In science fiction one of the key concerns has always been the question, "What is Human?&quo... more In science fiction one of the key concerns has always been the question, "What is Human?" The cyborg, an amalgamation of organic and machine, is a frequent figure in the exploration of this question. Science fiction has considered the cyborg concept as early as the 1920s and continues to investigate this figure into the new millennium. Running parallel with considerations in science fiction, military research and development into creating a cyborg soldier, a superhuman war machine, has been an integral part of military affairs since WWII. In the 1980s, Donna Haraway proposed the cyborg as key metaphor in investigating feminism in technology and science. The cyborg in SF narratives begins with a concentrated concern with sexuality as a key indicator of what makes a human and then, into the 1980s, with the onset of general computer use in general society, the cyborg becomes a figure most often employed in the subgenre of cyberpunk. After the turn of the millennium the cyborg...
... Mendoza must cover this reaction of an automatic defence mode with a story about fears of los... more ... Mendoza must cover this reaction of an automatic defence mode with a story about fears of losing her virginity. ... knowledge and prophetic ponderings despite his humanness, and this leads her to question her assumption of mortals as simple ... But he was wrong: I couldn't choose. ...
eTropic: electronic journal of studies in the tropics, Aug 2, 2016
This article examines notions of self in cyber-communities, through a cross-disciplinary dialecti... more This article examines notions of self in cyber-communities, through a cross-disciplinary dialectic on digital embodiment. The article is based on conversations between a literary study on cyborg-feminist and science fiction theory and auto-ethnographic research data from the virtual world Entropia Universe. The conversation explores digital embodiment by asking the questions, "Am I cyborg?" and, "Why should I care?" The discussion draws on Haraway's notions of cyborg embodiment and Brey, Idhe, and Merleau-Ponty's works on relational embodiment to provide a theoretical exploration of selfhood in a liminal community of symbionts, cyborgs, and avatars. his article examines notions of self in cyber-communities through a cross-disciplinary dialectic on digital embodiment. The article is based on conversations between a literary study on cyborg-feminist and science fiction theory and ethnographic research data from the virtual world Entropia Universe. The discussion draws on Haraway's (1985/1981; 1995) notions of cyborg embodiment in order to explore how the digital self, in the form of an avatar, contributes to political and social notions of identity and community in virtual space. The article begins by examining definitions of cyborgs, avatars, and virtual worlds, and then it proceeds with a discussion on how science fiction has influenced understandings of cyberspace. This discussion is followed by the formulation of a theory of digital embodiment which draws on both Haraway's (1985/1981) notion of cyborg embodiment and Merleau-Ponty 's (1962) notion of embodied relations. The article concludes by discussing the implications of digital embodiment for notions of gendered identity and understandings of community in virtual space.
In science fiction one of the key concerns has always been the question, "What is Human?&quo... more In science fiction one of the key concerns has always been the question, "What is Human?" The cyborg, an amalgamation of organic and machine, is a frequent figure in the exploration of this question. Science fiction has considered the cyborg concept as early as the 1920s and continues to investigate this figure into the new millennium. Running parallel with considerations in science fiction, military research and development into creating a cyborg soldier, a superhuman war machine, has been an integral part of military affairs since WWII. In the 1980s, Donna Haraway proposed the cyborg as key metaphor in investigating feminism in technology and science. The cyborg in SF narratives begins with a concentrated concern with sexuality as a key indicator of what makes a human and then, into the 1980s, with the onset of general computer use in general society, the cyborg becomes a figure most often employed in the subgenre of cyberpunk. After the turn of the millennium the cyborg...
... Mendoza must cover this reaction of an automatic defence mode with a story about fears of los... more ... Mendoza must cover this reaction of an automatic defence mode with a story about fears of losing her virginity. ... knowledge and prophetic ponderings despite his humanness, and this leads her to question her assumption of mortals as simple ... But he was wrong: I couldn't choose. ...
eTropic: electronic journal of studies in the tropics, Aug 2, 2016
This article examines notions of self in cyber-communities, through a cross-disciplinary dialecti... more This article examines notions of self in cyber-communities, through a cross-disciplinary dialectic on digital embodiment. The article is based on conversations between a literary study on cyborg-feminist and science fiction theory and auto-ethnographic research data from the virtual world Entropia Universe. The conversation explores digital embodiment by asking the questions, "Am I cyborg?" and, "Why should I care?" The discussion draws on Haraway's notions of cyborg embodiment and Brey, Idhe, and Merleau-Ponty's works on relational embodiment to provide a theoretical exploration of selfhood in a liminal community of symbionts, cyborgs, and avatars. his article examines notions of self in cyber-communities through a cross-disciplinary dialectic on digital embodiment. The article is based on conversations between a literary study on cyborg-feminist and science fiction theory and ethnographic research data from the virtual world Entropia Universe. The discussion draws on Haraway's (1985/1981; 1995) notions of cyborg embodiment in order to explore how the digital self, in the form of an avatar, contributes to political and social notions of identity and community in virtual space. The article begins by examining definitions of cyborgs, avatars, and virtual worlds, and then it proceeds with a discussion on how science fiction has influenced understandings of cyberspace. This discussion is followed by the formulation of a theory of digital embodiment which draws on both Haraway's (1985/1981) notion of cyborg embodiment and Merleau-Ponty 's (1962) notion of embodied relations. The article concludes by discussing the implications of digital embodiment for notions of gendered identity and understandings of community in virtual space.
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