Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
our postgraduate community
Prathiksha Betala outlines her project.
''We Can Be Heroes': New Heroic Paradigms in Intersectional Feminist Dystopias'
Prathiksha Betala
I am a PhD research student in the School of Humanities, where my research examines the reimagining of 'heroism' in contemporary feminist dystopian fiction through a transnational-intersectional feminist lens. My project employs a comparative methodology, analysing global English-language narratives to investigate how the genre engages with pressing social, cultural, and political concerns.
I hold a BA in English Literature from Stella Maris College, University of Madras, India; and an MA in Indian and World Literatures from The English and Foreign Languages University, India.
My undergraduate thesis, that sparked my interest in research, explored the intersection of Existentialism and Sufism in Elif Shafak’s The Forty Rules of Love. My master’s dissertation, completed during the COVID-19 pandemic, examined the cyclical nature of dystopian and utopian imagination and its capacity to sustain hope through socio-cultural engagement.
I am interested in research and discourse on feminist and queer speculative futures, with a broader focus on the axes of identities, and the representation of women in contemporary literature. Get in touch with me at P.Betala3394@student.leedsbeckett.ac.uk
