Social Sorting and Twenty-First-Century Global Dystopian Fiction

Hinchliffe, Jade

Abstract

In order to evaluate the discriminatory impacts of surveillance, surveillance practices must be examined in context through an intersectional lens that takes into consideration identity and the significance of place. A cultural studies approach to surveillance studies offers a crucial perspective through which to examine the discriminatory effects of surveillance, which is an important complement to existing approaches in surveillance studies. Literary analysis of the portrayal of discriminatory surveillance in dystopian fiction demonstrates how this genre diagnoses issues whilst providing hope for a fairer future. So far, however, this scholarship has been limited to an analysis of dystopian fiction set in, and written by authors from, the global north. This thesis addresses this gap by examining the portrayal of discriminatory surveillance practices in a range of twenty-first-century global dystopian novels. I particularly focus on the categories of class, gender and race and I take an intersectional approach. I analyse the depiction of character, choice of setting, storytelling style and use of dystopian genre conventions to demonstrate how the characters’ identities and the setting affect the protagonists’ experiences of surveillance. The background of the dystopian authors is also explored as dystopian fiction is a political genre and the identity and experiences of the authors directly influence the choices they make for their dystopian fiction, such as setting, character and storytelling. I draw upon critical posthumanism as this field is important to our understanding of embodiment in both dystopian fiction and surveillance studies. I use the term ‘social sorting’ to describe the discriminatory impacts of both digital and non-digital surveillance practices. This thesis demonstrates the value of twenty-first-century global dystopian fiction to surveillance studies.

Citation

Hinchliffe, J. (2022). Social Sorting and Twenty-First-Century Global Dystopian Fiction. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4923154

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Nov 25, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 20, 2026
• Keywords: Sociology
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4923154
• Additional Information: Sociology; School of Criminology, Sociology and Policing; University of Hull
• Award Date: Jul 19, 2022