Thomas Strychacz is Frederick A. Rice Professor of English at Mills College at Northeastern University.

• Chapter 1: The Political Economy of Potato Farming on Mars in Andy Weir’s The Martian Chapter 2: Virtual Commonwealths of the Great Recession: The Obamas’ Garden and Farm Management GamesChapter 3: Life in the Wilds: Plots of Polity in Harriet Martineau and Survivor Chapter 4: Challenging the Privilege of Again: Recursive Plots of Polity in Octavia Butler’s Dawn and Nalo Hopkinson’s Midnight RobberChapter 5: “Should’ve kept better care of her”: The Political Economy of Joss Whedon’s Firefly Chapter 6: Feast Fables: The Bioeconomics of Turkeys and Roast Beast Chapter 7: Yak Burgers and Black Tea: Consumption, Deprivation, and the Literature of Himalayan Adventure TravelChapter 8: Histories, Hedgestories, and Herdstories: Beast Fables and Paleo Polities in Recent Animated Movies

Thomas Strychacz writes eloquently on the intersection of political economy and popular culture. Moving gracefully across a wide variety of texts—from novels to musicals to online games—Strychacz revisits some of the prevailing economic fables through a series of innovative, thought-provoking readings. Could popular culture really help us save our planet and imagine a better future? This timely and indispensable book poses all of the right questions.

Thomas Strychacz is Frederick A. Rice Professor of English at Mills College at Northeastern University.

• Chapter 1: The Political Economy of Potato Farming on Mars in Andy Weir’s The Martian Chapter 2: Virtual Commonwealths of the Great Recession: The Obamas’ Garden and Farm Management GamesChapter 3: Life in the Wilds: Plots of Polity in Harriet Martineau and Survivor Chapter 4: Challenging the Privilege of Again: Recursive Plots of Polity in Octavia Butler’s Dawn and Nalo Hopkinson’s Midnight RobberChapter 5: “Should’ve kept better care of her”: The Political Economy of Joss Whedon’s Firefly Chapter 6: Feast Fables: The Bioeconomics of Turkeys and Roast Beast Chapter 7: Yak Burgers and Black Tea: Consumption, Deprivation, and the Literature of Himalayan Adventure TravelChapter 8: Histories, Hedgestories, and Herdstories: Beast Fables and Paleo Polities in Recent Animated Movies

Thomas Strychacz writes eloquently on the intersection of political economy and popular culture. Moving gracefully across a wide variety of texts—from novels to musicals to online games—Strychacz revisits some of the prevailing economic fables through a series of innovative, thought-provoking readings. Could popular culture really help us save our planet and imagine a better future? This timely and indispensable book poses all of the right questions.

Thomas Strychacz is Frederick A. Rice Professor of English at Mills College at Northeastern University.

• Chapter 1: The Political Economy of Potato Farming on Mars in Andy Weir’s The Martian Chapter 2: Virtual Commonwealths of the Great Recession: The Obamas’ Garden and Farm Management GamesChapter 3: Life in the Wilds: Plots of Polity in Harriet Martineau and Survivor Chapter 4: Challenging the Privilege of Again: Recursive Plots of Polity in Octavia Butler’s Dawn and Nalo Hopkinson’s Midnight RobberChapter 5: “Should’ve kept better care of her”: The Political Economy of Joss Whedon’s Firefly Chapter 6: Feast Fables: The Bioeconomics of Turkeys and Roast Beast Chapter 7: Yak Burgers and Black Tea: Consumption, Deprivation, and the Literature of Himalayan Adventure TravelChapter 8: Histories, Hedgestories, and Herdstories: Beast Fables and Paleo Polities in Recent Animated Movies

Thomas Strychacz writes eloquently on the intersection of political economy and popular culture. Moving gracefully across a wide variety of texts—from novels to musicals to online games—Strychacz revisits some of the prevailing economic fables through a series of innovative, thought-provoking readings. Could popular culture really help us save our planet and imagine a better future? This timely and indispensable book poses all of the right questions.