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Title Beyond Borders: Navigation Between Nomadism and Migration Through Technological Identity in Cory Doctorow’s Walkaway and Annalee Newitz’s Autonomous

Author(s) Zainab Zaheer

Abstract Title: Beyond Borders: Navigation Between Nomadism and Migration Through Technological Identity in Cory Doctorow’s Walkaway and Annalee Newitz’s Autonomous Nomads and Migrants have been studied through their geographical movement in the previous academia, as Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari have explained the notion of nomads and migrants through their geographical movements. However, in the modern age, geographical locations transform into technological spaces. As a result, the notion of nomads and migrants is now transformed and technologically defined in this present era. The present study seeks to explore the concept of nomads and migrants in the context of advanced digital technology. This study has traced the notion of nomads and migrants in the works of Cory Doctorow’s Walkaway and Annalee Newitz’s Autonomous. The research utilizes the theoretical frameworks of Deleuze and Guattari, particularly their concepts of nomadism, deterritorialization, and the state apparatus, alongside the theories of Manuel Castells, who explores identity formation, the network society, and the role of technology in shaping social structures. By merging these frameworks, the study forms an adapted theoretical lens to examine both the characters, themes and their settings to determine whether they function as nomads or migrants, depending on their relationship and access to technology. In Walkaway and Autonomous, technologically advanced environments and post-scarcity societies offer new terrains where the struggle for autonomy, identity, and resistance unfolds not only across physical space but also within digital realms. The characters’ mobility is shaped as much by digital infrastructures and surveillance networks as by physical displacement, which redefines traditional notions of movement and territoriality. Through this interdisciplinary lens, the study argues that in contemporary speculative fiction, technological access and digital mobility become central to how characters navigate systems of control. This transformation reveals that the identity of the nomad or migrant is no longer solely geographical but deeply rooted in the dynamics of technological power and autonomy

Type Thesis/Dissertation

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Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2025-06-03

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