Contact Zones: Interfaces, Surveillance and Consciousness in William Gibson’s The Peripheral
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D)
Department
Literature and Languages
Date of Award
1-10-2024
Abstract
This dissertation examines William Gibson’s novel The Peripheral (2014) through the lens of Mary Louise Pratt’s concept of the “contact zone.” I argue that this approach provides a new entry point to examining power hierarchies, fictional technological interfaces, surveillance studies, and consciousness by interrogating the novel’s themes specifically and Gibson’s work more generally. Gibson’s Peripheral serves as a meaningful work situated at the intersection of these themes, depicting the ways in which these contact zones affect the characters and their stories, while reflecting broader realities of power interactions between people, technology, and neo-colonialism. Using his novel as a core “interpretive interface,” I examine these themes in other fictional works to demonstrate the applicability of the contact zone in other examples of science-fictional narratives.
Advisor
Hunter Hayes
Subject Categories
Arts and Humanities | Modern Literature
Recommended Citation
Smith, Richard Michael, "Contact Zones: Interfaces, Surveillance and Consciousness in William Gibson’s The Peripheral" (2024). Electronic Theses & Dissertations. 1139.
https://digitalcommons.tamuc.edu/etd/1139
