In the MaddAddam trilogy, Atwood deftly depicts catastrophic scenarios resulting from the unconstrained advancement of biotechnology. Undoubtedly, the adoption of genetic engineering prompts individuals to make interventions to enhance their daily performance. At the same time, it also reveals ethical concerns that disrupt the understanding of what it means to be human. The uneven manufacture and distribution of genetic resources across socio-economic spheres showcase the intensifying stratification of the scientific regime. Nonetheless, after the outbreak of the drug-induced plague, it becomes increasingly urgent for human and non-human beings to reconsider ways to address the unpredictable future incidents rather than resorting to exclusion mechanisms, as the latter leads to autoimmune reactions undermining the working of the pre-apocalypse. This paper explicates the biopolitical working of a more affirmative community realized through the internalization of exteriority in MaddAddam, the third installment of the trilogy. With Roberto Esposito’s paradigm of immunization, this research scrutinizes affirmative possibilities within the interactions of species despite the inevitable differences and pain in the desolate world. This paper asserts that the interactions between the human survivors and the bioengineered creatures demonstrate the significance of taking on what Esposito terms munus, that is, the obligation to give, in their everyday encounters. By highlighting their mutual responsibility and recognizing openness to cultural divergences, the normative conceptualization of community can be reshaped, showcasing the affirmative form of biopolitics that renders interconnected spheres for diverse normative orders to flourish.

Authors:
Eva Chin-Yi Su, National Taiwan University, Taiwan

About the Presenter(s)
Eva Chin-Yi Su is a MA student in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at National Taiwan University. Her research interests include science fiction, utopian theories, and biopolitics.

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