Anthropocene entanglements: the novum, policy, and environment in science fiction by Wyndham, Atwood, and Liu

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dc.contributor.authorStrong, Jeremy Ross
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeBrydon, Diana (English, Theatre, Film & Media)en_US
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeJoo, Serenity (English, Theatre, Film & Media)en_US
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteePeyton, Jonathan (Environment and Geography)en_US
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeCanavan, Gerry (English, Marquette University)en_US
dc.contributor.supervisorBrydon, Diana (English, Theatre, Film & Media)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2020-09-08T19:56:30Z
dc.date.available2020-09-08T19:56:30Z
dc.date.copyright2020-08-19
dc.date.issued2020en_US
dc.date.submitted2020-08-19T23:25:10Zen_US
dc.degree.disciplineEnglish, Film and Theatreen_US
dc.degree.levelDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)en_US
dc.description.abstractThis dissertation argues that Darko Suvin’s proposed literary device unique to science fiction, “the novum”, is entangled with national state policy and environmental politics, and that up to now this has not been studied with sustained focus. I propose that the emergent sub-genre cli-fi is really just the distillation of ongoing concerns about the compounding problems of life in the Anthropocene that have long been present in much science fiction. By exploring the relationship between the novums of science fiction novels and national state policies the project reveals the unique perspectives the science fiction genre offers for addressing the Anthropocene. I put forward the notion of the “national political imaginary” as a concept useful in understanding temporary landscapes of thought that include political discourse and artistic production alike. I argue that the novum helps reveal how the subtext and themes within the fiction and the social forces driving the policy are connected through an axis of environmental concern. The case studies span three distinct time periods in the UK, Canada, and China connecting geo-political, bio-cultural, and socio-political policies to novels by John Wyndham, Margaret Atwood, and Cixin Liu respectively. Adopting a New Historicist approach, the chapters first explain the historical conditions and particular cultural and national elements that give rise to each policy, before undertaking close readings of the novels. The close readings explore the environmental subtext in the novels that is revealed through each novum’s function as a conduit to each respective national state policy. Ultimately finding the novum to have more significant political dimensions than previously theorized, and that it is resonant with Fredric Jameson’s theory of the political unconscious, the project serves as a bridge between policy studies and literary studies, potentially opening new dialogical possibilities for future scholars.en_US
dc.description.noteOctober 2020en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1993/34994
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsopen accessen_US
dc.subjectEnvironmenten_US
dc.subjectPolicyen_US
dc.subjectScience fictionen_US
dc.subjectNovumen_US
dc.subjectSpace policyen_US
dc.subjectBioethicsen_US
dc.subjectPetroleum policyen_US
dc.subjectNew historicismen_US
dc.subjectAnthropocene studiesen_US
dc.subjectChinaen_US
dc.subjectUKen_US
dc.subjectCanadaen_US
dc.subjectPolitical unconsciousen_US
dc.subjectEnergy unconsciousen_US
dc.subjectAtwooden_US
dc.subjectWyndhamen_US
dc.subjectLiu Cixinen_US
dc.titleAnthropocene entanglements: the novum, policy, and environment in science fiction by Wyndham, Atwood, and Liuen_US
dc.typedoctoral thesisen_US
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