Topic
Dystopia
About: Dystopia is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2146 publications have been published within this topic receiving 15163 citations. The topic is also known as: cacotopia.
Papers published on a yearly basis
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01 Feb 2019
TL;DR: In this paper, the relationship between humans and surveillance has been continually explored in dystopian literature and film since the twentieth century, as surveillance technology has become an important part of human existence, and it is argued that digital technology did not cause surveillance methods to become more fluid, decentralised and participatory; however, it did, however, cause an intensification of these surveillance methods which were already in place.
Abstract: Over the last few decades, scholars from a variety of disciplines have come together to contribute to the field of Surveillance Studies, which explores the relationship between humans and surveillance technology. Traditionally, this field has been dominated by the social sciences with little contribution from the humanities.In the last few years, however, this has begun to change as the importance of the humanities, and literature especially, to the discipline has been acknowledged. The relationship between humans and surveillance has been continually explored in dystopian literature and film since the twentieth century, as surveillance technology has become an important part of human existence. Dystopian fiction frequently engages with the subject of surveillance as this genre is inherently political and concerned with issues such as autonomy, identity and power struggles. This thesis will bring together dystopian fiction, surveillance theory, critical posthumanism, biopower and spatial geography. In the following analysis, it will become apparent how dystopian fiction can provide original ways of conceptualising how the human body and society as a collective can be controlled and manipulated through surveillance methods, which collapse the boundaries between the public and private spheres. Dystopian fiction from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries will be analysed in chronological order, alongside surveillance theory, in order to establish how each text builds on images and metaphors from previous novels to create a palimpsest of dystopian references regarding surveillance. The literary texts will also be examined using a spatial framework that investigates the portrayal of surveillance technology in public spaces (the city and the work place) and private spaces (the home and the body). This will establish how the boundaries between the public and the private spheres, as well as the societal body and the individual body, are collapsed, in the novels, through surveillance methods, which result in individuals being increasingly monitored and controlled. Contrary to what many surveillance theorists suggest, this thesis will argue that digital technology did not cause surveillance methods to become more fluid, decentralised and participatory; it did, however, cause an intensification of these surveillance methods which were already in place. The frightening conclusion, in the novels, that surveillance technology results in humans becoming more susceptible to control and manipulation through their participation in surveillance practices causes the reader to examine the role of surveillance technology in their own lives; this examination, paradoxically, suggests hope for a future that does not resemble a dystopian nightmare.
9 citations
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15 Jan 2021TL;DR: The authors argue that the predominantly dystopian outlook of the past century or so marked a move away from former views on human progress and that current dystopianism betrays the view that the human species as such is an impediment to harmonious life on Earth.
Abstract: A product of Modernity, utopian and dystopian thought has always hinged upon an assessment as to whether humanity would be able to fulfil the promise of socio-economic, political and techno-scientific progress. In this paper, I argue that the predominantly dystopian outlook of the past century or so marked a move away from former views on human progress. Rather than commenting on humanity’s inability to build a better society, current dystopianism betrays the view that the human species as such is an impediment to harmonious life on Earth. I discuss the shift from utopia to dystopia (and back) as a result of regarding humans as a force that does more harm than good, and I consider the possibility of human extinction within the framework of dystopian and utopian visions. The final section of the chapter turns to Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy as a fictional example that plays out the prospect of a world in which humans have all but become extinct.
9 citations
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01 Jan 2001
TL;DR: In this article, Lyman argues that post-modern epistemologies provide a disservice to those who struggle for freedom and brings scrutiny to the American Dilemma, the Jewish Question, the role of cinema, and the place of community.
Abstract: In these eight essays, Lyman (sociology, Florida Atlantic University at Boca Raton) argues that postmodern epistemologies provide a disservice to those who struggle for freedom. Bringing scrutiny to the American Dilemma, the Jewish Question, the role of cinema, and the place of community, he examines American discourses on race. Particular atte
9 citations
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20 Oct 2020
TL;DR: In 2017, the Chancellor of the Exchequer launched the UK Industrial Strategy, inviting society to ‘choose the future’ as mentioned in this paper, by way of government support for and investment in digital innovation, particu...
Abstract: In 2017, the Chancellor of the Exchequer launched the UK Industrial Strategy, inviting society to ‘choose the future’. By way of government support for and investment in digital innovation, particu...
9 citations