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Die Teilnehmerzahl ist auf 25 beschränkt. Bitte melden Sie sich vor Semesterbeginn unter AGNES an. With writers like Mary Shelley, H.G. Wells and George Orwell Great Britain looks back on a long tradition of dystopian literature. Scholars opine that some of the most controversial and celebrated dystopias have been written in the early twentieth century in response to various wars and totalitarian regimes. Yet in the twenty-first century dystopian fiction flourishes again with writers as diverse as Margaret Atwood, Haruki Murakami, David Mitchell and Suzanne Collins (who landmarks a rising popularity of dystopian fiction among young adult readers). With an eye on Great Britain, we find that the isles are both a popular setting for futuristic nightmares and home to a large number of speculative writers such as Kazuo Ishiguro, P.D. James, China Miéville, Alan Moore and (on occasion) Jeanette Winterson. Why is this type of fiction so enduring, what are the features that have migrated from Orwell to the next century and which of its themes might have changed over time? Which historical moments or cultural discourses do dystopias respond to these days? Comparing Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four with dystopian literature from the twentieth and twenty-first century, this seminar will explore key elements of dystopia then and now. The module examines themes such as the control of language, religion, history, artificial intelligence and gender and considers the ways in which the contemporary can be explored in an imagined future. In preparation of the seminar please acquire and read: George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go Jeanette Winterson, The Stone Gods. A reader with additional material will be available at the beginning of the semester. |
