Politics of Minor Literature: Decolonized space and Posthumanism in Xenogenesis Trilogy
William Puckett
Publication: Volume 4 Issue 4
Abstract | This essay examines the hierarchic structures present within Octavia E. Butler’s Xenogenesis trilogy in order to explore the problematics of colonisation and subjugation along with the following generations of post-colonial subjectivity that lead toward a questioning of hybridization and originary voice. Consequently, this inquiry will be grounded within a broader theorization of place and space, in order to position the Xenogenesis trilogy within the literary space of minor literature—promoting a mode of action for minority voices within the major language of the coloniser. The text charts the paths of both individual and communal journeys, moving beyond simple understandings of self, identity, community, and place toward a more empowering recognition of and for the potential available in collective histories—toward a posthuman space where, “identity is not in the past to be found, but in the future to be constructed” (Hall 14).
Keywords | Space and Place, Minor Literature, Xenogenesis Trilogy, Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, Colonial Hierarchies, Hybridization, Post-Colonial Subjectivity, Posthumanism, Octavia E. Butler
William Puckett (will@williampuckett.com) is a doctoral candidate at the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. His research interests include the relationship between image and text, cultural overlap, diasporic and “minor” literatures, and creative critical writing. Prior to his studies he worked as a muralist, specializing in regional histories and storytelling. He holds a BA in Art History from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA; an MA in Contemporary Art Theory; and an MSc in Comparative Literature from the University of Edinburgh.