Liminality of the London Underground as a Tool for Social
Criticism in British Urban Fantasy

k 2023

Liminality of the London Underground as a Tool for Social Criticism in British Urban Fantasy

ŠMÍDOVÁ, Monika Markéta

Základní údaje

Originální název

Liminality of the London Underground as a Tool for Social Criticism in British Urban Fantasy

Název česky

Liminalita londýnského metra jako nástroj sociální kritiky v britské urban fantasy

Autoři

ŠMÍDOVÁ, Monika Markéta

Vydání

Hradec Králové Anglophone Conference, 24 March, 2023, Hradec Králové, Czechia, 2023

Další údaje

Jazyk

angličtina

Typ výsledku

Prezentace na konferencích

Obor

60206 Specific literatures

Stát vydavatele

Česká republika

Utajení

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

Odkazy

URL

Organizační jednotka

Filozofická fakulta

Klíčová slova anglicky

London Underground; liminality; urban fantasy; British urban fantasy; British literature

Změněno: 24. 3. 2023 14:02, Mgr. Monika Markéta Šmídová

Anotace

V originále

Due to several factors in its origin and history, the London Underground is an embodiment of a liminal place, as defined in Bjørn Thomassen’s Liminality and the Modern: Living Through the In-Between (2014). Since its advent, the Underground has been used as a setting in both literary and popular fiction, often in the form of social commentary or criticism, as it is shown in David Welsh’s study on the Underground in literature from the very beginning to the middle of the 20th century, Underground Writing (2010). The frequency only increased since the 1990s, when urban fantasy, a genre that is almost always politically and socially conscious, rose in popularity. The paper will begin with the discussion of the historical factors that allowed the London Underground to acquire such a status. Among these factors are the excavation method of the first tunnels, sheltering of citizens during WWII, various accidents in the network, the dilapidation and neglect in the second half of the 20th century, and the Underground’s frequent presence in urban legends. Then, through close reading of several British urban fantasy novels, including but not limited to Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere (1996), Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series (2011, ongoing) and Simon Morden’s Down Station (2016), the paper will show how the authors employ the liminality of the Underground as a tool for social criticism, highlighting, among others, the issues of stereotyping and social invisibility of the homeless and other marginalized people, and hostility towards them.

Citovat

ŠMÍDOVÁ, Monika Markéta. Liminality of the London Underground as a Tool for Social Criticism in British Urban Fantasy. In Hradec Králové Anglophone Conference, 24 March, 2023, Hradec Králové, Czechia. 2023.

@proceedings{2269718,
   author = {Šmídová, Monika Markéta},
   booktitle = {Hradec Králové Anglophone Conference, 24 March, 2023, Hradec Králové, Czechia},
   keywords = {London Underground; liminality; urban fantasy; British urban fantasy; British literature},
   language = {eng},
   title = {Liminality of the London Underground as a Tool for Social Criticism in British Urban Fantasy},
   url = {https://angloconhk.wordpress.com/},
   year = {2023}
}

TY  - CONF
ID  - 2269718
AU  - Šmídová, Monika Markéta
PY  - 2023
TI  - Liminality of the London Underground as a Tool for Social Criticism in British Urban Fantasy
KW  - London Underground
KW  - liminality
KW  - urban fantasy
KW  - British urban fantasy
KW  - British literature
UR  - https://angloconhk.wordpress.com/
N2  - Due to several factors in its origin and history, the London Underground is an embodiment of a liminal place, as defined in Bjørn Thomassen’s Liminality and the Modern: Living Through the In-Between (2014). Since its advent, the Underground has been used as a setting in both literary and popular fiction, often in the form of social commentary or criticism, as it is shown in David Welsh’s study on the Underground in literature from the very beginning to the middle of the 20th century, Underground Writing (2010). The frequency only increased since the 1990s, when urban fantasy, a genre that is almost always politically and socially conscious, rose in popularity. The paper will begin with the discussion of the historical factors that allowed the London Underground to acquire such a status. Among these factors are the excavation method of the first tunnels, sheltering of citizens during WWII, various accidents in the network, the dilapidation and neglect in the second half of the 20th century, and the Underground’s frequent presence in urban legends. Then, through close reading of several British urban fantasy novels, including but not limited to Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere (1996), Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series (2011, ongoing) and Simon Morden’s Down Station (2016), the paper will show how the authors employ the liminality of the Underground as a tool for social criticism, highlighting, among others, the issues of stereotyping and social invisibility of the homeless and other marginalized people, and hostility towards them.
ER  -

ŠMÍDOVÁ, Monika Markéta. Liminality of the London Underground as a Tool for Social Criticism in British Urban Fantasy. In \textit{Hradec Králové Anglophone Conference, 24 March, 2023, Hradec Králové, Czechia}. 2023.

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