Xenogenesis:
Octavia Butler’s Dawn
A Presentation By:
Jay M. Gipson-King
Gender, Authority, and the Politics of
Representation in Science & Art
July 29, 2004
Class Goals
 To understand some basic background materials
about Octavia Butler and Dawn.
 To engage in discussion about the various
themes and topics of the book, but especially
race, gender, and technology.
 To apply various concepts we have learned from
class to the novel.
 To come away with a greater understanding of
Butler’s work.
Questions, Questions
 What does Lilith want? What is her struggle?
Does Lilith loose her humanity in the end or
retain it?
 Is it better to be human and die, or become
something alien and live? Is hybridity, after all, a
viable solution?
 What is Butler’s commentary on human nature?
 What is Butler’s overall message, or point? Does
she have one? Can you tell from this novel alone?
Butler’s Works
Patternmaster, 1976 (Patternist)
Mind of My Mind, 1977 (Patternist)
Survivor, 1978, (Patternist)
Kindred, 1979
Wild Seed, 1980, (Patternist)
Speech Sounds, 1983
Clay's Ark, 1984, (Patternist)
Bloodchild, 1984, short stories
Dawn, 1987 (Xenogenesis)
Adulthood Rites, 1988 (Xenogenesis)
Imago, 1989 (Xenogenesis)
The Evening and the Morning and the Night 1991
Parable of the Sower, 1993
Butler Resources
From: Feminist Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Utopia
<http://www.feministsf.org/femsf/authors/butler.html>
Allison, Dorothy. “The Future of Female: Octavia Butler’s Mother Lode.” In Reading Black,
Reading Feminist: A Critical Anthology, edited by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., 471-78. New York:
Meridian, 1990.
Foster, Frances S. “Octavia Butler’s Black Female Future Vision.” Extrapolation 23 (1982): pages
37-49.
Friend, Beverly. “Time Travel as a Feminist Didactic in Works by Phyllis Eisenstein, Marlys
Millhiser, and Octavia butler.” Extrapolation Volume 23, Number 1 (Spring 1982): pages 50-55.
Gale Publishing. Octavia Butler’s “Kindred”: A Study Guide from Gale’s “Novels for Students.”;
ISBN B00006G3KN. PDF format.
---. Octavia Butler’s “Bloodchild”: A Study Guide from Gale’s “Short Stories for Students.”; ISBN
B00006G3R6. PDF format.
Govan, Sandra Y. Notable Black American Women. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1992.
Johnson, Rebecca O. “African American Feminist Science Fiction.” Sojourner v. 19, n. 6 (February
1994), pages 12-14. (includes interview with Octavia Butler)
Lesniak, James G. Contemporary Authors. New Revision Series (v. 38). Detroit, MI: Gale
Research, 1993.
Butler Resources
Levy, Michael. “Green SF and Eco Feminism.” Originally published in IAFA Newsletter, Spring
1989 issues. Reprinted in Robert Collins and Robert Latham, editors, Science Fiction and Fantasy
book Review Annual, 1989 Edition (Westport, CN: Meckler, 1990). “Review article of recent work
by Octavia Butler, Nancy Kress, Pamela Sargent, and Sheri S. Tepper.”
Locher, Frances Carol. Contemporary Authors. (v. 73-76). Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1978.
McTyre, Robert E. “Octavia Butler: Black America’s first lady of science fiction.” Michigan
Chronicle, April 26, 1994, pp. PG.
Raffel, Burton. “Genre to the Rear, Race and Gender to the Fore: The Novels of Octavia E. Butler.”
Literary Review, v.38, April 1, 1995, p. 454.
Salvaggio, Ruth. “Octavia Butler and the Black Science Fiction Heroine.” Black American
Literature Forum. Volume 18, Number 2 (1984): pages 78-81.
---, M. Barr, and R. Law. Suzy McKee Charnas: Octavia Butler: Joan D. Vinge. Mercer Island,
Washington: Starmont, 1986. [Starmont Reader’s Guide, No. 23.]
Stevenson, Rosemary. Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia. Brooklyn, NY:
Carlson Pub., 1993, pp. 208-210.
Zaki, Hoda. “Utopia, Dystopia, and Ideology in the Science Fiction of Octavia Butler.” Science
Fiction Studies Volume 17, Part 2 (1990): pages 239-251.
Works Consulted
Butler, Octavia. Dawn. New York: Warner, 1987.
- - - . Adulthood Rites. New York: Warner, 1988
- - - . Imago. New York: Warner, 1989.
Gaster, Snally [pseudonym]. “Xenogenesis patterns of Octavia Butler.” Sally Gaster’s
African American Library. 1 Sept 1998. Viewed 27 July 2004.
<http://www.math.buffalo.edu/ ~sww/butler/butler_octavia0.html>
Haraway, Donna J. Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Nature. New
York: Routledge, 1991.
Humm, Alan. Lillith. 17 Feb 2001. School of Arts & Sciences, University of
Pennsylvania. 27 July 2004. <http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~humm/Topics/
Lilith/lilith.html>
Graves, Robert. Hebrew Myths. New York: Doubleday, 1964.
<http://www.webcom.com/~gnosis/lillith.html>
Quilter, Laura. “An Octavia Butler Bibliography.” Feminist Science Fiction, Fantasy,
& Utopia. 26 July 2003. Viewed 27 July 2004.
<http://www.feministsf.org/femsf/authors/butler.html>
Young, Sela. Octavia Estelle Butler: An Unofficial Web Page. 7 Jan 2002. Viewed 27
July 2004. <http://www.geocities.com/sela_towanda/index.html>