What is the Posthuman?

This workshop will bring together disparate strands of the work currently being done on the post-human, in order create a space within which to articulate the temporary boundaries and emerging trajectories of the post-human as a continually developing field of inquiry. Alongside this articulation, we will attempt to understand the post-human as an academic field and trace its trajectory as such, historicizing the current critical framework in order to promote a broadened understanding of the role of the humanities in these exploratory ventures. Finally, we will begin a critique of the post-human, considering why the post-human as a significant field of study is emerging now, what circumstances promote this development and what factors might limit its seeming possibilities. What work is the concept of the post-human doing? For what and against whom? And to what ends?

Towards this purpose, we will gather together a diverse range of faculty, graduate students and community members, primarily through a series of panel discussions. The themes of these panels will include but not be limited to the connections amongst the post-human and immaterial bodies (such as cyborgs and avatars), material bodies (understood through disability studies and queer theorists), animals (rights, treatment), and the environment (both global and local).

In addition to panel discussions, the workshop will include guest lectures, a symposium in the Spring of 2009, an on-going bibliography, and coordination with the Center’s “What is Human?” initiative. What is the Posthuman? Bibliography

If you are interested in receiving notifications about future seminar events, please send an email to Emily Clark or Stephanie Youngblood