Introduction

This dissertation analyses the texts and visuals in illustrated fantasy stories selected from Shaun Tan’s Tales from the Inner City, arguing that Tan’s work embodies de-anthropocentrism, which speaks to the troubled time of the Anthropocene. The analysis references and discusses key philosophical discussions on the animal question, human-animal entanglement, and posthumanism. It also explores how fantasy can highlight de-anthropocentric thinking. Reading from such an interdisciplinary lens, this dissertation argues that the selected stories and illustrations reflect theoretical concepts challenging anthropocentric views on animals, humans, and human-animal relationships.

The selection of the stories is based on whether they share similar themes for making meaningful comparisons and illuminating the reflection on de-anthropocentrism. Each chapter is centered on a notion that threads through the selected texts and that engages the theoretical concerns on the configurations of both the animal and the human.

If interested, you may read Thomas’ Dissertation here.

Experience at MALCS

When I decided to pursue this master’s degree, I aimed to write a dissertation that would focus on children’s literature (which explained the choice of Tales from the Inner City, which is marketed as a children’s book). During my studies, I was grateful for the chance to explore eco-criticism, animal studies, and posthumanism in the courses "Postmodernism" and "Ecological Imaginations in Literary and Visual Narratives", taught by Dr. Winnie Yee and Dr. Kanta Kochhar-Lindgren respectively. Their insights and discussions on these theories helped establish my framework and clarify my ideas for the dissertation. Balancing daily work with my master’s studies was tough already, and writing the dissertation added to that challenge. However, it was very rewarding to write up a dissertation that has become an important milestone of my life.