Bodyminds Reimagined

In Bodyminds Reimagined Sami Schalk traces how black women's speculative fiction complicates the understanding of bodyminds—the intertwinement of the mental and the physical—in the context of race, gender, and (dis)ability. Bridging black feminist theory with disability studies, Schalk demonstrates that this genre's political potential lies in the authors' creation of bodyminds that transcend reality's limitations. She reads (dis)ability in neo-slave narratives by Octavia Butler (Kindred) and Phyllis Alesia Perry (Stigmata) not only as representing the literal injuries suffered under slavery, but also as a metaphor for the legacy of racial violence. The fantasy worlds in works by N. K. Jemisin, Shawntelle Madison, and Nalo Hopkinson—where werewolves have obsessive-compulsive-disorder and blind demons can see magic—destabilize social categories and definitions of the human, calling into question the very nature of identity. In these texts, as well as in Butler’s Parable series, able-mindedness and able-bodiedness are socially constructed and upheld through racial and gendered norms. Outlining (dis)ability's centrality to speculative fiction, Schalk shows how these works open new social possibilities while changing conceptualizations of identity and oppression through nonrealist contexts.

"It is now time to bring focus and attention to the works of Black women speculative writers and their subjects. Bodyminds Reimagined becomes the discovery that celebrates these writers and subjects, while challenging the status quo within speculative fiction and (dis)ability studies, and moves them from marginalized objects to realist representations.", “Sami Schalk’s highly anticipated Bodyminds Reimagined is the most significant contribution to literary and cultural disability studies in years. Appeals to scholars in critical race studies, queer studies, and social justice activism.”, "Sami Schalk’s book is an important bridge between Black women’s science fiction and disability theorizing. Her work requires a reconceptualization of the boundaries of disability studies and African American literature as well.", "Bodyminds Reimagined boldly demonstrates the capacity of black speculation and experimentation to generate world-building visions that are inclusive and sustainable for multiply marginalized black subjects.", "Bodyminds Reimagined is a compelling critical study . . . simultaneously accessible and complex, exhaustively sourced and fresh in its analysis. . . . Students, scholars, and fans of speculative fiction will be well served to familiarize themselves with this book."

Sami Schalk is Associate Professor of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.