Race, Dystopia, and Contemporary Fiction

What happens to race after the world ends? From environmental disasters to zombie invasions, the radical breakdown of human life haunts the cultural imaginary. A specific development within this cultural trend is the emergence of writers of colour who have turned to the dystopian and speculative genre. We will read such literary texts to consider representations of racial subjectivities, such as the lived experiences and perceptions of race, outside the conventions of realism. Themes that we will cover include: Afrofuturism, techno-Orientalism, zombies, cyborgs, and climate change. Authors include: Junot Diaz, Colson Whitehead, Chang-rae Lee, Octavia Butler, and Louise Erdrich. 3 hrs. lect/disc.