Foreign Languages & Literatures ETDs

Publication Date

Spring 4-19-2023

Abstract

For marginalized communities, such as women and queer individuals, survival in their environment has always been a matter of adapting to social norms and expectations. However, the challenges have become even more complex in the face of climate change and environmental catastrophes, which often affect these communities disproportionately. While modern dystopian stories often evoke eco-anxiety by portraying societies at the mercy of their environment, Michelle Tea and Wendy Delorme have found an opportunity to break free from societal norms and heteronormative expectations in the speculative worlds they create in Black Wave (2015) and Viendra le temps du feu (2021), respectively. The end of the world as we know it becomes a space for renewal where queer individuals can explore their identity without the pressure of societal constraints. In this way, the very destruction that brings death and despair also offers an escape and a source of hope for those who do not fit into the heteronormative world.

Keywords

Dystopia, heteronormativity, eco-anxiety, queer, feminist

Document Type

Thesis

Language

English

Degree Name

Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures

First Committee Member (Chair)

Rajeshwari Vallury

Second Committee Member

Michelle Kells

Third Committee Member

Pamela Cheek

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