Luminal Reality: An Exploration Of Queer Posthumanism In Liminal Thresholds

Abstract

This dissertation seeks to expand the borders of Science/Speculative Fiction (SF) by reconceptualizing the posthuman as a queer literary figure capable of disrupting hegemonic systems of domination from within liminal spaces. The exploration of cybernetic systems and cyborg identities within the narrative are written in response to critiques of twentieth-century theorists on the destabilizing power of human, animal, and machine configurations. This dissertation thus depicts an interconnected collection of short stories that demonstrate how those with hybrid identities and not fully-human-subjectivities have a way to both discuss and exercise self-determination, in addition to empowering others to do the same. Collectively, these sections articulate social anxieties about the effects of surveillance capitalism and neoliberalist policies; and, ultimately, suggest potential strategies for reconciling those anxieties through communal collaboration and storytelling.