In this dissertation, I develop my criticism of the modern philosophical and literary nomad by establishing its roots in the work of Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari and, most recently, Rosi Braidotti. I will show how a literary reshaping of the nomad can be used to challenge emerging anthropocentric paradigms which are often explored by dystopian and science fiction literature. As such, this thesis seeks to answer the following question: how can the nomad be used to challenge anthropocentrism?
Over three chapters, the dissertation will set out the characteristics of my literary nomad against the other modern nomads which came before it. The modern nomad has a rich heritage, developing from a figure that was comparable to the flâneur to a state-dismantling apparatus to finally a social commentator. This thesis contributes to this rich history, as in the second part it develops a practical set of tools that the nomad can employ for the literary investigation of spaces, places, and ontologies. Finally, it leads the discussions to the site of the body, which is a key concern of modern nomads, where it will employ the findings of theoretical investigations to literary criticism of the social, political, and cultural contexts in which a nomad may find its body. By the end of this thesis, I aim to show that by revitalising the nomad in the area of literary studies, we can discover new readings of science fiction and dystopian literature and create a theoretical platform through which other literary scholars may engage with the debates that I present through the course of three chapters.