The discourse of the dystopic architecture : a theoretical framework for the analysis of space as a discourse in the dystopian fiction

Abstract EN

Dystopian texts are social commentary and sometimes warnings about extreme hegemonic ideologies.

the dystopian fictional societies are indicators of the architecture of the ideology of power abuse.

the following paper examines the features of legibility of space and illustrates how it becomes the semiotic mode of the discourse of power.

the main steps to be considered are first to introduce a theoretical framework for the analysis of discursivity, and second illustrate the semiotic mode of discourse through the built space in a collection of five dystopian literary works from different authors and different periods spreading over almost one century of dystopian impulse to illustrate that regardless of the different contextual triggers behind each novel, the spatial arrangement allows for the analysis of the discursive discourse of power.