- Title
- Identity, belonging and ecological crisis in South African speculative fiction
- Creator
- Steenkamp, Elzette Lorna
- ThesisAdvisor
- Wylie, Dan
- Subject
- South African fiction -- History and criticism Identity (Philosophical concept) in literature Group identity in literature Ecology in literature Science fiction, South African -- History and criticism Fantasy fiction, South African -- History and criticism Ecofiction -- History and criticism Ecocriticism
- Date
- 2011
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Doctoral
- Type
- PhD
- Identifier
- vital:2219
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002262
- Description
- This study examines a range of South African speculative novels which situate their narratives in futuristic or ‘alternative’ milieus, exploring how these narratives not only address identity formation in a deeply divided and rapidly changing society, but also the ways in which human beings place themselves in relation to Nature and form notions of ‘ecological’ belonging. It offers close readings of these speculative narratives in order to investigate the ways in which they evince concerns which are rooted in the natural, social and political landscapes which inform them. Specific attention is paid to the texts’ treatment of the intertwined issues of identity, belonging and ecological crisis. This dissertation draws on the fields of Ecocriticism, Postcolonial Studies and Science Fiction Studies, and assumes a culturally specific approach to primary texts while investigating possible cross-cultural commonalities between Afrikaans and English speculative narratives, as well as the cross-fertilisation of global SF/speculative features. It is suggested that South African speculative fiction presents a socio-historically situated, rhizomatic approach to ecology – one that is attuned to the tension between humanistic- and ecological concerns.
- Format
- 216 leaves, pdf
- Publisher
- Rhodes University, Faculty of Humanities, English
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Steenkamp, Elzette Lorna
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