Degree Name

Department

English

College

Humanities

Defense Date

2023-03-03

Publication Date

2023-03-15

First Faculty Advisor

Spencer Hyde

First Faculty Reader

Shelli Spotts

Honors Coordinator

Aaron Eastley

Keywords

Politics, Polarization, Fiction, Young Adult

Abstract

The Critical Introduction and Creative Work explore the effect of the use of Political Philosophies and Systems as plot and worldbuilding in Young Adult Fiction. This is explored through the lens of partisan antipathy and political polarization along with reception theory. By analyzing the current trends of politics as a plot and worldbuilding device in Dystopian Young Adult Fiction, I conclude that most popular fiction has a bias toward western political philosophy. This then leads to concerns over potential echo chambers and polarization. As a recommendation, I demonstrate how diverse political theories can be used in Young Adult fiction.