In astronomy a void is defined as “vast spaces between filaments (the largest-scale structures in the universe), which contain very few or no galaxies. Voids typically have a diameter of 10 to 100 megaparsecs; particularly large voids, defined by the absence of rich superclusters, are sometimes called supervoids...the existence of voids is significant in providing physical evidence for dark energy'' ( Wikipedia 2021). The poetics of astrological voids has been a generative topic in American popular science fiction, as a way to mobilize and aestheticize the mystical properties of apparent emptiness, untraceability, and darkness. But the science of the void conveys that they are anything but empty– active matter seemingly invisible. But how can we begin to understand the politics and poetics of the void as a generative and active space in which integral work is made possible? “Theorizing in a Void” insists on complicating the materiality of nothingness, bringing together three generations of black women scholars across STEM and humanities-based disciplines who enter conversations within the sciences in both traditional and creative ways. The dialogue will range from representation and politics of black women in the sciences, their contributions to global scientific knowledge production, to transdisciplinary discussions on energy, data and algorithmic technologies, health & wellness, traditional and alternative histories of the sciences.

“Theorizing in a Void”: Towards a Theory and Practice of Black Feminist Mathematics and Science

2021