Varieties of Posthumanism: Policy as Practice and Performance
An interdisciplinary "Bridging the Gaps" workshop gathering representatives from science, policy, social sciences and humanities to offer various perspectives on posthumanism. The theme is highly pertinent to current debates on governance of science and technology in light of emergent technological capabilities. Speakers presented different takes on posthumanism: as object of social science and humanities inquiry; scientific practices leading to the creation of computing technologies imitating human capacities; and policy as practice and performance. The articulation of policy is a performative speech act that directs and in many cases alters behaviour. The workshop created a cross-disciplinary dialogue on post-humanism that also addressed the performative role of policy.
| A Research Services research event | |
|---|---|
| Date | 6 March 2013 |
| Time | 9:45 to 16:45 |
| Place | Streatham Court 0.28, University of Exeter |
| Provider | Research Services |
| Speaker(s) | Regenia Gagnier, Andrew Pickering, David Wright, Christopher Coenen, Elena Simakova, Marfuga Iskandarova, Michael Hauskeller, Nick Bostrom, Sir Roland Jackson |
| Organizer | Lois Spence |
| Tel | 01392722312 |
Event details
Presentations
Presentations from the workshop can be downloaded from the 'attachments' section at the bottom of the page.
Agenda
09:45 Arrival and Coffee
09:55 Welcome by Facilitator - Regenia Gagnier (Bridging the Gaps)
10:00 Session 1: Approaches to Posthumanism - Chair Giovanna Colombetti (Philosophy)
Andrew Pickering (Sociology) - The World, the Flesh and the Devil: Varieties of Posthumanism from J D Bernal to STS
David Wright (Engineering) - Technologies for Brain-Inspired Computing
Michael Hauskeller (Philosophy) - Utopia in Trans – and Posthumanism
12:00 Lunch
13:00 Session 2: Perspectives on Policy - Chair Regenia Gagnier
Christopher Coenen (KIT-ITAS, Karlsruhe) - Transhumanism as a Challenge and Opportunity for Policy Advice on New Technologies
Elena Simakova & Marfuga Iskandarova (Business School) - Performing Waves: Posthumanism and the Construction of Heterogeneous Futures?
14:30 Refreshments
14:45 Session 3: Policy as Practice and Performance - Chair John Dupré (Egenis)
Steve Hinchliffe (Geography) - More than one world – Posthumanism and biocommunicability
Michael Schillmeier (Sociology) - Posthumanism and the cosmopolitics of nano
15:45 Summing Up and Discussion: Sir Roland Jackson (BBSRC, BSA)
16.45 Close
18:00 Dinner for speakers and chairs
| Attachments | |
|---|---|
 Andy_Pickering.pdf | The World, the Flesh and the Devil - Andy Pickering (106K) |
| Michael_Hauskeller.pdf | Utopia in Trans- and Posthumanism - Michael Hauskeller (126K) |
 Steve_Hinchliffe_Posthumanism.ppt | More than One World - Steve Hinchliffe (1373K) |
| M_Schillmeier_Cosmopolitics_of_Nano.ppt | Cosmopolitics of Nano - Michael Schillmeier (467K) |
| David_Wright_6_3_13_FINALv3.pdf | Brain-Inspired Computing - David Wright (2698K) |
Location:
Streatham Court 0.28, University of Exeter
