Table of Contents
1. Introduction 1
2. Dystopia, Science Fiction, Posthumanism and Liquid Modernity 19
2.1 Science Fiction 19
2.2 Posthumanism 29
2.2.1 Origins in Humanism/Anti-Humanism 29
2.2.2 Origins in Proto-Science-Fiction 32
2.2.3 Posthumanism and/as Critical Theory 35
2.2.4 Critical Posthumanism 40
2.3 Liquid Modernity 48
2.3.1 From Postmodernity to Liquid Modernity 48
2.3.2 Globalization and Liquid Modernity 52
2.3.3 Individuality and Liquid Modernity 58
2.4 Utopian/Dystopian Fiction 66
3. The Anthropocene, the Posthuman and the Animal 75
3.1 Eco-Catastrophe, Hypercapitalism and the Inhuman 79
3.2 Interconnectedness, the Animal Other and Genetics 86
3.2.1 Animal Engineering for Human Use 88
3.2.2 Invasive Species and the Environmental Cost 89
3.2.3 Human-Becoming-Animal or Animal-Becoming-Human 93
3.3 The Better Human: Posthumanity and the Replacement of'Us' 100
3.3.1 Hierarchies of Power: Laughing at the Posthuman 101
3.3.2 Nature, Culture and Xenogenesis: Becoming (Post)Human 110
3.4 Posthumanism and the Interregnum 120
4. Science, Family and the Monstrous Progeny 123
4.1 The Monstrous and the Posthuman 125
4.2 Motherhood, Commitment and Liquidity 138
4.3 Monstrous Sexuality and Incest 147
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5. Individuality, Choice and Genetic Manipulation 151
5.1 Objectivist Utopia and Posthuman Dystopia 153
5.2 Freedom of Choice, Individuality de jure and Morality 169
5.3 Autonomy and Agency in Video Games 176
5.4 Deep Structures and the Impossibility of Learning 184
6. The Utopian, the Dystopian and the Heroic Deeds of One 187
6.1 Superheroes, Posthumanism and the Ordinary 192
6.2 The Utopian Potential and the Dystopian Future 199
7. 9/11 and the Wasted Lives of Posthuman Zombies 211
7.1 A New Millennium 211
7.2 Zombie Fiction 214
7.2.1 The Zombie Renaissance 216
7.2.2 Terror from the Familiar..., or the Other? 221
7.2.3 Frontierland and the Breakdown of Social Order 231
7.2.4 Empire, Sovereignty and Homo Sacer 236
7.3 A Posthuman Society 247
8. Conclusion 251
9. Works Cited 263
Appendices 279
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