Book chapter by Carolin Fleischer-Heininger studies literary visions of the future

A new book chapter by DIJ researcher Carolin Fleischer-Heininger analyses the novel ‘Chiryō-tō’ (Therapy Station, 1990) by the Japanese Nobel Prize laureate Ōe Kenzaburō with regard to its two contrasting visions of the future. The first shows a technology-based, exclusive society of the ‘chosen’, the second an inclusive community of ‘failures’. Using the depiction of intellectual disability – particularly through the character of Hikari – the novel criticises destructive narratives of progress and creates a vision of a more humane society. The text is interpreted as a time-critical commentary on Japan’s affinity for technology and as a plea for more inclusion. Carolin’s chapter “Zwischen destruktivem Fortschritt und inklusiver Menschengerechtigkeit: Zukunftsentwürfe als Zeitkritik und Kompass in Chiryō-tō von Ōe Kenzaburō (1935–2023)” is published in the volume Regenerative Zukünfte und künstliche Intelligenz: SDG-Forschung, Konzepte, Lösungsansätze zur Nachhaltigkeit (SpringerVS 2024), co-edited by Kai Gondlach, Birgit Brinkmann, Mark Brinkmann, and Julia Plath.