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Cyborg Studies

Module description

How should we think about the relationship between humans and increasingly powerful technology? What’s so special about humans anyway? Using the figure of the cyborg, a hybrid of machine and organism, we will analyse and reflect upon a wide range of topics related to both technology and the place of humanity in the world. You will be encouraged to critique the principles of humanism and invited to develop them in new directions. Discussions of posthumanist theories and their ethical and political implications will be considered alongside empirical studies drawn from science and technology studies.

There are no prerequisites and it is suitable for non-specialist students in the social and natural sciences, the humanities and engineering and is highly appropriate for students following interdisciplinary pathways.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to help you to engage in a wide range of debates in  posthumanism. You will be exposed to various scenarios in which the idea of humanity is questioned, either through its technological disruption or the need to develop ideas which no longer hold humans at their core. With the figure of the cyborg, as its icon, the module explores the co-evolution of humans, machines, sciences and natures. The central aim is for you to develop a critical understanding of what it means to be human and what role our technology should play in determining not only our own future but the future of the world(s) in which we live

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Critically assess the meaning and significance of being ‘human’
• 2. Analyse the relationships between humans and non-human agents and entities
• 3. Demonstrate familiarity with theoretical perspectives appropriate to the analysis of these relationships and exemplify with a range of contemporary, historical and theoretical (including fictional) examples.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Demonstrate awareness and understanding of a range of philosophical, social scientific, and historical, and philosophical perspectives.
• 5. Identify the core theoretical assumptions and premises of these disciplines.
• 6. Apply theoretical and interpretive perspectives to the task of ethical, political, and social analysis.
• 7. Demonstrate appreciation of the strengths, weaknesses and limitations of different and competing philosophical, social scientific, and historical, and philosophical perspectives

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 8. Reflect on, and examine, taken-for-granted social, cultural and ethical assumptions, beliefs and values
• 9. Analyse, evaluate, and communicate a range of explanatory and interpretive theoretical perspectives; assess evidence, marshal facts and construct arguments.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

• Are you already a Cyborg?
• What’s posthumanism? How is posthumanism different from transhumanism?
• The cyborg as feminist tool
• Cyborg politics
• Human-machine interfaces and interactions
• What is human exceptionalism
•  The history of cybernetics

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Bostrom, Nick (2005a) “A History of Transhumanist Thought”, Journal of Evolution and Technology 14/1: 1-25.

Haraway, D. (1991[1985]) ‘A Cyborg Manifesto’ in Haraway, D. Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature (New York: Routledge) pp.149-181

Hayles, N. K. (1999) How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature and Informatics (Chicago:the University of Chicago Press)

Pickering, A. (2010) Sketches of Another Future: Cybernetics in Britain, 1940-2000 (Chicago: University of Chicago

Press).

Suchman, L. (2007) Human–Machine Reconfigurations: Plans and Situated Actions, revised edn. (New York: Cambridge University Press).

Wiener, N. (1961 [1948]) Cybernetics, or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

ELE – vle.exeter.ac.uk/

Key words search

Cyborg, Posthumanism, Philosophy, Ethics, Anthropology, Sociology.