Deadly matters in the capitalocene & "sf" nature writing

This thesis looks to uncover the overlapping strings that connect the devaluation of matter and the crisis of the Capitalocene, utilizing an intersectional mode of tracing. My work involves untangling these crossings as a means of illustrating how the denial and abuse of bodies, nature, and death are intricately intertwined in a web of subordination, and how this web has worked to bring about this age of human-led destruction. In order to trace these strings, I conduct a symbiotic reading of “SF” nature writing to demonstrate how Octavia E. Butler and Terry Tempest Williams use their speculative fabulation and scientific feminism to expose the unfair mining and manipulation of female bodies and nature, enacted through beliefs of inferiority and deadlines. Both writers demonstrate the potential of SF nature writing to operate as a mode of resistance to the devaluation of matter and a way to overcome the destruction of the Capitalocene through a promotion of symbiotic entanglements with the natural world.