Graduation Date
Summer 2024
Document Type
Project
Program
Master of Arts degree with a major in English, emphasis in Applied English Studies
Committee Chair Name
Dr. Renee Byrd
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Dr. Janelle Adsit
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Keywords
Speculative fiction, Post-colonial, Northern California, Ecotopia
Subject Categories
English
Abstract
The representation of Indigenous land-based cosmologies within Ernest Callenbach’s Ecotopia communicates a real perception of our world through the constructed imaginative society within this speculative fiction novel. Ecotopia is an alternative Pacific West coast society that counters the dominant United States model in its holistic and green approach. This green society relies heavily on Indigenous ideology but lacks actual Indigenous voices or communities within this white idealized society. This research provides an example of the deconstruction of this popular novel to its main problematic components, establishing why the use of Indigenous beliefs and values can cause negative implications to the reader’s understanding of Indigenous beliefs. This research is part of a larger issue of appropriation of Indigenous beliefs within literature produced by white voices. Through close textual analysis, I explore the language use and construction of belief within this novel that create this appropriation.
Citation Style
MLA
Recommended Citation
O'Dell, Kaitlyn R., "A post-colonial criticism of Ernest Callenbach's Ecotopia" (2024). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 775.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/775