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

Michael Grafals

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Third Advisor's Name

Vanessa Sohan

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Keywords

aesthetics; African American studies; feminist philosophy; literature in English, North America; literature in English, North America, ethnic and cultural minority

Date of Defense

7-3-2025

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the works of N. K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth Trilogy for its orientation and vision towards a just world. To understand the vision, I begin by contextualizing where the dystopic works emerge from, drawing from the black radical traditions within the Harlem Renaissance and Weird Fiction, in addition to an Anthropocentric worldview. This highlights the aesthetic dimensions of the Broken Earth’s dystopia. Then, I discuss different aspects of the dystopia’s critical imagination, exploring how it’s world-building, narrators and protagonists are dramatized according to a black radical aesthetic and eco justice premise. These are specifically bolstered by critical and environmental theorists such as Rob Nixon, Emily Ashton and Kathyrn Yusoff. This thesis then concludes that literary works that wish to serve as a portal towards a just future must begin by including relational, eco-centric ontologies and an anti-racist demand.

Identifier

FIDC101325

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