Master of Fine Arts (MFA), Bowling Green State University, 2023, Creative Writing/Fiction
"Planned Obsolescence" is a novel about a Midwestern Xicana artist that explores themes of visual art, chronic illness, addiction, grief, mental illness, colonialism, violence, and intergenerational trauma. This novel, which takes place over a year, focuses on the cycle of seasons. This timeline, and the fragmented, hybrid nature of the novel, are inspired by forms like the koan, zuihitsu, and prose poem. The manuscript title, "Planned Obsolescence," is derived from the idea that under capitalism, goods are purposefully built to fall apart fast, creating an accelerated cycle of creation and destruction. The concept of “planned obsolescence” is then extrapolated and applied to colonialism, white supremacy, mental illness, the apocalypse, and capitalism itself as it relates to the destruction of the environment and society.
Committee: Reema Rajbanshi Ph.D. (Committee Member); Lawrence Coates Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Subjects: Art History; Ethnic Studies; Fine Arts; Hispanic American Studies; Hispanic Americans; Latin American History; Latin American Literature; Latin American Studies; Literature; Spirituality; Womens Studies