Para-texts: Alterity and Infected Reading in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy
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Open Access
Type
ThesisThesis type
Masters by ResearchAuthor/s
Webb, ToyahAbstract
This thesis examines Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy within an ecocritical and deconstructive framework. Published in quick succession in 2014, the trilogy – composed of Annihilation, Authority and Acceptance – traces the shadowy outline of ‘Area X’, the name given to a ...
See moreThis thesis examines Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy within an ecocritical and deconstructive framework. Published in quick succession in 2014, the trilogy – composed of Annihilation, Authority and Acceptance – traces the shadowy outline of ‘Area X’, the name given to a mysterious stretch of coast along the Eastern Seaboard. While the official explanation for Area X is an ecological disaster, the reality is much weirder; inside Area X, things transform. Drawing predominantly on Annihilation, I explore how acts of writing manifest within Area X, as well as how this language ‘infects’ the narrative tissue of the trilogy itself. By situating writing outside the human body, I argue that The Southern Reach Trilogy represents writing – and thus language more broadly – as a distinctly nonhuman alterity.
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See moreThis thesis examines Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy within an ecocritical and deconstructive framework. Published in quick succession in 2014, the trilogy – composed of Annihilation, Authority and Acceptance – traces the shadowy outline of ‘Area X’, the name given to a mysterious stretch of coast along the Eastern Seaboard. While the official explanation for Area X is an ecological disaster, the reality is much weirder; inside Area X, things transform. Drawing predominantly on Annihilation, I explore how acts of writing manifest within Area X, as well as how this language ‘infects’ the narrative tissue of the trilogy itself. By situating writing outside the human body, I argue that The Southern Reach Trilogy represents writing – and thus language more broadly – as a distinctly nonhuman alterity.
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Date
2023Rights statement
The author retains copyright of this thesis. It may only be used for the purposes of research and study. It must not be used for any other purposes and may not be transmitted or shared with others without prior permission.Faculty/School
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, School of Art, Communication and EnglishDepartment, Discipline or Centre
Discipline of EnglishAwarding institution
The University of SydneyShare