Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
Action and activism in selected novels by Ursula K. Le Guin
This thesis examines individual and societal action and activism in five science fiction and utopian novels by Ursula K. Le Guin, namely, The left hand of darkness, The word for world is forest, The lathe of heaven, The dispossessed, and Always coming home. Le Guin is a politically committed author...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Department of English Language and Literature
2016
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867613315312648192 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Deetlefs, Dorothea Maria |
| author2 | Cartwright, John |
| author_browse | Cartwright, John Deetlefs, Dorothea Maria |
| author_facet | Cartwright, John Deetlefs, Dorothea Maria |
| author_sort | Deetlefs, Dorothea Maria |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | This thesis examines individual and societal action and activism in five science fiction and utopian novels by Ursula K. Le Guin, namely, The left hand of darkness, The word for world is forest, The lathe of heaven, The dispossessed, and Always coming home. Le Guin is a politically committed author whose ideological perspective is informed by feminism, Taoism, and anarchism, as well as a strong ecological awareness. These determine the structure of her fictional societies and the actions of her characters. Each novel is approached on its own terms, with the commentary adhering closely to the text. Individuals and their societies are conceived of as embodying different and conflicting ways of being and doing. The author is seen as an activist by virtue of her political commitment, especially in the case of the self-reflexive, self-critical Always coming home. Included in the Introduction are sections on: Tom Moylan's concept of the critical utopia, which tailors the utopian genre to fit modern views; Le Guin's concept of the yin utopia, one possible form of the critical utopia; and a short section on Taoism, familiarising the reader with concepts and terminology used in the thesis. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/18259 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:34:10.861Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | Department of English Language and Literature |
| publisherStr | Department of English Language and Literature |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/18259 Action and activism in selected novels by Ursula K. Le Guin Deetlefs, Dorothea Maria Cartwright, John English Literature This thesis examines individual and societal action and activism in five science fiction and utopian novels by Ursula K. Le Guin, namely, The left hand of darkness, The word for world is forest, The lathe of heaven, The dispossessed, and Always coming home. Le Guin is a politically committed author whose ideological perspective is informed by feminism, Taoism, and anarchism, as well as a strong ecological awareness. These determine the structure of her fictional societies and the actions of her characters. Each novel is approached on its own terms, with the commentary adhering closely to the text. Individuals and their societies are conceived of as embodying different and conflicting ways of being and doing. The author is seen as an activist by virtue of her political commitment, especially in the case of the self-reflexive, self-critical Always coming home. Included in the Introduction are sections on: Tom Moylan's concept of the critical utopia, which tailors the utopian genre to fit modern views; Le Guin's concept of the yin utopia, one possible form of the critical utopia; and a short section on Taoism, familiarising the reader with concepts and terminology used in the thesis. 2016-03-28T14:29:31Z 2016-03-28T14:29:31Z 1994 Master Thesis Masters MA http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18259 eng application/pdf Department of English Language and Literature Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | English Literature Deetlefs, Dorothea Maria Action and activism in selected novels by Ursula K. Le Guin |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Action and activism in selected novels by Ursula K. Le Guin |
| title_full | Action and activism in selected novels by Ursula K. Le Guin |
| title_fullStr | Action and activism in selected novels by Ursula K. Le Guin |
| title_full_unstemmed | Action and activism in selected novels by Ursula K. Le Guin |
| title_short | Action and activism in selected novels by Ursula K. Le Guin |
| title_sort | action and activism in selected novels by ursula k le guin |
| topic | English Literature |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18259 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT deetlefsdorotheamaria actionandactivisminselectednovelsbyursulakleguin |