Posthumanism and the Posthuman

‘Not all of us can say, with any degree of certainty, that we have always been human, or that we are only that. Some of us are not even considered fully human now, let alone at previous moments of Western social, political and scientific history.’ As the philosopher Rosi Braidotti reminds us, one of the central achievements of posthumanism and ‘the post-human’ has been to enrich and diversify our sense of what it could have meant to be human, and what it might still mean.

At a time of intersecting global crises, this conference seeks to re-evaluate the categories of humanness and ‘the human’ through the lenses of the posthuman and the transhuman. With a particular focus on German literature, culture, film and the thought from the 18^th century to the present, it will explore posthuman(ist) conceptions and figurations of gender, sexuality, interpersonality, ecology, ontology, and – of course – artificial intelligence. The conference’s keynote speakers are Karin Harasser (Linz) and Stefan Herbrechter (Heidelberg), and it includes a writers’ workshop with prize-winning graphic novelist Olivia Vieweg.

Registration fees:

Standard rate: GBP 35.00 | Friends of Germanic Studies/Friends of Italian at the ILCS: GBP 30.00 | Students: GBP 15.00

Please note, registration is possible until 19 March 2023.

All are welcome to participate in this two-day event, for which advance online registration is essential. Registration fees include lunch and reception on the first day, and refreshments on the second. Anyone wishing to attend the conference dinner on the first day is asked to indicate their interest whilst booking; the cost of GBP 35.00, not including drinks is payable in cash on the day.