REORGANIZING THE FRAGMENTED BODY THROUGH AFFECT: A LITERARY ANALYSIS OF PROSTHETIC EMBODIMENT IN CRITICAL MEMOIR AND SPECULATIVE FICTION
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Date
2024-08-07
Authors
Elliott, Meghan
Journal Title
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Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
In this dissertation, I analyze how literature engages prosthetic embodiment and relationsthrough critical memoirs and speculative fictions that explore real and imagined experiences with
prosthetics. Using affect theory and dis/ability studies frameworks, I examine the emotional and
contextual aspects associated with narratives of prosthetic embodiment and their relationship to
genre. By studying memoirs by Audre Lorde, Olga Trujillo, and Eli Clare, along with speculative
fiction by Nisi Shawl, Erna Brodber, Ocean Vuong, and Silas Weir Mitchell, I explore a wide
range of personal and fantastical approaches to prosthetic modification. In treating prosthetics in
literature as both symbols and objects that enable physical, mental, social, and emotional
relations, this project aims to extend the definition of prosthesis and expand how we understand
the shape and extent of our dependent embodiment. Understanding the social and cultural
narratives attributed to prosthetics can provide insights into how individuals experience and
navigate their embodied existence, challenge stigmatizing beliefs about the body, and foster a
more inclusive medical approach to prosthetic embodiment and dependence.