Fictions of destruction : post-1945 narrative and disaster in the collective imaginary
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- In "Fictions of Destruction" I analyze post-1945 narratives that engage with the thematics and aesthetics of mass-scale destruction. The dissertation is based on the thesis that since the explosion of the atomic bombs, a shared imaginary of mass-scale disaster has developed that exhibits a set of concerns particular to the "Nuclear Age, " even while branching out into ecological, scientific and other possible sources of world-destruction. I first redefine the collective imaginary as a product of the oscillating, give-and-take relationship between cultural media and the individual's experience of the world, particularly with the advancement of mass communication technologies. I then give a comparative study of North American narrative fiction, particularly in the U.S., that hone in on issues related to the experience of temporality. These include the trope of the broken road as a move away from the rhetoric of progress and enlightenment and instead toward the impending downfall of modernity; the heightened awareness of risk and how it changes perceptions of futurity; what tropes of disaster fiction such as ephemera, wastelands, and bunkers reveal regarding historicity and possible futures; and how survivor character types illustrate the oscillation between hope and despair through their positions along the spectrum between stasis and action. In addition to its basis in comparative literary studies, this dissertation engages with a variety of disciplines in the humanities such as philosophy, cultural studies, film and media studies and history. Source materials include novels, short stories, graphic narratives, film, television and gaming.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2013 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Vidergar, Angela Becerra |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Comparative Literature. |
| Primary advisor | Gumbrecht, Hans Ulrich |
| Primary advisor | Saldívar, Ramón |
| Thesis advisor | Gumbrecht, Hans Ulrich |
| Thesis advisor | Saldívar, Ramón |
| Thesis advisor | Eshel, Amir |
| Thesis advisor | Heise, Ursula K |
| Advisor | Eshel, Amir |
| Advisor | Heise, Ursula K |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Angela Becerra Vidergar. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Comparative Literature. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2013. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2013 by Angela Mercedes Becerra Vidergar
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