Criptopia and The Wizard of Oz

Abstract

In this presentation, I argue that L. Frank Baum offers a popular and “classical” story ripe for such disability studies analysis and entry into the speculative fiction canon with his 1900–1919 contributions to the Oz series and the subsequent 1939 Wizard of Oz film. The Wizard is a tale that is essential as an early text dealing with the presence of disability in utopic settings, something which I demonstrate is incredibly scarce in utopic literature from the time period.

Presenter Biography

Amanda Martin Sandino, Ph.D., MFA, is a scholar of disability studies and futurity at CSU San Marcos. Her work particularly interrogates the utopic as a space in which the person with disability should be privileged rather than eliminated. For more information, visit her personal website at https://amandamartinsandino.com/. Please contact her at amanda@amandamartinsandino.com.