First Advisor

Anoop Mirpuri

Date of Award

7-26-2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in English and University Honors

Department

English

Subjects

Nnedi Okorafor. Who fears death, Intersectionality (Sociology), Speculative fiction

DOI

10.15760/honors.798

Abstract

Speculative fiction has a long and troubled relationship with colonialist ideologies. While the abstraction within the genre lends itself to broader societal critiques, in practice it can contain problematic narratives that dehumanize othered groups (ibid), enforce racial constructs, and avoid direct engagement with the oppressive structures it invokes. Nnedi Okorafor's novel, Who Fears Death, resists this defamiliarization. Utilizing the conventions of speculative fiction, Okorafor conjures real-world racist and sexist structures. Who Fears Death is an intersectional text, blending genre, race theory, and feminism to interrogate questions of authorship, agency, and identity within a colonialist, patriarchal society. Its representation of marginalization is intersectional--characters face challenges presented by the intersecting systems of patriarchy and colonialism. Its engagement with genre is intersectional--the setting is a post-apocalyptic future Africa, yet magic (and some more specific narrative and compositional elements) link it to fantasy. Together, the conflict and stakes of a fantasy epic become inextricable from the protagonists’ navigation of a hostile world. Who Fears Death confronts, unpacks, and ultimately exorcises colonialism from its world, demonstrating a complex post-colonial vision, and a fantastical model for moving forward.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/29204

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