Contemporary Pakistani Speculative Fiction and the Global Imaginary
Contemporary Pakistani Speculative Fiction and the Global Imaginary: Democratizing Human Futures
by Shazia Sadaf and Aroosa Kanwal
English | 2024 | ISBN: 1032188219 | 171 Pages | True ePUB | 0.73 MB
by Shazia Sadaf and Aroosa Kanwal
English | 2024 | ISBN: 1032188219 | 171 Pages | True ePUB | 0.73 MB
As the first book-length study of emergent Pakistani speculative fiction written in English, this critical work explores the ways in which contemporary Pakistani authors extend the genre in new directions by challenging the cognitive majoritarianism (usually Western) in this field. Responding to the recent Afro science fiction movement that has spurred non-Western writers to seek a democratization of the broader genre of speculative fiction, Pakistani writers have incorporated elements from djinn mythology, Qur'anic eschatology, "Desi" (South Asian) traditions, local folklore, and Islamic feminisms in their narratives to encourage familiarity with alternative world views. In five chapters, this book analyzes fiction by several established Pakistani authors as well as emerging writers to highlight the literary value of these contemporary works in reconciling competing cognitive approaches, blurring the dividing line between "possibilities" and "impossibilities" in envisioning humanity’s collective future, and anticipating the future of human rights in these envisioned worlds.