My project deals with the representation of bioethical borderline situations in dystopian literature. Dystopian fiction represents an interesting field for life writing, since it focuses on the individual in borderline situations and engages with personal reflections of lived experience. The genre draws attention to the ethical dimension of present-day decisions by highlighting their future implications and their effect on the individual in a most extreme form. By focusing on fictitious literature, not only the aspect of what currently is, but also of what could be, will be incorporated into the portrayal of lived experience. By employing the cultural ecological approach, it will be shown that literature is able to integrate marginalised voices into the current discourse. The cultural ecological analysis will furthermore help to perceive dystopia not just as a distorted version of the present, but to emphasise its intricate establishment of counter-discourses and to integrate them into the current interdisciplinary discussion.
Author: Ruth Steinberg