An anthology of 14 essays and excerpts sampling what some well known thinkers and contemporary social scientists and philosophers have had to say about the nature of humanity and of what will succeed it. The perspectives include prophylaxis and virulence, whether feminism can be posthuman, posthuman gender in Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs , postcards from the posthuman solar system, and experimental justice in the empire of capital. A brief glossary provides substantial definitions but no pronunciation guides. Only names are indexed. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
What is posthumanism and why does it matter? This book offers an introduction to the ways in which humanism's belief in the natural supremacy of the Family of Man has been called into question at different moments and from different theoretical positions. What is the relationship between posthumanism and technology? Can posthumanism have a politicspostcolonial or feminist? Are postmodernism and poststructuralism posthumanist? What happens when critical theory meets Hollywood cinema? What links posthumanism to science fiction. Posthumanism addresses these and other questions in an attempt to come to terms with one of the most pressing issues facing contemporary society.
General Editors Preface ix Preface xi Acknowledgements xii Introduction: Approaching Posthumanism 1(10) Neil Badmington The Great Family of Man 11(3) Roland Barthes The Instinct 14(9) Rosalind Coward The Wretched of the Earth 23(4) Frantz Fanon The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences 27(3) Michel Foucault Marxism and Humanism 30(4) Louis Althusser Prophylaxis and Virulence 34(8) Jean Baudrillard Soft Fictions and Intimate Documents: Can Feminism be Posthuman? 42(14) Paula Rabinowitz Skinflick: Posthuman Gender in Jonathan Demmes The Silence of the Lambs 56(13) Judith Halberstam A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century 69(16) Donna J. Haraway Posthumanist (Com)Promises: Diffracting Donna Haraways Cyborg Through Marge Piercys Body of Glass 85(13) Neil Badmington Postcards from the Posthuman Solar System 98(14) Scott Bukatman Pagans, Perverts or Primitives? Experimental Justice in the Empire of Capital 112(17) Bill Readings Can Thought Go On Without a Body? 129(12) Jean-Francois Lyotard Summaries and Notes 141(23) Glossary 164(2) Suggestions for Further Reading 166(2) Notes on Contributors 168(2) Index 170
NEIL BADMINGTON is a Lecturer at the Centre for Critical and Cultural Theory at Cardiff University.
