This book explores concepts of environmentalism and feminism in science fiction novels written by women. By extrapolating the future of climate change, the authors of these texts model how readers can apply utopian feminist and environmental theories in their own lives. Chapter One establishes an understanding of ecofeminist environmental thinking through original research conducted at the Ursula K. Le Guin archive at the University of Oregon. Chapter Two shows an example of climate change dystopia set in California in Claire Vaye Watkins’ novel Gold Fame Citrus. The final chapters explore utopian visions of queer ecologies in books by Octavia Butler and N.K. Jemisin. Because climate change is so difficult for individuals to grapple with, a new perspective is needed to survive it. The queer ecological philosophy in these novels points to a way of life that can reduce environmental harm in an era of climate change.
Author(s): MaryKate Messimer
Publisher: Palgrave Pivot
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 119
City: Cham
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction
References
Chapter 2: Indigenous Influences on Early Ecofeminist Utopias
References
Chapter 3: Cruel Optimism in the Slow Violence of Apocalypse
References
Chapter 4: Hyperobjects and Hyperempathy in Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower
References
Chapter 5: Embodying the Land in N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season
References
Index