Academic Section (Vol. 1, No. 1)

Abstract
Bridging the theoretical with the personal, autotheory is by nature a genre that exists between categories. This paper argues that it is this very in-between-ness of autotheory which enables an expression and circulation of affect. My analysis of Saidiya Hartman’s Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments and Rebecca Hall and Hugo Martínez’ Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts showcases how the artistic expression of theoretical thought enabled by works of autotheory is particularly successful at making the personal stories that are being portrayed palpable. To make this case, the article first discusses theories of affect studies, autotheory and comic studies and brings them into conversation with each other. Afterwards, the results of this theoretical discussion are employed to analyze the role of affect in Wake and Wayward Lives.

Keywords
Autotheory – Affect Studies – Comics Studies – Life Writing

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Abstract
This paper approaches the internationally successful Netflix series Sex Education through Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble and investigates how the show – through its characters – imagines and constructs a realm of cultural possibility that exceeds the heteronormative matrix. This paper reads the representation of the characters Eric Effiong (Ncuti Gatwa) and Adam Groff (Connor Swindells) throughout the first season of Sex Education as an answer to questions Butler poses concerning identity and legibility. In doing so, this paper argues that the series subverts culturally constructed heteronormativity through the repetition of attributes which construct the heteronormative matrix. The show thus, through this repetition, destabilizes the attributes that – according to Butler – naturalize this exact matrix. This paper thus explores how Sex Education engages with Butler’s ideas and suggests how the realm of cultural possibility that Butler imagines might function. 

Keywords
Gender Studies – Queer – Judith Butler – Heteronormativity – Television Studies

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Abstract
This paper starts from the premise that the capitalist system is inherently violent and destructive. Thus, the only way to a future lies in its abolition. Radically imagining different societies, worlds, spaces, threatens capitalism’s monopoly on what is sold as natural and normative. An ideal space to do that is science fiction. That is why I focus on Octavia Butler’s sci fi novels Wild Seed and Lilith’s Brood. With the help of capitalism’s numerous gatekeepers, the system has constantly perpetuated itself. However, maintaining narrow ideologies that establish what is sold as the norm, makes the system extremely fragile. I argue that tackling one of capitalism’s agents, such as gender, has the potential to crush the whole system. Hence, I put Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble in conversation with Octavia Butler’s novels. For abbreviation purposes, Judith Butler (they/she) is shortened to J. Butler, Octavia Butler (she/her) to O. Butler.

Keywords
Science Fiction – Abolition – Gender Studies – Decolonial Feminism – Critique of Capitalism

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Abstract
Rewriting classical myths from a feminist perspective has gained much popularity lately. Since female characters in literature, especially in mythologies, have either been silenced or largely misrepresented, many contemporary writers seek to adapt well-known stories to depict modern concerns and to challenge the prevailing stereotypical representation of women by advocating a feminist ideology that rejects patriarchal bias. One very successful example of such an attempt is Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad (2007). In this novella, Penelope reclaims her voice to narrate her version of the famous Odyssey. By questioning gender roles and class differences, this retelling connects its ancient storyline with contemporary themes and cultural debates. This article aims to demonstrate how such feminist retellings enable women to assert themselves and support the aim of just and equal treatment in society, culture, and literature. Moreover, it illustrates the enduring importance of myths and argues that feminist revisions can change the patriarchal nature of the literary canon. 

Keywords
Feminism – Retellings – Greek Myths – Revisionist Mythmaking – Margaret Atwood

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Abstract
Non-violent direct action was a method of protest in the U.S.-American civil rights movement. Martin Luther King, Jr., among others, used it to contest segregation. In this article, I suggest that King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963) deliberately confronts white moderates and aims to highlight the violence against African Americans in the United States. In the letter, King claims that justice does not happen by itself and needs non-violent direct actions. In this respect, King’s approach is not that different from Malcolm X’s, against which King is traditionally positioned. To make this case, I examine King’s perception of civil rights history, engage with the ideology of colorblindness and consider King’s non-violent philosophy. Subsequently, the article turns to the radicalism of King’s letter and argues that he saw white moderates as problematic in the struggle for racial justice. Finally, I address King’s understanding of direct action, which stems from the concept of civil disobedience. In doing so, this article also discusses similarities between King and other civil rights activists like Malcolm X and Mahatma Gandhi with regard to racial movement tactics. I conclude with a discussion of King’s philosophy of nonviolence as an immediate action against violence. Ultimately, this article not only discards the idea of King being best understood as a proponent of passiveness but also shows how intellectually active he was in combating racial injustice.

Keywords
Nonviolence – Disobedience – Passiveness – Radicalism – Colorblindness – Justice – Civil Rights

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