Posthuman Motives in China Miéville’s Fictional Worlds

Abstract

Our aim in this text is to analyse Miéville’s work, both theoretical and fictional, through the perspective of posthumanist sensitivity, which involves critically reassessing the human condition and embracing perspectives that extend beyond the human and more-than-human. We regard posthumanist thought as transcending the notion of an autonomous, rational subject being the sole ethical and meaningful agent, instead positioning humans within a broader network of life that necessitates interaction and negotiation with other non-human actors and forces. This shift in perspective in Miéville’s work can be observed in relation to Lefebvre’s theme of urban reality.
We consider the relationship to the city as a non-human element central to the aesthetics of Miéville’s fictional universes. The foundation for examining his fictional worlds is the assertion that Miéville’s writing stems from a catastrophe of modernity and a subsequent radical rupture with it, suggesting that his thinking emerges post-catastrophe from a broken and fragmented world. In this context, he explores a future not based on any predetermined plan but arising from ongoing struggles – failures and renewals – in the pursuit of a future. Its aim is to challenge our present – specifically, the reader’s present – who may still inhabit a world overly centred on human existence.