The Posthuman: Differences, Embodiments, Performativity
Call For Papers
September 11th - 14th 2013, University of Roma 3, Rome, Italy
The University of Roma 3, the University Erlangen-Nürnberg,
the University of the Aegean and Dublin City University
are pleased to announce:
The 5th Conference of the Beyond Humanism Conference Series
The specific focus of the Conference “The Posthuman: Differences, Embodiments, and Performativity” will be the posthuman, in its genealogies, as well as its theoretical, artistic and materialistic differences and possibilities. In order to guarantee a systematic treatment of the topic, we will particularly focus on the following themes:
1 What is the posthuman? Are humans always been posthuman? If so, in which sense? Is the posthuman a further evolutionary development of the human being? What are the implications of gender, sex and race, among other differential categories, in the embodied constitution of the posthuman? Do posthumans already exist? What is the difference between the posthuman, the transhuman, the antihuman and the cyborg?
2 Philosophical issues concerning the genealogies of the posthuman: Which traditions of thoughts are significant to the posthuman theoretical attempt of postulating a post-dualistic and post-essentialist standpoint? What are the differences between the genealogies of the posthuman and of the transhuman? What are their points in common? Is the posthuman a Western-centric notion? Could non-dualistic practices such as shamanism be accounted as posthuman?
3 Bioarts, Body Art, Performance Art and the Posthuman: Which kind of art can be seen as leading towards the posthuman? Is the notion of the posthuman traceable in artistic traditions which precedes the coining of the term “posthuman”? Can the posthuman be detected in cultures which have not been canonized by Western aesthetics?
4 Ethics, Bioethics, and the Moral Status of the Posthuman: Does the posthuman lead to a new, non-universalist, non-dualist understanding of ethics? Will posthumans have the moral status of a post-person, or will it be possible for them to have human dignity and personhood? Are human rights necessarily humanistic, or can they be re-enacted within a posthuman frame?
5 Emerging Technologies and the Posthuman: Which technologies represent the most significant challenge concerning the concept of the human/posthuman? Are restrictive national regulations concerning emerging technologies helpful in a glocalized world? Mind-uploading, plastic surgery, and cyborgian practices dissolve the border between human beings and machines. Human enhancement is already happening: should morphological freedom be regulated by social norms, or should it stand on individual choices?
6 Materialism and Posthuman Existence: The notion of matter as an active agent has been reinforced through Quantum Physics, on a scientific level, as well as by New Materialisms and Speculative Realism, on a philosophical level. Is the posthuman grounded in a materialist understanding of existence? What are the ontological, as well as the existential implications of the relationality of matter? Can it be related to a Posthuman Agency? What would a Posthuman Existentialism imply?
Papers will be selected and arranged according to related topics. Equal voice will be given, if possible, for presentations from the arts, humanities, sciences, and technological fields.
Major areas of interest include (in alphabetic order):
Animal Studies, Antihumanism, Bioarts and Performance Art, Bioethics, Cosmology, Critical Race Studies, Cultural Studies, Cyborg Studies, Deconstructionism, Disability Studies, Ecology, Emerging Technologies and Ethics, Enhancement, Evolution, Existentialism, Gender Studies, Intersectionality, New Materialisms, Philosophy, Physics, Posthumanism, Quantum Physics, Science and Technology Studies, Singularity, Spirituality, Speculative Realism, Transhumanism
Other possible topics include, but are not limited to:
· Bioethics, bioconservatism, bioliberalism, enhancement
· Posthumanist anthropology, aesthetics, ecology, feminism, critical theory
· Representation of human performance in technology and the arts
· Enhancement and political discourse, regulation, and human rights
· Humanism, posthumanism, transhumanism and antihumanism in philosophy
· Poststructuralism, postmodernism, and posthumanism
· New Materialisms, speculative realism and quantum physics
· Existentialism, relational ontology, posthuman agency
· Transhuman and posthuman impact on ethics and/or value formation
· Phenomenology and postphenomenology
· Embodiments and identity
· Transhumanism and/or posthumanism in science fiction and utopian/dystopian literature
· Non-dualism in spiritual practices, mysticism and shamanism
· Globalization and the spread of biomedicine and transhumanism
· Economic implications of transhumanist projects
· Popular culture and posthumanist representations
· Theology, enhancement, and the place of the posthuman
· Technology, robotics, and ethics
· Cybernetics, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality
· Cyborgs and democracy
· Humanity, human nature, biotechnology
SUBMISSIONS & DEADLINES
We invite abstracts of up to 500 words, to be sent in MS Word and Pdf format to:
[email protected]
Files should be named and submitted in the following manner:
Submission: First Name Last name. docx (or .doc) / .pdf
Example: “Submission: MaryAndy.docx”
Abstracts should be received by May 15th 2013.
Acceptance notifications will be sent out by June 15th.
All those accepted will receive information on the venue(s), local attractions, accommodations, restaurants, and planned receptions and events for participants.
*Presentations should be no longer than 20 minutes. Each presentation will be given 10 additional minutes each for questions and discussions with the audience, for a total of 30 minutes.
FEES & REGISTRATION
A reduced registration fee of €50 (65USD) will apply to all participants.
SERIES “BEYOND HUMANISM"
The Conference is part of the Series “Beyond Humanism”. The 1st Conference took place in April 2009 at the University of Belgrade (Humanism and Posthumanism), the 2nd Conference in September 2010 at the University of the Aegeans (Audiovisual Posthumanism), the 3rd Conference in October 2011 at Dublin City University (Transforming Human Nature) and the 4th Conference in September 2012 at the IUC in Dubrovnik (Enhancement, Emerging Technologies and Social Challenges). This year, the conference “The Posthuman: Differences, Embodiments, and Performativity” will be held at the University of Roma 3, Department of Philosophy, Rome, Italy, from the 11th until the 14th of September 2013.
Call For Papers
September 11th - 14th 2013, University of Roma 3, Rome, Italy
The University of Roma 3, the University Erlangen-Nürnberg,
the University of the Aegean and Dublin City University
are pleased to announce:
The 5th Conference of the Beyond Humanism Conference Series
The specific focus of the Conference “The Posthuman: Differences, Embodiments, and Performativity” will be the posthuman, in its genealogies, as well as its theoretical, artistic and materialistic differences and possibilities. In order to guarantee a systematic treatment of the topic, we will particularly focus on the following themes:
1 What is the posthuman? Are humans always been posthuman? If so, in which sense? Is the posthuman a further evolutionary development of the human being? What are the implications of gender, sex and race, among other differential categories, in the embodied constitution of the posthuman? Do posthumans already exist? What is the difference between the posthuman, the transhuman, the antihuman and the cyborg?
2 Philosophical issues concerning the genealogies of the posthuman: Which traditions of thoughts are significant to the posthuman theoretical attempt of postulating a post-dualistic and post-essentialist standpoint? What are the differences between the genealogies of the posthuman and of the transhuman? What are their points in common? Is the posthuman a Western-centric notion? Could non-dualistic practices such as shamanism be accounted as posthuman?
3 Bioarts, Body Art, Performance Art and the Posthuman: Which kind of art can be seen as leading towards the posthuman? Is the notion of the posthuman traceable in artistic traditions which precedes the coining of the term “posthuman”? Can the posthuman be detected in cultures which have not been canonized by Western aesthetics?
4 Ethics, Bioethics, and the Moral Status of the Posthuman: Does the posthuman lead to a new, non-universalist, non-dualist understanding of ethics? Will posthumans have the moral status of a post-person, or will it be possible for them to have human dignity and personhood? Are human rights necessarily humanistic, or can they be re-enacted within a posthuman frame?
5 Emerging Technologies and the Posthuman: Which technologies represent the most significant challenge concerning the concept of the human/posthuman? Are restrictive national regulations concerning emerging technologies helpful in a glocalized world? Mind-uploading, plastic surgery, and cyborgian practices dissolve the border between human beings and machines. Human enhancement is already happening: should morphological freedom be regulated by social norms, or should it stand on individual choices?
6 Materialism and Posthuman Existence: The notion of matter as an active agent has been reinforced through Quantum Physics, on a scientific level, as well as by New Materialisms and Speculative Realism, on a philosophical level. Is the posthuman grounded in a materialist understanding of existence? What are the ontological, as well as the existential implications of the relationality of matter? Can it be related to a Posthuman Agency? What would a Posthuman Existentialism imply?
Papers will be selected and arranged according to related topics. Equal voice will be given, if possible, for presentations from the arts, humanities, sciences, and technological fields.
Major areas of interest include (in alphabetic order):
Animal Studies, Antihumanism, Bioarts and Performance Art, Bioethics, Cosmology, Critical Race Studies, Cultural Studies, Cyborg Studies, Deconstructionism, Disability Studies, Ecology, Emerging Technologies and Ethics, Enhancement, Evolution, Existentialism, Gender Studies, Intersectionality, New Materialisms, Philosophy, Physics, Posthumanism, Quantum Physics, Science and Technology Studies, Singularity, Spirituality, Speculative Realism, Transhumanism
Other possible topics include, but are not limited to:
· Bioethics, bioconservatism, bioliberalism, enhancement
· Posthumanist anthropology, aesthetics, ecology, feminism, critical theory
· Representation of human performance in technology and the arts
· Enhancement and political discourse, regulation, and human rights
· Humanism, posthumanism, transhumanism and antihumanism in philosophy
· Poststructuralism, postmodernism, and posthumanism
· New Materialisms, speculative realism and quantum physics
· Existentialism, relational ontology, posthuman agency
· Transhuman and posthuman impact on ethics and/or value formation
· Phenomenology and postphenomenology
· Embodiments and identity
· Transhumanism and/or posthumanism in science fiction and utopian/dystopian literature
· Non-dualism in spiritual practices, mysticism and shamanism
· Globalization and the spread of biomedicine and transhumanism
· Economic implications of transhumanist projects
· Popular culture and posthumanist representations
· Theology, enhancement, and the place of the posthuman
· Technology, robotics, and ethics
· Cybernetics, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality
· Cyborgs and democracy
· Humanity, human nature, biotechnology
SUBMISSIONS & DEADLINES
We invite abstracts of up to 500 words, to be sent in MS Word and Pdf format to:
[email protected]
Files should be named and submitted in the following manner:
Submission: First Name Last name. docx (or .doc) / .pdf
Example: “Submission: MaryAndy.docx”
Abstracts should be received by May 15th 2013.
Acceptance notifications will be sent out by June 15th.
All those accepted will receive information on the venue(s), local attractions, accommodations, restaurants, and planned receptions and events for participants.
*Presentations should be no longer than 20 minutes. Each presentation will be given 10 additional minutes each for questions and discussions with the audience, for a total of 30 minutes.
FEES & REGISTRATION
A reduced registration fee of €50 (65USD) will apply to all participants.
SERIES “BEYOND HUMANISM"
The Conference is part of the Series “Beyond Humanism”. The 1st Conference took place in April 2009 at the University of Belgrade (Humanism and Posthumanism), the 2nd Conference in September 2010 at the University of the Aegeans (Audiovisual Posthumanism), the 3rd Conference in October 2011 at Dublin City University (Transforming Human Nature) and the 4th Conference in September 2012 at the IUC in Dubrovnik (Enhancement, Emerging Technologies and Social Challenges). This year, the conference “The Posthuman: Differences, Embodiments, and Performativity” will be held at the University of Roma 3, Department of Philosophy, Rome, Italy, from the 11th until the 14th of September 2013.