Capitalism in Octavia Butler's "Parable of the Sower". Utopia through Immanent Critique

Capitalism in Octavia Butler's Author: Lena Danielmeyer
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3346264440
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 21

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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2020 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Osnabrück, language: English, abstract: This paper will argue that in "Parable of the Sower" by Octavia Butler creates utopian hope by realistically building a dystopian vision which immanently criticises the present. For reasons of brevity, this will be elucidated mainly using the example of capitalism. While an abundance of other issues taken up by the novel, like climate change, democracy, racism or violence, would certainly serve as productive foci of analysis as well, capitalism will be the centre of attention because it is at the core of the apocalyptic circumstances portrayed in the novel. It also constitutes an intersection with most of the other issues named above, making capitalism a suitable starting point. Firstly, a short overview will be given on contemporary interpretations of the state of utopia, pointing out capitalism as a main factor in the changing of utopianism. Among others, Krishan Kumar’s “The Ends of Utopia”, Jerry Phillips’s “Utopia and Catastrophe in Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower” and Darko Suvin’s Metamorphoses of Science Fiction will be consulted. Realism, cognition, and estrangement will be pointed out as main tools of offering immanent critique and, in extension, utopian hope. Secondly, the production of immanent critique in Parable of the Sower will be analysed with the help of Mathias Nilges’s paper on “The Realism of Speculation”. Mike Davis’s City of Quartz will serve to illustrate the realism in Butler’s vision of future Los Angeles. The second example will examine the company town Olivar. Briefly consulting Rottinghaus’, Pluretti’s and Sutko’s discursive paper “The End of Material Scarcity”, the effectiveness of this immanent critique will be discussed. Lastly, this paper will seek to show how immanent critique allows for the creation of utopian hope, pointing towards the transformative value of utopian literature presented in Carl Freedman’s Critical Theory and Science Fiction. This paper will, because of its limited length, not be able to further investigate critiques of capitalism in any other context than that of Butler’s novel. Also, it will not be analysing the portrayal of capitalism as essentially nostalgic and conservative, making it the opposite of the utopian vision of adaptation and progress that it is contrasted with. This paper will not delve deeper into other interesting aspects of the generation of utopian hope, like narration

Capitalism in Octavia Butler's "Parable of the Sower". Utopia through Immanent Critique

Capitalism in Octavia Butler's Author: Lena Danielmeyer
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3346264440
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 21

Get Book Here

Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2020 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Osnabrück, language: English, abstract: This paper will argue that in "Parable of the Sower" by Octavia Butler creates utopian hope by realistically building a dystopian vision which immanently criticises the present. For reasons of brevity, this will be elucidated mainly using the example of capitalism. While an abundance of other issues taken up by the novel, like climate change, democracy, racism or violence, would certainly serve as productive foci of analysis as well, capitalism will be the centre of attention because it is at the core of the apocalyptic circumstances portrayed in the novel. It also constitutes an intersection with most of the other issues named above, making capitalism a suitable starting point. Firstly, a short overview will be given on contemporary interpretations of the state of utopia, pointing out capitalism as a main factor in the changing of utopianism. Among others, Krishan Kumar’s “The Ends of Utopia”, Jerry Phillips’s “Utopia and Catastrophe in Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower” and Darko Suvin’s Metamorphoses of Science Fiction will be consulted. Realism, cognition, and estrangement will be pointed out as main tools of offering immanent critique and, in extension, utopian hope. Secondly, the production of immanent critique in Parable of the Sower will be analysed with the help of Mathias Nilges’s paper on “The Realism of Speculation”. Mike Davis’s City of Quartz will serve to illustrate the realism in Butler’s vision of future Los Angeles. The second example will examine the company town Olivar. Briefly consulting Rottinghaus’, Pluretti’s and Sutko’s discursive paper “The End of Material Scarcity”, the effectiveness of this immanent critique will be discussed. Lastly, this paper will seek to show how immanent critique allows for the creation of utopian hope, pointing towards the transformative value of utopian literature presented in Carl Freedman’s Critical Theory and Science Fiction. This paper will, because of its limited length, not be able to further investigate critiques of capitalism in any other context than that of Butler’s novel. Also, it will not be analysing the portrayal of capitalism as essentially nostalgic and conservative, making it the opposite of the utopian vision of adaptation and progress that it is contrasted with. This paper will not delve deeper into other interesting aspects of the generation of utopian hope, like narration

Utopia and Memory

Utopia and Memory PDF Author: 吳太一
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Utopia or Bust

Utopia or Bust PDF Author: Benjamin Kunkel
Publisher: Verso Books
ISBN: 1781683271
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
After the financial crash and the great recession, the media rediscovered Karl Marx, socialist theory, and the very idea that capitalism can be questioned. But in spite of the publicity, the main paths of contemporary critical thought have gone unexplored outside of the academy. Benjamin Kunkel’s Utopia or Bust leads readers – whether politically committed or simply curious – through the most important critical theory today. Written with the wit and verve of Kunkel’s best-selling novel, Indecision, this introduction to contemporary Leftist thinkers engages with the revolutionary philosophy of Slavoj Žižek, the economic analyses of David Graeber and David Harvey, and the cultural diagnoses of Fredric Jameson. Discussing the ongoing crisis of capitalism in light of ideas of full employment, debt forgiveness, and “fictitious capital,” Utopia or Bust is a tour through the world of Marxist thought and an examination of the basis of Western society today.

Utopia Through Capitalism

Utopia Through Capitalism PDF Author: Arthur Dahlberg
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Hours of labor
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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The Lathe Of Heaven

The Lathe Of Heaven PDF Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1668014963
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
With a new introduction by Kelly Link, the Locus Award-winning science fiction novel by legendary author Ursula K. Le Guin, set in a world where one man’s dreams rewrite the future. During a time racked by war and environmental catastrophe, George Orr discovers his dreams alter reality. George is compelled to receive treatment from Dr. William Haber, an ambitious sleep psychiatrist who quickly grasps the immense power George holds. After becoming adept at manipulating George’s dreams to reshape the world, Haber seeks the same power for himself. George—with some surprising help—must resist Haber’s attempts, which threaten to destroy reality itself. A classic of the science fiction genre, The Lathe of Heaven is prescient in its exploration of the moral risks when overwhelming power is coupled with techno-utopianism.

Fledgling

Fledgling PDF Author: S. K. Ali
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0593531256
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 545

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Book Description
The first book in a gripping duology from acclaimed author S.K. Ali introduces a fractured world on the brink of either enlightenment or war. Would you trade love for peace? Raisa of Upper Earth has only lived a life of privilege and acquiescence. Ever dutiful, she accepts her father’s arrangement of her marriage to Lein, Crown Prince of the corrupt, volatile lands of Lower Earth. Though Lein is a stranger, Raisa knows the wedding will unite their vastly different worlds in a pact of peace: an infusion of Upper Earth technology will usher in the final age of enlightenment, ending war between humans forever. Or is justice more urgent? Newly released from imprisonment, Nada of Lower Earth has found her own calling: disrupting the royal wedding. Convinced her cousin Lein’s alliance with Upper Earth will launch an invasive, terrifying form of tyranny, Nada sets out undercover to light the spark of revolution. When Raisa goes missing a week before the wedding, all eyes turn to the rebels, including Nayf, Nada’s twin brother, a fugitive on the run. In Nayf and Raisa meeting, the long-simmering animosity between their worlds slowly burns away into something unexpected. But the Crown Prince wants his bride — and future — back. And he will go to the ends of the earths to reclaim them.

Problems of Hope

Problems of Hope PDF Author: Patrick Bresnihan
Publisher: ARN Press
ISBN: 0957588224
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 159

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Book Description
However hopeless we often feel, we are creatures of hope. This collection of short accessible essays explores the ways in which hope is bound up with power in worlds that are composed through imagination, transformation and feeling. Hope is the most precious ingredient of power. The essays do not assume hope to be inherently good or emancipatory. Rather they reflect on how hope can both support and obstruct us in our efforts to make lives more livable, or futures more just. The essays draw on social research, philosophy, literature, music and film to show how hope might re-enchant writing and politics for a post-hopeful age. This is a book for those who want to remain hopeful but find it hard to see how. Contents Introduction: Problems of hope Cranes, Luke Carter On finding hope beyond progress, Leila Dawney Xanadu, Miles Link Hope without a future in Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, Patrick Bresnihan Eagles, Luke Carter Seeking, Claire Blencowe Hope in a minor key, Naomi Millner Hopefully indebted, Sam Kirwan Starlings, Luke Carter Rhythms of hope, Julian Brigstocke Networked hope, Aécio Amaral The Psychonaut’s journey: Race, closure, and hope, Tehseen Noorani Epilogue Further Reading

Science Fiction and Psychology

Science Fiction and Psychology PDF Author: Gavin Miller
Publisher: Liverpool Science Fiction Texts & Studies
ISBN: 1789620600
Category : Psychology in literature
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
The psychologist may appear in science fiction as the herald of utopia or dystopia; literary studies have used psychoanalytic theories to interpret science fiction; and psychology has employed science fiction as an educational medium. Science Fiction and Psychology goes beyond such incidental observations and engagements to offer an in-depth exploration of science fiction literature's varied use of psychological discourses, beginning at the birth of modern psychology in the late nineteenth century and concluding with the ascendance of neuroscience in the late twentieth century. Rather than dwelling on psychoanalytic readings, this literary investigation combines with history of psychology to offer attentive textual readings that explore five key psychological schools: evolutionary psychology, psychoanalysis, behaviourism, existential-humanism, and cognitivism. The varied functions of psychological discourses in science fiction are explored, whether to popularise and prophesy, to imagine utopia or dystopia, to estrange our everyday reality, to comment on science fiction itself, or to abet (or resist) the spread of psychological wisdom. Science Fiction and Psychology also considers how psychology itself has made use of science fiction in order to teach, to secure legitimacy as a discipline, and to comment on the present.

The Last Man Standing

The Last Man Standing PDF Author: Davide Longo
Publisher: MacLehose Press
ISBN: 1623650356
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
GQ (Italy) called Davide Longo, "the most talented and intense Italian novelist of his generation." In this dystopian, post-apocalyptic literary novel, Italy is on the brink of collapse: borders are closed, banks are refusing to distribute money to their clients, the postal service is shuttered, and food supplies are running short. Armed gangs of drug-fueled youth rampage through the countryside as the nation descends into chaos. Leonardo was once a famous writer and professor before a sex scandal ended his marriage and his career. With society collapsing around them, his ex-wife leaves their daughter and son in his care as she sets off in search of her new husband, who is missing. Ultimately, Leonardo is forced to evacuate and take his children to safety, but to do so he will have to summon a quality he has never exhibited before: courage.

Future Females, the Next Generation

Future Females, the Next Generation PDF Author: Marleen S. Barr
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
ISBN:
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
Almost 20 years after the publication of Future Females: A Critical Anthology, feminist science fiction pioneer Marleen S. Barr, together with a talented crew of the field's established and emerging theorists, reveal new critical insights in Future Females, the Next Generation. This groundbreaking collection includes contributors from across the globe who find effective venues for imagining feminist thought experiments. A multinational perspective runs through this innovative volume, focusing on the latest dynamic trends in feminist science fiction. These include such issues as race, gender, cyberfeminism, the media, and new writers in the field. Future Females, the Next Generation, which establishes the generational continuity characterizing a vibrant area of feminist literary and cultural inquiry, boldly goes where no feminist science fiction critical anthology has gone before.