Science Fiction/Fantasy and the Representation of Ethnic Futurity Joy Ann Sanchez-Taylor University of South Florida, [email protected]
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University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 4-30-2014 Science Fiction/Fantasy and the Representation of Ethnic Futurity Joy Ann Sanchez-Taylor University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Ethnic Studies Commons Scholar Commons Citation Sanchez-Taylor, Joy Ann, "Science Fiction/Fantasy and the Representation of Ethnic Futurity" (2014). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5302 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Science Fiction/Fantasy and the Representation of Ethnic Futurity by Joy Sanchez-Taylor A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy with a concentration in Literature Department of English College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Diane Price-Herndl, Ph.D. Tova Cooper, Ph.D. Ylce Irizarry, Ph.D. Quynh Nhu Le, Ph.D. Date of Approval: April 30, 2014 Keywords: American literature, Ethnic American literature, Science Fiction, Fantasy Copyright © 2014, Joy Sanchez-Taylor ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Anyone who goes through the grueling process of writing a dissertation knows that it takes a community of support. I am so grateful to have people around me who value my scholarship and support me unconditionally. First, I have to thank my husband, Sam Taylor, whose love and support allowed me to believe I could one day finish this massive project. Also, my family, Theresa Sanchez, Raymond Sanchez, and Amanda Phillips, who supported me through every step. I have been lucky to have amazing academic support at the University of South Florida. Thank you to my committee chair, Diane Price-Herndl, for her support and patience. Also, a grateful thank you to my committee members, Tova Cooper, Ylce Irizarry, and Nhu Le, for all of their support throughout this process. To my friends and fellow dissertating students, Katherine McGee and Jessica Cook, thank you for the weekly lifeline meetings. Thank you to the USF English department Graduate support groups: the Dissertation Support Group and the Graduate Research and Scholarly Publication group. Without the support of faculty and my student community, I never would have finished this project. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Chapter One: Introduction: Ethnic Futurity .....................................................................................1 Racial Identity ......................................................................................................................5 Definitions of SFF..............................................................................................................12 The Current State of Ethnic SFF ........................................................................................24 SFF and the Future of Race ...............................................................................................30 Chapter Two: “Armageddon been in effect”: Post-Apocalyptic Landscapes in Samuel Delany’s Dhalgren and Gerald Vizenor’s Bearheart, the Heirship Chronicles ................32 Future Present ....................................................................................................................36 SFF Mongrels.....................................................................................................................44 Hybrid Sexuality ................................................................................................................56 Liminal Languages.............................................................................................................65 New Beginnings .................................................................................................................71 Chapter Three: Octavia Butler’s Fledgling and Daniel José Older’s “Phantom Overload”: The Ethnic Undead ............................................................................................................72 Undead as Hybrid ..............................................................................................................79 A New Vampire .................................................................................................................81 Mutualism ..........................................................................................................................87 Race as Construction..........................................................................................................90 “Phantom Overload” ..........................................................................................................94 Undead Histories ................................................................................................................99 Cultural Haunting.............................................................................................................104 Does Undead Equal Future Uncertainty? ........................................................................106 Chapter Four: Space Travel and Fourth World Representation in Celu Amberstone’s “Refugees” and Rosura Sánchez and Beatrice Pita’s Lunar Braceros 2125-2148 ..........109 The Final Frontier ............................................................................................................114 Cultural Manipulation and Colonial Economies..............................................................120 Indigenous “Homes” ........................................................................................................131 Interplanetary Diaspora ....................................................................................................135 Alien Experience ..............................................................................................................138 Conclusion—Is Decolonization Possible? .......................................................................141 Chapter Five: Conclusion: “An Image of Tomorrow” ................................................................144 Ethnic SFF Fandom .........................................................................................................151 Final Thoughts .................................................................................................................154 References ....................................................................................................................................155 i ABSTRACT Science Fiction/Fantasy and the Representation of Ethnic Futurity examines the influence of science fiction/fantasy (SFF) as applied to twentieth century and contemporary African American, Native American and Latina/o texts. Bringing together theories of racial identity, hybridity, and postcolonialism, this project demonstrates how twentieth century and contemporary ethnic American SFF authors are currently utilizing tropes of SFF to blur racial distinctions and challenge white/other or colonizer/colonized binaries. Ethnic American SFF authors are able to employ SFF landscapes that address narratives of victimization or colonization while still imagining worlds where alternate representations of racial and ethnic identity are possible. My multicultural approach pairs authors of different ethnicities in order to examine common themes that occur in ethnic American SFF texts. The first chapter examines SFF post- apocalyptic depictions of racial and ethnic identity in Samuel Delany’s Dhalgren and Gerald Vizenor’s Bearheart: The Heirship Chronicles. Chapter two explores depictions of ethnic undead figures in Octavia Butler’s Fledgling and Daniel José Older’s “Phantom Overload.” Chapter three addresses themes of indigenous and migrant colonization in Celu Amberstone’s “Refugees” and Rosura Sánchez and Beatrice Pita’s Lunar Braceros: 2125-2148. ii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION: ETHNIC FUTURITY Perhaps the greatest challenge or potential of contemporary science fiction is to imagine political/social futures in which race does not simply wither away but is transformed, changing into something different and perhaps unexpected. This would require paying attention to an actual history of race (and racism) in which what constitutes the Other and the Self is always under revision. This means noting not only where traditional definitions of race and racism are broken but also how they are reformed in new guises…I will, therefore, hazard a prediction. The future of sf and sf studies will be informed by race as a significant component of our social/political lives and any historically conceived future. —De Witt Douglas Kilgore Without an image of tomorrow, one is trapped by blind history, economics, and politics beyond our control. One is tied up in a web, in a net, with no way to struggle free. Only by having clear and vital images of the many alternatives, good and bad, of where one can go, will we have any control over the way we may actually get there in a reality tomorrow will bring all too quickly. And nothing gives such a profusion and richness of images of our tomorrows— however much they need to be revised—as science fiction. —Samuel R. Delany, Starboard Wine