HUM 320 - Readings in Posthumanism

What does it mean to be human? And how are traditional definitions of “the human” being complicated (threatened?) by things like nanotechnologies, neuropharmacology, or genetic engineering? Posthumanism does not mean the “end” of the human; rather, it speaks to the conditions in a world where humans are no longer at the center of life on earth. This course will provide students with the tools to analyze key debates about how values and ethics are currently shaped around social institutions and structures, allowing them to think critically about how values and ethics have been historically shaped around structures and worldviews. The course will engage students in debates about posthumanist topics including human rights, the complicated webs of virtual and material realities, animal rights, the impact of innovation on ecosystems, the impact of media on consciousness, techno-utopianism, the mechanization of quotidian life, and the ethics of transformation. Particularly, this course asks students to consider where the lines are drawn between human life and posthuman life, and how these issues might continue to evolve in the future. Some guiding questions include: What might the augmented / non-biological human look like? What might be considered the “rights” of the cybernetic community? How will society evolve when faced with the biological / non-biological dichotomy? What becomes of (biological) human subjectivity in the posthuman world? What is the impact of exponential innovation on our natural world? What is the fate of the earth in the posthuman future? Letter grade. (Offered summer session.) 3 credits