Document Type

Thesis

Degree Comments

Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies

Bridgewater State University

Bridgewater, Massachusetts

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of

Master of Arts

in English

Degree Program

English

Degree Type

Masters of Arts in English

Abstract

This thesis examines science fiction dystopias in which the vestiges of humanist philosophy taint the construction of posthuman subjects. With a grounding in the tenets of both humanist and posthumanist philosophy, I analyze eight works of science fiction that depict artificial intelligence, cyborgs, and body swapping to determine the common critiques made. The source of the troubling aspects of these imagined futures doesn’t derive strictly from the presence of advanced, posthumanist technologies. Instead, the authors shine a light on the monstrosity that results when technological posthumanism comes to fruition while their imagined future societies remain grounded in humanist hierarchies, including that of class, gender, and race.

Committee/Advisor(s)

Dr. Kimberly Davis, Chair

Dr. Matt Bell, Member

Prof. Bruce Machart, Member

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