Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Arts (MA)
Major/Program
English
First Advisor's Name
Martha Schoolman
First Advisor's Committee Title
Committee chair
Second Advisor's Name
Jason Pearl
Second Advisor's Committee Title
Committee member
Third Advisor's Name
Nandini Dhar
Third Advisor's Committee Title
Committee member
Fourth Advisor's Name
Heather Russell
Fourth Advisor's Committee Title
Committee member
Keywords
ecocriticism, contemporary literature, speculative fiction, science fiction, queer theory, feminism, english, octavia butler, janet mock, toni morrison, audre lorde, climate change, environmental justice, african american, activism, transgender, parable of the talents, queer ecology
Date of Defense
3-30-2017
Abstract
This thesis seeks to bridge feminist and environmental justice movements through the literature of black women writers. These writers create an archive that contribute towards the liberation of queer, black, and transgender peoples.
In the novel Parable of the Talents, Octavia Butler constructs a world that highlights the pervasive effects of climate change. As climate change expedites poverty, Americans begin to blame others, such as queer people, for the destruction of their country. Butler depicts the dangers of fundamentalism as a response to climate change, highlighting an imperative for a movement that does not romanticize the environment as heteronormative, but a space where queers can flourish.
Just as queer and environmental justice movements are codependent on one another, feminist movements cannot be separate from black and transgender liberation. This thesis will demonstrate how writers, such as Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison, Angela Davis, and Janet Mock, help establish a feminism that resists the erasure of black and transgender people.
Identifier
FIDC001788
Recommended Citation
Benavente, Gabriel, "Reimagining Movements: Towards a Queer Ecology and Trans/Black Feminism" (2017). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3186.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/3186
Included in
African American Studies Commons, American Literature Commons, American Politics Commons, Continental Philosophy Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Feminist Philosophy Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, Literature in English, North America, Ethnic and Cultural Minority Commons, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, Religion Commons
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