Dystopia and Rebellion: shaping the political imagination of teenagers

Abstract

Science-fiction literature raises the question of political systems, placing them at the heart of its plots. Popular young adult dystopian works and series make this the central theme of their narratives. This widespread reception makes them cultural artifacts for an entire generation, helping more or less consciously to construct its political imaginary. Does this habit of young protagonists of confronting political and societal systems of power, questioning them and approaching them from a perspective of possible change make it possible to introduce political education to young readers? In this article, we use a network of literary works to explore the links between political awareness and representations of power in a science fiction corpus. Our study focuses on four adolescent series: Divergente by Veronica Roth, La Passe-Miroir by Christelle Dabos, La Faucheuse by Neal Shusterman and Cogito by Victor Dixen. This enables us to establish avenues for approaching young adult literature with the aim of helping teenagers develop critical thinking about various political and social issues present in their daily lives.