\u00a0<\/em><\/a><\/p>\nEdited by Scott Donahue-Martens and Brandon Simonson<\/p>\n
From the Greek\u00a0dus-<\/em>\u00a0(\u201cbad\u201d) and\u00a0topos<\/em>\u00a0(\u201cplace\u201d), dystopia as a genre is often characterized by its use of post-apocalyptic and totalitarian imagery. Dystopia stands in contrast with its counterpart utopia, an equally far-off yet disparately ideal world. Both dystopian and utopian worlds abound with theological meaning, especially where they can offer insight into real-world human experience, belief, practice, and society.<\/p>\nThe editors invite abstracts for chapters on topics at the intersection of theology and dystopia in what will be the first edited volume dedicated to the assay of these topics, analyzing the dystopia genre and dystopian works using established methods and theory from the academic disciplines of Religious Studies and Theology. While intersections might include dystopian works that correlate with current or past events, proposals need not be limited to any particular form of dystopia or a single timeframe. Proposals might consider individual works, authors, or the dystopia genre itself.\u00a0As they engage with diverse mediums featuring dystopia\u2014such as, for example, books, television shows, films, and video games\u2014chapters in this edited volume will also engage the genre from various established theological positions and methods\u2014such as, for example, David Tracy\u2019s critical correlation, liberation theology, or process theology.<\/p>\n
While dystopia provides a concrete category for investigation, its use across various forms of fiction allows for multiple avenues of analysis and interaction with theology. We might ask, for example, do dystopian works follow the essentialist trope where good and evil in fantasy works are largely interpreted in binary terms? Further, how do ideologies like racism, sexism, colonialism, and nativism relate to theology in the dystopia genre?\u00a0While possible topics for chapters are wide-ranging in scope, general categories and sample topics appear below, though these examples are generative and not restrictive.<\/p>\n
Methodologies and Approaches: larger-scale engagements with the concepts of theology and dystopia. Topics might include:<\/p>\n
\n- Dystopia as a generic category that transverses genres<\/li>\n
- The relationship between apocalyptic religious literature and the dystopia genre<\/li>\n
- Religious and dystopian identity formation and de-formation<\/li>\n
- Pushing back against uniformity, non-Christian approaches to theology and dystopia<\/li>\n
- The roles of the reader, viewer, and gamer: how modes of dystopia impact reception<\/li>\n
- Worldview formation, relationships between dystopia, society, and theology<\/li>\n
- Catharsis or change, the impact of dystopia on life and society<\/li>\n
- The roles of faith, religion, and\/or belief in dystopian or post-apocalyptic worlds<\/li>\n
- Human or divine, dystopian and\u00a0Deus ex Machina<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Themes: theological explorations of major themes in dystopia such as survival, control, destruction, liberation, justice, salvation, etc. Topics might include:<\/p>\n