1 Alma Mater Studiorum Ð Universit di Bologna in cotutela con la Universidad de Granada DOTTORATO DI RICERCA IN Dottorato DESE-Curriculum Edges Ciclo XXXI Settore Concorsuale: 10/LI-LINGUE, LETTERATURE E CULTURE INGLESE E ANGLO- AMERICANA Settore Scientifico Disciplinare: L-LIN/10 UTOPIA/DYSTOPIA, RACE, GENDER, AND NEW FORMS OF HUMANISM IN WOMENS SCIENCE FICTION Presentata da: ELEANOR GUISTINA PRUDENCE DRAGE Coordinatore Dottorato Supervisore BRUNA CONCONI RITA MONTICELLI ADELINA SçNCHEZ ESPINOSA Editor: Universidad de Granada. Tesis Doctorales Autor: Eleanor Guistina Prudence Drage ISBN: 978-84-1306-319-5 URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10481/57275 2 Esame finale anno 2019 3 To Filip Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Modern Cultures at the University of Bologna and The Institute of Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Granada for their constant support. For their guidance and commitment to this thesis, my thanks go in particular to Rita Monticelli, Raffaella Baccolini, and Adelina Snchez Espinosa. 4 Abstract This thesis intends to uncover new forms of humanism grounded in a critique of the systems that produce and reify race and gender, by staging a conversation between six works of contemporary science fiction (SF) and five acclaimed theorists in gender, queer, postcolonial, humanist, and cultural studies. I engage in a reading of Jennifer Marie Brissetts Elysium , Nicoletta Valloranis Sulla Sabbia di Sur and Il Cuore Finto di DR , works from Aliette de Bodards Xuya Universe series , Elia Barcels Consecuencias Naturales , and Historias del Crazy Bar , a collection of short stories co-authored by Lola Robles and Maria Concepcin Regueiro, alongside the critical theory of Judith Butler, Rosi Braidotti, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Paul Gilroy, and Jack Halberstam. I focus on Butlers conception of subjects who become through affective encounters, Braidottis critical posthumanism, Spivak and Gilroys respective notions of planetarity, and Halberstams theory of a queer art of failure. These theorisations, chosen for their congruence with key themes from my primary sources of SF, are employed to demonstrate what I view as the complementarity of academic and science fictional enquiries into new forms of humanism that arise through interrogations of systems of race and gender. This thesis contends that womens utopian SF has, since the seventeenth century, played an important role in the dissemination of nuanced debates regarding issues of race and gender to a wider public. I include a genealogy of these texts in the first chapter to support this statement, with a focus on France, Italy, Spain, the UK, and influential texts from the USA. I also introduce the question of why and how SF appeals to the women writers who embrace the genres anti-racist, anti-sexist, and humanistic potential. The second half of this thesis argues that my corpus of womens utopian SF, which I situate within the genealogy traced in the first chapter, engages with new forms of humanism through the critique and reformulation of issues of race and gender, as I read the following narrative elements alongside the critical theory outlined in the second chapter: reparative re-historicisations of events in European history set in science fictional worlds; formulations of hybrid, nomadic, species- and gender-transgressive entities; the queering of normative consequences of sexual intercourse in outer-space; and the failure of certain characters to perform race and gender-based kinship roles. I follow this analysis with an exploration of the way in which SFs unique spatial attributes can probe the borders of the planetary humanisms or planetarity that have been proposed, in particular, by Gilroy and Spivak, and through the lens of which humanity is cast into radical alterity and the Earth can be seen anew. I conclude by assessing the extent to which SF can reassemble and amplify the achievements of these new forms of anti-racist and anti-sexist humanism. Index 5 IntroductionÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ...8-9 RoadmapÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ....10-15 Chapter 1: Contextualising the History of Science FictionÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ.16-108 1. Introduction: Feminist Commitments...16-20 A Feminist Politics of LocationÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ...16-17 ¥ A Hermeneutics of Suspicion versus Reparative ReadingÉÉ...ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..17-19 ¥ Discursive ColonisationÉÉ...ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ...ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ...19-20 2. Tracing a Lexical Field for the Terms Queer and Race..20-28 ¥ QueerÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ.................20-26 ¥ RaceÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ...................26-28 3. A Brief History of Utopia as Criticism.28-34 ¥ Origins and EnduranceÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ...ÉÉÉÉÉÉ...ÉÉÉÉÉÉ....................28-32 ¥ Utopia and Science FictionÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ....................32-34 4. Overview of Early Womens Utopian/Dystopian Science Fiction...24-42 5. Womens Science Fiction from the 1960s Onwards, in France, Italy, Spain, the UK and the USA ........42-56 ¥ FranceÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ....ÉÉÉ...42-44 ¥ ItalyÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ....ÉÉÉÉ....44-45 ¥ SpainÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ.................45-49 ¥ UKÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ........................49-53 ¥ North America: Native American, African American and South Asian American Women WritersÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..53-56 6. New Wave and the Rise of Queer Characters in North America, the UK, and France56-59 7. A Feminist and Anti-racist Approach to Science Fiction.....59-66 Race, Gender, Science Fiction, and ScienceÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉ60-63 ¥ Genre TroubleÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..63-66 8. Race, Gender, and Community in Contemporary Womens Science Fiction..66-82 Women Gather HereÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..É.............68-70 ¥ Visibility Matters: Towards Greater Diversity in Science FictionÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉ.70-73 ¥ Discrimination. ÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉ...73-75 6 ¥ Forum for a FightÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉ..............75-76 ¥ Queer Science Fiction Fandom and Defining the Queer through Science FictionÉÉ..76-81 9. Science Fiction as Marginal, Lowbrow, and Popular Fiction......82-85 Chapter 2: Towards New Forms of Humanism ..... 109-199 1. Introduction.......109-114 2. Queer and Race.......114-121 3. Humanus Ex Machina: De-centring the Human and Becoming-Other in Braidotti and Butler..........121-144 ¥ Mobilising Interdependent Bodies: Interpellation, (Mis)recognition, and Resistance in the Work of ButlerÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..É..............122-127 ¥ A Counterclaim to Butlers Theory of AssemblyÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ...127-131 ¥ Inter-relationality and Collectivity in Braidotti and ButlerÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉ.......131-144 4. Race, Gender, and the Apocalypse of the Anthropocene in Spivak and Gilroy...144-162 5. Queering the Human.........162-170 ¥ The Queer Art of FailureÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..É162-164 ¥ Forgetting of FamilyÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..É.......164-167 ¥ Queer Eco-feminist Theory: Complicating the Natural/Unnatural DivideÉÉÉ.168-170 ¥ A Further Note on Queer DisidentificationsÉÉÉ..É.ÉÉÉ..É.ÉÉÉ..É.ÉÉÉ..É170 6. Geocriticism, Science Fiction, and Utopia...........170-183 Real, Imaginary, and Textual SpacesÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉ172-174 A Geocritical Approach to Feminist, Queer, and Anti-racist Science FictionÉÉÉ..174-189 Feminist and Anti-racist GeocriticismÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉ179-183 7. Intersectionality........183-187 Chapter 3: Historicising in the ÔOtherwise.Õ Contextualising Systems of Race and Gender in WomenÕs Science Fiction ÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ.É..202-225 1. Prefatory Remarks........202-204 2. Introduction...........205-207 3. Re-historicising the Future in the Stories of Aliette de Bodard....207-209 7 Immersed in Another PastÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..209-218 4. Imperatives to Re-imagine the Planet in Mara Regueiro and Lola Robless Historias del Crazy Bar ..........218-223 Chapter 4: Embodying New Forms of Humanism: The Fate of Race and Gender in Queer Assemblages ÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉ...226-246 Chapter 5: Pregnancy, by Mistake: Transgressing Race and Gender Through Queered Extraterrestrial Fertility ÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ247-268 1. An Error of Judgement.........250-253 2. Emasculating Race........253-257 3. Queer Fertility...........257-263 4. Inclusive Descendancy.........263-265 Chapter 6: Non-Reproductive Planetary Communities: Race, Gender, Kinship, and Forgetting to Conform ÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉ.269-298 1. Potentia in the Scrap Heap: Embracing the Mess and Unbecoming Woman270-273 2. Anomalous Femininity, Forgetting to be Mother.....273-275 3. The Adaptive Family: Flexible Kinship for a Changing World...277-282 4. Forgetting the Mother: Alternative Kinship Arrangements..282-287 5. Deliberate Disavowal....287-290 6. Kinship as Displacement: Racialised Spaces; the Spatialisation of Precarity; Diaspora.290-294 Chapter 7: At the Borders of the Planetary .ÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉ..299-320 Chapter 8: Conclusion. New Forms of Humanism .ÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉ...321-327 Appendix: Summaries of Primary Science Fiction Texts .ÉÉÉÉÉÉ..ÉÉÉÉÉÉ..É328-346 Introduction 8 By staging a conversation between six works of contemporary science fiction (SF) written by women in Europe, and five acclaimed theorists in the fields of race and gender studies, Judith Butler, Rosi Braidotti, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Paul Gilroy, and Jack Halberstam, 1 this thesis aims to demonstrate the complementarity of fictional