us that language to take control, to take the reins of how we refashion our future,” Morris said. “We can discern the patterns in human society and behavior and make a difference through what we do with the land, with what we do with resources, by rejecting a kind of extractive notion and looking toward something that is more holistic, reciprocal, logical.”