In this Book
Neoliberalism and Young Adult Fiction: Exceptionalism, Exploitation, and Erasure
Book
2025
Published by:
University Press of Mississippi
summary
In the twenty-first century, the influence of neoliberalism, the belief that society benefits when both individuals and corporations are free to maximize their talents in the service of responding to social needs and problems, resonates through all domains of human life. And yet, little critical study has been given to the reproduction of a neoliberal social order in YA literature. Neoliberalism and Young Adult Fiction: Exceptionalism, Exploitation, and Erasure examines how some YA literature naturalizes neoliberalism in positioning teenagers as self-enclosed, competitive individuals. At the same time, however, the authors also examine other YA novels as potential sites of resistance that acknowledge teenagers’ agency to reject neoliberalism’s destructive impulses and to work for social justice and equality through collective action.
With that in mind, the authors of Neoliberalism and Young Adult Fiction analyze such concepts as how the exceptionality of specific characters who embody neoliberal ideals leads to self-enclosed individualism and how environmental exploitation and consumerism lead to destructive effects. The book progresses to an in-depth examination of how racism undergirds US neoliberalism and environmental exploitation. From scrutinizing racism—and the rejection of neoliberalism inherent in the antiracism movement—the study turns to an examination of gender, specifically focusing on the relationship between sexism, exploitation, and embodied rejections of patriarchal thinking. Indeed, erasure is implicated in racism, sexism, and all forms of discrimination that are borne of exploitation. Finally, youth activism—with its rejection of neoliberal ideologies—leads to a culminating chapter about how global youth link YA literature to their protest movements.
With that in mind, the authors of Neoliberalism and Young Adult Fiction analyze such concepts as how the exceptionality of specific characters who embody neoliberal ideals leads to self-enclosed individualism and how environmental exploitation and consumerism lead to destructive effects. The book progresses to an in-depth examination of how racism undergirds US neoliberalism and environmental exploitation. From scrutinizing racism—and the rejection of neoliberalism inherent in the antiracism movement—the study turns to an examination of gender, specifically focusing on the relationship between sexism, exploitation, and embodied rejections of patriarchal thinking. Indeed, erasure is implicated in racism, sexism, and all forms of discrimination that are borne of exploitation. Finally, youth activism—with its rejection of neoliberal ideologies—leads to a culminating chapter about how global youth link YA literature to their protest movements.
Table of Contents
Cover
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1: Self-Enclosed Individualism and the Neoliberal Tradition
Chapter 2: Neoliberalism’s Logic of Exploitation
Chapter 3: US Neoliberalism and Its Racist Origins
Chapter 4: Racism in Our Neoliberal Era
Chapter 5: Resisting Postfeminist Thinking
Chapter 6: Biopolitics and Neoliberal Erasure
Chapter 7: Knowledge Production and Neoliberalism
Chapter 8: Youth Activism as a Response to Neoliberalism
Notes
Works Cited
Index
About the Authors
ISBN | 9781496855848 |
---|---|
Related ISBN(s) | 9781496855794, 9781496855800 |
MARC Record | Download |
OCLC | 1481605328 |
Launched on MUSE | 2025-05-05 |
Language | English |
Open Access | No |
Copyright
2025