This dissertation offers a reappraisal of twentieth-century dystopian fiction in the roughly thirty years after World War II by identifying the environmental dimensions of many of the most genre-defining authors and novels of this period. Given the escalating climate emergency and the growing popularity of climate fiction (“cli-fi”), it would be difficult to imagine critical conversations about twenty-first-century dystopian fiction that overlook environmental anxieties in the genre. Yet, in scholarly discussions of postwar dystopian fiction, there is a limiting sense that environmental “themes” emerge only periodically, or are of secondary importance to the genre’s more typically “Orwellian” themes like totalitarianism, propaganda, the Cold War, automation, censorship, and conformism. In contrast, my dissertation shows how dystopian fiction from this period develops in conversation with emerging conceptions of environmental degradation in the anti-nuclear, anti-population growth, and modern environmental movements. By developing a history of dystopian fiction’s mutual imbrication with growing anxieties about ecological degradation, my dissertation shows that texts in the genre have grappled for decades with socioecological questions that still perplex us today: can nuclear energy power a safe and abundant future? Should there be hard limits to humankind’s population? How should humans interact with/in non-human nature? If there are ecological limits to economic growth, is humankind (a problematically capacious term) approaching ecological limits? If so, are we (another problematically capacious term) courting disaster? Over three chapters, I trace the co-emergence of dystopianism and environmentalism in the roughly three decades after World War II as major Western cultural heuristics for thinking about the future. In this historical context, my dissertation puts dystopian novels like George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), Kurt Vonnegut’s Player Piano (1952), Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 (1953), Harry Harrison’s Make Room! Make Room! (1966), John Brunner’s Stand on Zanzibar (1968), and Ursula Le Guin’s The Lathe of Heaven (1971) in conversation with trailblazing environmental texts like Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962) and Paul Ehrlich’s The Population Bomb (1968). As I will show, dystopian fiction produced during this period was influenced by and participated in debates about nuclear weapons and nuclear energy, overconsumption and overpopulation, and the degradation and disappearance of non-human nature. At the same time, the anti-nuclear, anti-population growth, and modern environmental movements borrowed rhetorical strategies from dystopian fiction to warn about the (in)habitability of the future. In developing these arguments, I draw heavily from primary sources and historical accounts of these movements, utopian and dystopian studies criticism, Marxist ecology and Critical Theory, and a growing collection of scholarship in the Environmental and Energy Humanities that emphasizes the centrality of energy to modern societies. This history will contribute to a better interdisciplinary understanding of how modern environmental thinking is influenced by dystopianism, and how dystopian fiction warns readers about what John Brunner calls environmental “survivability” in an age when the spectre of climate breakdown looms large in the public’s imagination.

The aim of this essay is to examine what happens when Veronica Roths Divergent-trilogy is read with a lutheran theological pre-understanding. Using reader-response theory and lutheran theology written for and in a post-modern context, three lutheran figures of thought are presented as one way of understanding the trilogy. The conclusion is that it is possible to reveal lutheran ideas concerning justification, guilt, forgiveness, mercy and self-sacrificing love in the Divergent-story. / Denna uppsats undersöker Veronica Roths Divergent-trilogi ur ett luthersk-teologiskt perspektiv. Metoden som används är en text- och läsarcentrerad metod. Med hjälp av post-modern luthertolkning till största delen hämtad från projektet Luthersk teologi och etik - i ett efterkristet samhälle så byggs tre tankefigurer upp; människan och det onda, människan och det goda samt människan och vägen till frihet. Dessa tankefigurer läggs som ett raster över trilogin. Resultatet av denna process visar att det i berättelsen är möjligt att synliggöra lutherska tankefigurer rörande rättfärdiggörelse, skuld, en självutgivande kärlek, förlåtelse och nåd.

In the aftermath the 25th January Revolution of 2011, two Egyptian dystopian novels stand out as particularly relevant: Utopia (2008) by Ahmed Khaled Towfik, and The Queue (2013), by Basma Abdel Aziz. Due to the absence of studies that pay attention to how gender relations are portrayed in Arabic dystopian novels, this study focuses on the literary representation of men and masculinities in Utopia and The Queue. This thesis uses narratology and content analysis in order to show that, although patterns of local masculinities are different in both novels, regional and global models of masculinity clearly point out men as controlling, violent and hypersexual, which is supported by multiple institutions, such as the state, media, and the religious establishment. The inclusion of relevant ethnological studies of masculinities in Egypt confirms that the social criticism of the novels include gender relations, and refers to the time in which the novels were written. This study points out the need for recognizing Arabic dystopian fiction as a valuable instrument that carries meaningful and intricate social criticism, as well as the need for the inclusion of gender as a category of literary analysis.

The following essay explores the connection between pandemic dystopian fiction and a pedagogy of discomfort through a critical reading of The White Plague by Frank Herbert. It is advocated in this essay that a critical reading of the novel can give rise to uncomfortable topics related to living in a pandemic reality, which in turn can be incorporated in an ESL setting to encourage critical inquiry and action. Grounded in a thematic analysis of the novel, it is demonstrated that The White Plague can be used to discuss uncomfortable topics such as fear of biogenetic engineering, fear of others, nationalism, national identity, deglobalisation, violence against women, patriarchy, and traditional gender roles. Contextualised withincontemporary history, tradition, ideology, and recontextualised with the current COVID-19 pandemic, the essay confirms that a critical reading of The White Plague carries the potential to promote a pedagogy of discomfort inside an ESL classroom.

In 2016, “post-truth” was chosen as the word of the year by the Oxford Dictionaries. This is a concept that has come to be associated with a type of political discourse in which objective facts are less important than factual inaccuracies which appeal to emotion to influence people’s attitudes. Due to this recent increase in post-truth politics, critical thinking becomes an important skill to master. Yet, studies have suggested that students often lack the necessary skills for critical thinking. One way of approaching this problem is through the reading of literature. This essay specifically argues that George Orwell’s 1984 provides teachers with an excellent opportunity to develop critical thinking skills among upper secondary English as a foreign language (EFL) students, with the novel as an excellent platform to also promote student reflection on current post-truth politics. In order to work with 1984 to foster critical thinking, this essay utilizes a literature-based, pedagogical model developed by Bobkina and Stefanova that draws inspiration from elements of reader-response theory and critical literacy pedagogy (CLP). To show how 1984 can be used to discuss current post-truth politics, a thematic analysis was performed where central themes and concepts from the novel, such as doublethink, Newspeak and telescreens, were compared to current trends in post-truth politics. The analysis itself was structured around the following themes: the distortion of truth for political gains, the use of language as an instrument of political power and the use of technology to spread misinformation. Following the analysis, a lesson project based on Bobkina and Stefanova’s four-stage model was constructed, focusing on different pre-, while- and post-reading activities aimed at making the students develop their critical thinking skills as well as their awareness of the three themes mentioned above. While this approach is deemed suitable for working with 1984 to discuss post-truth politics, a suggestion for further research would be to use Bobkina and Stefanova’s model together with more contemporary dystopian novels in order to discuss other topics that are more relatable to young adults, e.g. identity issues and social stratification.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis examines the genre of dystopian fiction in the graphic novel, V for Vendetta in which a futuristic police state, run by a totalitarian regime is portrayed. Since V for Vendetta draws on a number of other dystopian texts, New Historicist theory is employed which begins its analysis of literary texts by attempting to look at other texts as well as the historical context in which it originated, to aid in the understanding of that text. Therefore, V for Vendetta with its thorough character development and multi-dimensional storyline that the larger format of the graphic novel allows, is studied alongside other highly regarded novels. The characteristics of the nightmarish anti-utopia is identified and analysed in V for Vendetta by looking at real examples of totalitarian regimes from history. The chapters are divided into what I identified as the main themes of the totalitarian dystopia. Chapter one explains the concept of the utopia in order to grasp the concept of dystopia, and more specifically, the Totalitarian dystopia. Chapter two looks at the social structure of V for Vendetta as well as the common Totalitarian dystopia. Chapter three discusses the issue of censorship which is a recurring theme in dystopian fiction. Chapter four examines the manner in which the totalitarian regime manipulates the populace of the dystopia through propaganda. Chapter five discusses the systems of surveillance and lack of privacy in the Totalitarian dystopia and a chapter on the protagonist in dystopia concludes this study. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie studiestuk word die genre van distopiese fiksie in die grafiese roman, V for Vendetta behandel, wat ’n futuristiese polisiestaat teen die agtergrond van ’n totalitêre staatsbestel uitbeeld. Omdat V for Vendetta by soveel ander distopiese tekste leen, word dit vanuit die teoretiese oogpunt van New Historicism bestudeer, wat in die ontleding van ’n roman ander tekste asook die geskiedkundige konteks van daardie roman ondersoek, ten einde dit beter te begryp. Daarom word V for Vendetta, wat vanweë die grafiese roman se langer formaat wat ruimte skep vir deeglike karakterontwikkeling en ’n veelvlakkige storielyn, as volwaardige roman naas ander hoogaangeskrewe romans behandel. Aan die hand van ware voorbeelde van totalitêre regimes uit die geskiedenis word die eienskappe eie aan ’n nagmerriestaat in V for Vendetta geïdentifiseer en geanaliseer en dit is waardeur ek my laat lei het ten opsigte van die hoofstukindeling. In hoofstuk een word die begrip van utopie eers duidelik gemaak om die distopie, en meer spesifiek die Totalitêre distopie te verstaan. In hoofstuk twee word daar gekyk na die sosiale samestelling en magstruktuur binne V for Vendetta en die Totalitêre distopie in die algemeen. Hoofstuk drie bespreek die kwessie van sensuur - ’n gewilde tema in distopiese fiksie. In hoofstuk vier word ondersoek ingestel na die manier waarop die Totalitêre-distopie die burgery breinspoel deur propaganda. Hoofstuk vyf bespreek die verskynsel van bewaking en die skending van privaatheid in die totaliêre distopie en in die sesde hoofstuk word daar gefokus op die protagonis in die distopie.

This doctoral thesis examines the ways in which contemporary writers have adopted the critical dystopian mode in order to radically deconstruct the socio-political conditions that preclude equality, inclusion and collective political appearance in twenty-first century Britain. The thesis performs theoretically-informed close readings of contemporary novels from authors J.G. Ballard, Maggie Gee, Sarah Hall and Rupert Thomson in its analysis, and argues that the speculative visions of Kingdom Come (2006), The Flood (2004), The Carhullan Army (2007) and Divided Kingdom (2005) are engaged with a wave of contemporary dystopian writing in which the destructive and divisive forms of consensus that are to be found within Britain's contemporary socio-political moment are identified and challenged. The thesis proposes that, in their politically-engaged extrapolations, contemporary British writers are engaged with specifically dystopian expressions of dissensus. Reflecting key theoretical and political nuances found in Jacques Rancière's concept of 'dissensus', I argue that the novels illustrate dissensual interventions within the imagined political space of British societies in which inequalities, oppressions and exclusions are endemic - often proceeding to present modest, 'minor' utopian arguments for more equal, heterogeneous and democratic possibilities in the process. Contributing new, theoretically-inflected analysis of key speculative fictions from twenty-first century British writers, and locating their critiques within the literary, socio-political and theoretical contexts they are meaningfully engaged with, the thesis ultimately argues that in interrogating and reimagining the socio-political spaces of twenty-first century Britain, contemporary writers of dystopian fiction demonstrate literature working in its most dissensual, political and transformative mode.

This essay gives examples of possible ways to inspire young adults to become politically more aware and active using dystopian fiction in the EFL classroom. First, an overview of the dystopian genre and different ways of using it in the EFL classroom to improve critical thinking skills will be given. Subsequently, different scenes from The Hunger Games will be analyzed to show how young adults can be inspired to be more aware of social and environmental justice and to act. Finally, it is discussed why literary material in a classroom must relate to a student’s personal life and why the relevance must be explained to a student to raise their interest. As a conclusion, it is claimed that it cannot be expected that all students care for the world, but showing them why they should and how they could do it is a first step.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 123-127) / This dissertation examines how three dystopian texts, namely Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Jasper Fforde’s Shades of Grey and Veronica Roth’s Divergent trilogy, exhibit social conformity as a disciplinary mechanism of the ‘carceral’ – a notion introduced by poststructuralist thinker Michel Foucault. Employing poststructuralist discourse and deconstructive theory as a theoretical framework, the study investigates how each novel establishes its world as a successful carceral city that incorporates most, if not all, the elements of the incarceration system that Foucault highlights in Discipline and Punish. It establishes that the societies of the texts present potentially nightmarish future societies in which social and political “improvements” result in a seemingly better world, yet some essential part of human existence has been sacrificed. This study of these fictional worlds reflects on the carceral nature of modern society and highlights the problematic nature of the social and political practices to which individuals are expected to conform. Finally, in line with Foucault, it postulates that individuals need not be enclosed behind prison walls to be imprisoned; the very nature of our social systems imposes the restrictive power that incarcerates societies / English Studies / M.A. (English Studies)