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Enlightenment Posthumanism: The Apotheosis of Progress in Literature and Culture
Burr, Jordan
Burr, Jordan
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Abstract
This dissertation attempts to help resolve the confusion surrounding the disparate public and academic uses of the terms “posthuman” and “posthumanism” by categorizing posthuman discourses into three broad ideological projects: Romantic posthumanism, Enlightenment posthumanism, and critical posthumanism. The Romantic posthuman project, beginning with Shelley’s Frankenstein, characterizes the technoscientific alteration of human/non-human relationships as a monstrous deviation from the natural order. The Enlightenment posthuman project views these new posthuman relationships as a form of progress. Finally, the critical posthumanism of the academic humanities, heavily influenced by postmodern and post-structural critiques, uses emergent technology as a metaphor for various post-humanist ontologies. After analyzing the three posthuman projects in terms of ideological genealogies and cultural impact, the dissertation then focuses on the Enlightenment posthuman project in greater detail, highlighting its connection to the eugenics movement, early twentieth century science fiction, and the transhumanist movement of today.
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2019-01-01
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University of Kansas
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This item contains archived web content.
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Keywords
English literature, Futurology, Posthuman, Posthumanism, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Transhumanism