This thesis analyzes dystopian and gender-centered representations manifested in the speculative short stories "freeforall" (1986), by Margaret Atwood and "Congenital Agenesis of Gender Ideation by K.N Sirsi and Sandra Botkin" (1998), by Raphael Carter. Characterized by futuristic temporalities, these narratives raise critical views of identities in relation to the binary models and the stabilizing tendencies regarding gender which are still strongly perceptible in our patriarchal society. I observe the ways in which the literary works (de)construct values and concepts pre-established socially. The study of such (de)construction is carried out by focusing on the intersections between the debates originating from the critical theories on literary genres whose traces are identified in the stories (utopia, dystopia, science fiction) and the knowledge produced in the area of Cultural and Gender Studies. On this interface, emphasis is given to the presence of irony as a major literary strategy, whose functions are approached according to Linda Hutcheon´s propositions, that is used in this work to understand the linguistic communicative interection process in the tales. In Atwood´s short story, I focus on the spaces described in relation to the social dynamics and on the protagonist portrayal so as to argue that such elements engender metaphors for a compulsory heterosexual system whose aim lies on human reproduction by means of the imposition of strict gender norms and the practice of eugenics. Therefore, people are placed in different spaces, predetermined according to their social funcion. The Houses and Freeforall are the spatialities of this comunity. The first one is the place of the chosen, and the last one, unsderstood as deviant heterotopic space, following the theory developed by Foucault, is destined to those deviant from the norm.The word play in the title of the tale and the protagonist's analyses, allow a study with irony. In Carter´s short story, the (de)construction of crystallized gender notions is achieved by means of parodic irony evidenced by the critical incorporation of scientific practices and academic discourses. Finally I argue that, mainly by resorting to the strategy of irony, the fictional representation of gender dystopias in Atwood and Carter question cultural gender configurations which have been conventionalized in/by androcentric society. Thus, these works may be interpreted in light of a feminist critical reading that, based on the Butlerian conception regarding the pressing need to undo gender, seeks to deconstruct normative values and views. / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Esta dissertação analisa as representações literárias distópicas e de gênero construídas nos contos especulativos "Freeforall" (1986), de Margaret Atwood e "congenital Agenesis of Gender Ideation by K.N Sirsi and Sandra Botkin" (1998), de Raphael Carter. De temporalidade futurista, essas narrativas suscitam visões críticas sobre as identidades no que diz respeito aos modelos binários e às tendências estabilizadoras de gênero ainda fortemente perceptíveis em nossa cultura patriarcal. Observo as maneiras pelas quais as obras (des)constroem valores e conceitos pré estabelecidos socialmente. O estudo da representação dessa (des)construção é realizado através do enfoque nos entrecruzamentos entre os debates oriundos das teorias críticas sobre os gêneros literários cujos traços são identificados nas histórias (utopia, distopia, ficção científica) e do conhecimento produzido na área dos Estudos Culturais e de Gênero. Nesta interface, ênfase recai sobre a presença da ironia como estratégia literária importante, abordada em suas funções, conforme proposto por Linda Hutcheon, utilizada, neste trabalho, para entender o processo de interação comunicativa linguística e literária das obras. No conto de Atwood, enfoco os espaços em relação às dinâmicas sociais e a figuração da protagonista para argumentar que esses elementos engendram metáforas de um sistema heterossexual compulsório que visa à reprodução por meio da constituição de rígidas normas de gênero e de práticas de eugenia. Para tanto, os indivíduos são colocados em diferentes espaços, previamente estabelecidos e de acordo com sua função social. As Casas e o Freeforall são as espacialidades desta comunidade. O primeiro é o local dos escolhidos e, o último, entendido como um espaço heterotópico de desvio, conforme teoria desenvolvida por Foucault, é destinado àqueles desviantes em relação à norma. O jogo de palavras presente no título do conto e a análise da protagonista permitem um estudo da ironia. No conto de Carter, a (des)construção das noções cristalizadas de gênero se desenvolve por meio da ironia paródica, evidenciada pela incorporação crítica de práticas científicas e discursos acadêmicos. Finalmente, argumento que as representações ficcionais das distopias de gênero de Atwood e Carter, principalmente por meio da estratégia da ironia, questionam as configurações culturais de gênero convencionadas pela/na sociedade androcêntrica. Assim, as obras podem ser interpretadas sob um viés de leitura crítica feminista que, baseado numa concepção butleriana sobre a necessidade iminente de se desfazer gênero, busca desconstruir valores e visões normativas.

Utopin har sedan århundranden tillbaka figurerat som tankemodell för det goda samhället. Tidigare som moderna sociologer har hävdat nyttan med ett utopiskt tankegods, särskilt som kritisk social teori med syfte att förändra människans sociala villkor. Senare forskning har visat på att element i science-fiction har ett praktiskt värde för flera aspekter av sociologiskt intresse, exempelvis inom organisationsutveckling, praktiskt lärande och modeller för hållbarhet. Men trots påvisad nytta har varken utopiska idéer eller modern forskning inom science-fiction fångat den sociologiska akademins intresse. I föreliggande studie utforskas anti-utopia eller dystopins potential som spekulativ sociologi, - en dystopisk social fantasi, i förhoppningen att nå nya insikter och perspektiv. Genom en tematisk analys av dystopisk litteratur påvisas att element i dystopiska narrativ kan användas inom sociologiska intressen i utvecklande syften, som avancerande analysmodeller eller som vägledning vid formulerandet av kritiska sociala teorier eller hypoteser. Vidare hävdas att analysmodeller innehållande både utopi och dystopi blir mer nyskapande, flexibla och progressiva, samt att de kan avancera den sociala fantasin genom att tillföra en alternativ form av riskbedömning.

In this mini-dissertation the ongoing battle between the self and late-capitalist society is explored as a theoretical response to the notion of the fragmented subject in relation to postmodernism. Frederic Jameson links the schizophrenic subject and postmodern culture explicitly to societal changes in Western economies: this author's tradition outlines a main part of my theoretical stance within this mini-dissertation. Jameson, decisive in his criticism of current popular culture that has formed as a result of postmodernism, conveys a key dystopic viewpoint in his association of schizophrenia with postmodernism and late-capitalism. This sentiment is echoed in this mini-dissertation, as it is my belief that capitalist consumption habits and pastiche are interrelated in current popular visual culture, simulating a schizoid experience which consumers in turn mirror when formulating a sense of self. An essentially fragmented (postmodern) viewpoint with regard to postmodern visual culture is argued, and is aligned with Jameson's perspective on how subjects form identities within late capitalism, with pastiche and consumption labelled as the main causes of the contemporary societal problem of fragmentation. The main contention of the study is thus that contemporary consumption practices, through the stylistic acceptance of pastiche, are the current causes of fragmentation within the self. This naturalisation of postmodern montage and pastiche, in my opinion, effectively disorientates consumers, as similar techniques that are adopted in consumer culture are applied to identity formation, thus contributing to a sense of egolessness, a key characteristic of schizophrenia. Focus is placed on visual examples that highlight postmodern techniques of nostalgic image recycling, aligned to similar postmodern identity models, with parallels drawn between the fragmenting individual and the consuming individual. As exceedingly discontinuous processes of change occur through capitalist consumption habits that are emblematic characteristics of the postmodern condition, it is thus my belief that current postmodern visual culture contributes to an overall fragmented experience of the individual, where consumer practices are negatively affecting identity construction, and thus spurring on further cultural fragmentation and social disintegration. Copyright / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Visual Arts / unrestricted

My goal for this thesis is to investigate the concept of (mis)labeling female protagonists in contemporary British fiction as mentally ill—historically labeled as madness—when subjected to traumatic events. The female protagonists in two novels by Sophie Mackintosh, The Water Cure (2018) and Blue Ticket (2020), and Jenni Fagan’s 2012 novel The Panopticon, are raised in environments steeped in trauma and strict, hegemonic structures that actively work to control and mold their identities. In The Panopticon, this system is called “the experiment”; in The Water Cure, it is personified by the character King and those who follow him; and in Blue Ticket, it is the social structure as a whole reflected in the character of Doctor A. To simply label these novels’ woman protagonists as ill would be to ignore that their behavior is not mental illness but in fact rational behavior produced by the traumatic dystopian environments.

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The background to this essay is that I wanted to analyze the factions in Veronica Roth´s novel Divergent and class from a Marxist perspective. I used a Marxist perspective on social class to find details that matched or looked similar to the novel and did an analysis and comparison between them. I found that a lot of details in how the different factions are described and represented can be compared with classism due to significant similarities, such as social behavior and prioritization among different groups. / Bakgrunden till denna uppsats är att jag ville analysera falangerna i Veronica Roths bok Divergent samt klass från ett marxistiskt perspektiv. Jag använde ett marxistiskt persspektiv på social klass för att finna detaljer som matchade eller liknade novellen och gjorde en analys och jämförelse mellan dem. Jag fann att en hel del detaljer gällande hur de olika falangerna är beskrivna och representerade kan jämföras med klassism tack vare signifikanta liknelser, såsom socialt beteende och prioriteringar inom olika grupper.

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Young adult dystopian fictions follow the patterns established by the classic adult dystopias such as George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, but not completely. Young adult dystopias tend to end happily, a departure from the nightmarish ends of Winston Smith and John Savage. Young adult authors resist hopelessness, even if the fictional world demands it. Using a rhetorical approach established by Wayne Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction and The Company We Keep, this thesis traces the reasons for the inclusion of hope and the strategies by which hope is created and maintained. Booth's rhetorical approach recognizes that a narrative is a relational act. At issue in this study is the consideration of what follows from viewing a narrative as a dynamic exchange between text, author and reader. Through a focus on rhetoric as identification, the responsibilities of both the author and the reader to a text are identified and discussed. Three young adult novels, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, The Giver by Lois Lowry and Feed by M.T. Anderson will be analyzed as case studies. Together the analysis of these novels reveals that storytelling is an act of forging identifications and forming alliances. The reader becomes more than just a spectator of the author's rhetoric; the reader is a fully involved member of the interpretive and evaluative process.

In this project I am exploring 6 different life forms; snail, slime mold, frog, rock, moss, and fungi. I am approaching these life-forms as agent entities for me to channel, and act for them as vessels.  “Apocalypse Fatigue” is both an exploration of my own artistic practice, by attempting to create works from a nonhuman-centric perspective and investigating how different entities can be co-creators, and an exploration of its sustainability.   It is also an attempt to approach nature as a direct actor to create multiple narratives regarding climate change. Taking the perspective of another organism allows me to imagine alternative ways of being in the world, and through them, I can explore my own emotions, artistic visions or reflect on social issues with a fresh perspective. In a wider way, my work tries to challenge, modestly, dominant world views and presents an alternative to the apocalyptic narratives so often mobilized when speaking about climate change.

Ce mémoire en recherche-création combine un roman (Bateau brûlé) et un essai (Poétique de la fuite dans le récit dystopique contemporain et écoféministe), l’un inspirant l’autre. Bateau brûlé : Le monde est toujours noir. Seko est fascinée par la seule source de lumière possible, mais la ville qui la voit grandir s’oppose à sa curiosité. Il n’y a de place que pour les plufors, ces dirigeants cruels qui décident des endroits éclairés. À travers une vie qui lui échappe et des souvenirs qui ne sont pas toujours les siens, Seko tente de déceler si la lumière est réellement sa destinée, même alors qu’elle prend la fuite à bord d’un bateau condamné. Poétique de la fuite dans le récit dystopique contemporain et écoféministe : Ce bref essai analyse plusieurs œuvres, théories et recherches dans le but de les faire converger vers le consensus que la dystopie est féministe et sert à dénoncer. Une tangente récurrente des dystopies écoféministes est le thème de la fuite, si prédominante qu'on pourrait la considérer comme poétique. Afin de mieux comprendre ce concept, je propose une lecture du roman Hivernages (2017) de Maude Deschênes-Pradet centrée sur ce thème. Pourquoi fuir alors que, Hivernages le prouve, il n’y a aucun refuge à atteindre ? Le corpus qui m’intéresse et qui alimente ma propre œuvre explore la manière dont la fuite affecte la réalité physique et la psychologie des personnages ainsi que la forme du récit. La poétique de la fuite constitue un élément narratif et structurel résultant de deux causes distinctes, mais imbriquées : la temporalité fragmentée du récit et l’ambition écoféministe de s’opposer à l’environnement toxique. / This memoir combines a novel (Bateau brûlé [Burnt Boat]) and an essay (Poetics of Escape in Contemporary and Ecofeminist Dystopian Narratives), one inspiring the other. Bateau Brûlé: The world is always dark. Seko is fascinated by the only possible light source, but the city that sees her grow is opposed to her curiosity. There is only room for the “plufors”, cruel rulers who decide where the light goes. Through a life that eludes her and memories that are not always her own, Seko wonders if the light truly is her destiny, even as she flees on a doomed ship. Poetics of Escape in Contemporary and Ecofeminist Dystopian Narratives: This essay analyses several works, theories and pieces of research in an attempt to make them converge towards the consensus that dystopia is a feminist undertaking. A recurring tangent of ecofeminist dystopias is the theme of escape, so predominant one might even consider it poetic. In order to clarify this concept, I suggest a reading of the novel Hivernages (2017) by Maude Deschênes-Pradet focusing on the poetics of escape. Why flee, when Hivernages proves there is no refuge to reach? The corpus that interests me and that feeds my reflection and imagination explores how the flight affects both the characters’ physicality and psychology as well as the form of the narrative itself. In every case, the poetics of escape constitute a fictional and structural element that results from two distinct but intertwined causes: the narrative’s fragmented temporality and the ecofeminist ambition to oppose the toxic environment.