Disrupting Contemporary Environmental Colonialities: Counterhegemonic Natures and Environments in Latinx Ecohorror

This dissertation serves as an intervention into ecocritical, horror, and decolonial studies by examining contemporary ecohorror. I offer the term Latinx Ecohorror, a literary mode and genre that unveils the multitude of colonialities linking various horrific realities across race, gender, and class. I utilize Chicanx, Latinx, and decolonial theories to theorize the concept of Latinx Ecohorror, with significant emphasis on Chicana Feminist theorists, such as Gloria Anzaldúa, Cherríe Moraga, and Chela Sandoval. This dissertation expands the genre of ecohorror and argues that contemporary ecohorror, while engaging and highlighting the anxieties and tensions humanity may have regarding its relationship to nonhuman nature and the environment, reinforces coloniality. Through depictions of environmental anxieties and fears, contemporary ecohorror reinforces colonial logics that displaces and decenter the ecological concerns of marginalized populations. To engage with this work, I analyze a range of U.S. and American literature, such as early modern colonial travel narratives and contemporary works by Chicanx and Latinx authors and cultural producers. I am concerned with how contemporary ecohorror encourages ecological awareness if the genre and literary mode are infused with the lingering specter of colonization.