A Posthuman Approach to BrexLit and Bordering Practices through an Analysis of John Lanchester’s <i>The Wall</i>
Kristen Sandrock (2020) connects John Lanchester’s 2019 Brexit novel <i>The Wall</i> with what she refers to as ‘British border epistemologies’; that is, a radical process of re-bordering due to global warming and its impact on human mobility. The literary phenomenon that is now referred...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Humanities |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/13/1/34 |
| _version_ | 1797298108232630272 |
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| author | María Alonso Alonso |
| author_facet | María Alonso Alonso |
| author_sort | María Alonso Alonso |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Kristen Sandrock (2020) connects John Lanchester’s 2019 Brexit novel <i>The Wall</i> with what she refers to as ‘British border epistemologies’; that is, a radical process of re-bordering due to global warming and its impact on human mobility. The literary phenomenon that is now referred to as ‘BrexLit’ bears witness to the way in which borders and the fear to the <i>other</i> seem to impinge on contemporary British fiction. BrexLit is framed by an increasing global interest in exploring interdisciplinary bordering practices. Primarily, BrexLit manifests through realist and/or speculative long fiction, although there are numerous short stories and poetry that deal with this seismic political event. This article proposes to focus on different samples of speculative long fiction born from Brexit before highlighting Lanchester’s <i>The Wall</i>. Posthuman studies offer a convenient theoretical framework with which to approach this specific text where the British border, refugees and the fear of the <i>other</i> are the drivers of the plot. Thus, this contribution will explore alien configurations of refugees in contemporary British speculative fiction and the way in which these texts question Brexit rhetoric in an eye-opening and thought-provoking way, assisting readers to understand the context and consequences of such a profound political event. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:30:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d01f98bd36064a2daf05b7fcc4f49aba |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0787 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:30:03Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities |
| spelling | doaj.art-d01f98bd36064a2daf05b7fcc4f49aba2024-02-23T15:18:58ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872024-02-011313410.3390/h13010034A Posthuman Approach to BrexLit and Bordering Practices through an Analysis of John Lanchester’s <i>The Wall</i>María Alonso Alonso0Department of English and German Philology, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, SpainKristen Sandrock (2020) connects John Lanchester’s 2019 Brexit novel <i>The Wall</i> with what she refers to as ‘British border epistemologies’; that is, a radical process of re-bordering due to global warming and its impact on human mobility. The literary phenomenon that is now referred to as ‘BrexLit’ bears witness to the way in which borders and the fear to the <i>other</i> seem to impinge on contemporary British fiction. BrexLit is framed by an increasing global interest in exploring interdisciplinary bordering practices. Primarily, BrexLit manifests through realist and/or speculative long fiction, although there are numerous short stories and poetry that deal with this seismic political event. This article proposes to focus on different samples of speculative long fiction born from Brexit before highlighting Lanchester’s <i>The Wall</i>. Posthuman studies offer a convenient theoretical framework with which to approach this specific text where the British border, refugees and the fear of the <i>other</i> are the drivers of the plot. Thus, this contribution will explore alien configurations of refugees in contemporary British speculative fiction and the way in which these texts question Brexit rhetoric in an eye-opening and thought-provoking way, assisting readers to understand the context and consequences of such a profound political event.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/13/1/34BrexLitposthumanismbordering practicesrefugee narrativesclimate fictionsglobal mobility |
| spellingShingle | María Alonso Alonso A Posthuman Approach to BrexLit and Bordering Practices through an Analysis of John Lanchester’s <i>The Wall</i> Humanities BrexLit posthumanism bordering practices refugee narratives climate fictions global mobility |
| title | A Posthuman Approach to BrexLit and Bordering Practices through an Analysis of John Lanchester’s <i>The Wall</i> |
| title_full | A Posthuman Approach to BrexLit and Bordering Practices through an Analysis of John Lanchester’s <i>The Wall</i> |
| title_fullStr | A Posthuman Approach to BrexLit and Bordering Practices through an Analysis of John Lanchester’s <i>The Wall</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Posthuman Approach to BrexLit and Bordering Practices through an Analysis of John Lanchester’s <i>The Wall</i> |
| title_short | A Posthuman Approach to BrexLit and Bordering Practices through an Analysis of John Lanchester’s <i>The Wall</i> |
| title_sort | posthuman approach to brexlit and bordering practices through an analysis of john lanchester s i the wall i |
| topic | BrexLit posthumanism bordering practices refugee narratives climate fictions global mobility |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/13/1/34 |
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