Date of Award
Spring 4-29-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
May 2026
Department
English
College Granting Degree
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Department Granting Degree
English
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
Ian MacDonald
Abstract
Much of the recent work published within the literary neurodiversity studies field focuses on how certain writing techniques can be viewed as representing the experience of being autistic by influencing the reader so that they experience distinctly autistic patterns of cognition. Likewise, the Book of the New Sun series employs many such techniques within the narrative and prose. This is in addition to the fact that the plot contains elements that mirror the relationship and conflict between those with autism and neuronormative hegemony (that being the ways in which societies oppress, mistreat, and belittle those not deemed “neurotypical”). The goal of this thesis is to show how works of speculative fiction can utilize their “unreality” in order to communicate what autism is, both in terms of what it feels like, and in terms of how and why autistic people often find it difficult to navigate socially.
Recommended Citation
Peterson, Sebastian, "AN AUTISM-CENTERED ANALYSIS OF THE AESTHETICS AND NARRATIVE OF GENE WOLFE’S BOOK OF THE NEW SUN" (2026). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 333.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general/333