Kurzus nemzetközi vendég- és részidős hallgatóknak

Kar

Bölcsészettudományi Kar

Szervezet

BTK Magyar Irodalom- és Kultúratudományi Intézet

Kód

MA-ERA-DCLCS-S-11

Cím

Posthuman Perspectives: Introduction to Technological Studies and Animal Studies

Tervezett félév

Mindkét

Meghirdetve

2024/25/1

ECTS

8

Nyelv

en

Leírás

The class aims to provide a general understanding on the contemporary debates on posthumanism. The course focuses on how present-day subjectivities are influenced by globalization and technological developments. We study and discuss the several new forms of flexible and multiple identities, such as virtual identities, identities on social media, hybrid identities as they are coming to existence on the borderline between human body/mind and technological devices. Based on Rosi Braidotti’s views on posthumanism, we extend the notion of the Other to our natural environment including plants and animals. Following Jacques Derrida’s philosophical ideas on animals, we analyze literary and filmic representations that foreground the relationship between the human and the non-human world. Theoretical articles are always followed by the interpretations of literary or filmic representations. Some important articles by Bruno Latour will also be discussed. Apart from European and American works by Emile Zola, Virgina Woolf, Stanley Kubrick, Spike Jonze, the class will also study some Hungarian artists, writers and poets, whose works can be related to posthumanism, such as Béla Tarr, László Krasznahorkai, Mátyás Sirokai and Kinga Tóth.

Oktatás célja

Knowledge to be acquired: - Students are required to identify and demonstrate knowledge of the major posthumanist concepts and theoretical perspectives. Competencies to be developed - The class focuses on the development of skills requisite for thinking and writing critically about literary and filmic works within their historical and theoretical contexts. - The class develops the ability to abstract, analyse and synthesize information, academic writing skills, oral presentation skills, research skills, IT skills.

Tantárgy tartalma

The class aims to provide a general understanding on the contemporary debates on posthumanism. The course focuses on how present-day subjectivities are influenced by globalization and technological developments. We study and discuss the several new forms of flexible and multiple identities, such as virtual identities, identities on social media, hybrid identities as they are coming to existence on the borderline between human body/mind and technological devices. Based on Rosi Braidotti’s views on posthumanism, we extend the notion of the Other to our natural environment including plants and animals. Following Jacques Derrida’s philosophical ideas on animals, we analyze literary and filmic representations that foreground the relationship between the human and the non-human world. Theoretical articles are always followed by the interpretations of literary or filmic representations. Some important articles by Bruno Latour will also be discussed. Apart from European and American works by Emile Zola, Virgina Woolf, Stanley Kubrick, Spike Jonze, the class will also study some Hungarian artists, writers and poets, whose works can be related to posthumanism, such as Béla Tarr, László Krasznahorkai, Mátyás Sirokai and Kinga Tóth.

Számonkérés és értékelés

Students are expected to actively participate in classes. Students are expected to give oral presentations on at least 3-4 different scholarly articles or chapters or on 1-2 primary literature. Written assignment of about 6-8 pages on 2 primary and 4-5 secondary sources is required. The written assignment and the oral presentation will be assessed on the following criteria: structure and clarity of the argument (consistency of introduction, argument and conclusion); analytical and synthesizing skills regarding the material consulted; originality; use of secondary and, if relevant, primary sources.

Irodalomjegyzék

Braidotti, Rosi: The Posthuman. Cambridge: Polity Press. 2013. Hayes, Catherine: How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature and Informatics. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1999. Haraway, Donna: When Species Meet. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2007. Latour, Bruno, Morality and Technology: The End of the Means. Theory, Culture & Society 2002 (SAGE, London, Thousand Oaks and New Delhi), Vol. 19(5/6): 247–260 Bryan S. Turner: Afterword: Thinking futures. European Journal of Social Theory. May 2024, Vol. 27 Issue 2, 372-379.

Ajánlott irodalom

Braidotti, Rosi: Posthuman knowledge Cambridge, UK ; Medford, MA, USA : Polity Press, 2019. Derrida, Jacques, "The Animal That Therefore I Am (More to Follow)." Trans. David Wills. Critical Inquiry, 2002, 28: 369-418. James, Robin: Resilience and Melancholy: Pop Music, Feminism and Neoliberalism. Winchester UK: Zero Books, 2015. Verbeek, Peter Paul: Moralizing Technology: Understanding and Designing the Morality of Things. Chicago, Univ. of Chicago Press, 2011.

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