THEORY FICTION AND POLITICS
A TWO-MONTH CRITICAL EXPLORATION OF POLITICS VIA THEORY-FICTION
Theory fiction and politics stages a two-month process with Bryce Nance and Michael Downs. The first month focuses on science fiction as a legitimate outlet and resource for philosophy and theory, with the potential for special application to and insight in political futures. We will explore foundational contributions to 20th century science fiction, including Frank Herbert, Olaf Stapleton, Kim Stanley Robinson, Neal Stephenson, Iain M Banks, and more, with special attention to their relationship to social theory and political reality. The second month focuses on Nick Land’s Xenosystems as a foundational book of extreme political philosophy often referred to as the neoreactionary movement. Throughout this month we will explore the darker side and potential of futuristic technology and especially the political implications.
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This is a series featuring in-depth exploration of both theory fiction and politics as it relates to the future of human civilisation.
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Meet Your Seminar Leaders
Bryce Nance
Bryce Nance is an author and podcaster of Three Billion Nances. His focus on theory fiction explores foundational philosophy through works of science fiction, with special attention to their implications for capitalist politics, and imagining alternative futures. You can find out more about his work on Substack, YouTube, or Patreon.
Michael Downs
Michael Downs is a Militant Proletarian Snake-Handler, author of The Dangerous Maybe blog, as well as author of Capital vs. Timenergy: A Zizekian Critique of Nick Land. Downs works on the philosophy of “fault-line theory” which seeks to think with the tensions and antagonisms of contemporary underground theory, specifically at the intersections of the work of Nick Land and Slavoj Zizek. Downs interests at this specific fault-line orbit the relationship between Land’s notion of artificial intelligence and theory of technological singularity informed by an analysis of capitalism; and Zizek’s notion of the subjectivity as operating at the level of the Freudo-Lacanian death drive. Throughout Downs work his philosophy seeks to analyse the tension between capital-AI and subjective death drive in order to rethink issues in Marxism, psychoanalysis, and contemporary politics of capitalism around the notion of timenergy.
2026
Online
830pm CEST (Central European Summer Time)
Sunday October 4th / Session 1: Overview of Theory Fiction w/ Bryce Nance
Sunday October 11th / Session 2: Capitalist AI as Superego, Surveillance, Hypercoke w/ Bryce Nance
Sunday October 18th / Session 3: Paranoia and Individualism w/ Bryce Nance
Sunday October 25th / Session 4: Recap of Theory Fiction w/ Bryce Nance
Sunday August 2nd / Session 5: What Is Philosophy? w/ Michael Downs
Sunday August 16th / Session 6: Abstract Horror w/ Michael Downs
Sunday August 23rd / Session 7: Sub-Cognitive Fragments w/ Michael Downs
Sunday August 30th / Session 8: War is God w/ Michael Downs
Start Today
Start Today
Two ways to access: purchase the course as a stand-alone seminar, or join The Portal as a monthly/yearly member