Abstracts Category : Other

???all this over a family squabble???healthy babies???: reproductive futurity and the post-apocalypse

by Jonathan Andrew Palmer

Lee Edelman???s Theory of Reproductive Futurity places the image of the Child as a foundational trope of society. The Child trope cannot be questioned, for to do so would put one at odds with society itself. This essay uses post-apocalyptic narratives, which foreground the reproduction of children for the sake of humanity, to examine and problematize Edelman???s formulation of Reproductive Futurity. It uses the dual images of the road and birth to examine the trope of the child and its implications for discussions of race and gender that Edelman glosses over. It also argues post-apocalyptic narratives are inherently hopeful in their rejection of the end of humanity.Advisors/Committee Members: Beynon, John (advisor), Mandaville, Alison (committeeMember).