Dr Sue Dawes, The Mune, in conversation with Dr Emma Kittle

This seminar will discuss the new novel by Sue Dawes, The Mune, a speculative feminist utopia, beyond the gender binary.

Dr Sue Dawes, of the Department of Literature, Film and Theatre Studies, will be in conversation with Dr Emma K Pey  discussing the inspiration behind the novel. 

The conversation will cover the Creative Writing PhD research that shaped The Mune, the challenge of removing pronouns and creating new language, and why it’s important to experiment.

The Mune falls into several categories: utopia, speculative fiction, altered history, and literary fiction. It charts the evolution of a group of downtrodden Victorian women as they gain agency over their lives on a mysterious island. The Mune uses historical research, pastiches of nineteenth century short stories, creates a new language and is multigenerational, allowing the reader to see the effects of the changes the woman make on their children, who are freed from gender roles. 

It asks the question, what if it were possible to remove gender constructs?

This meeting of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Literary Studies is a hybrid event, taking place on campus and on Zoom.  Join the Zoom meeting here.