The (Post)Apocalypse in Hungary: American Science Fiction and Social Analysis

Abstract

In this chapter Vera Benczik explains how she approaches (post)apocalyptic American science fiction with Hungarian university students who might find this literature traumatizing if not taught with pre-determined sensitivity and carefully planned trajectories of discussion. If handled well, though, (post)apocalyptic work can open for students new avenues of analysis to other forms of popular culture, even as they consider the social implications of plausibly disturbing narratives. Benczik focuses on the various uses for these narratives in the classroom setting, showcasing the analytical potential of (post)apocalyptic fiction through select texts, including Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy, Robert Matheson’s I Am Legend and its cinematic afterlife, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, and various short stories. Using these texts, Benczik explores with students questions of genre and mode and key critical terms like the Anthropocene, alterity, posthumanism, ecocriticism, and trauma literature. She also discusses ways (post)apocalyptic texts can be used to discuss questions of ethnicity, gender, and power relations, and comments on the ethical questions involved in teaching the (post)apocalypse during a global pandemic.