Media Studies Online


Cyborgs & Posthumanism

Overview

"We are all chimeras, theorized and fabricated hybrids of machine and organism;
in short, we are cyborgs."

Donna Haraway

Posthumanism is an umbrella term that can be difficult to define, but broadly speaking posthuman theory seeks to de-center human exceptionalism or remove “man” from the top of the metaphysical hierarchy. The most well-known approach to posthuman perspectives may be through the role of technology. In the 1960s, media theorist Marshall McLuhan posited that all media are extensions of human senses: “The wheel is an extension of the foot… the book is an extension of the eye… clothing, an extension of the skin… electric circuitry, an extension of the central nervous system.” Later, in the 80s and 90s, Donna Haraway and Katherine Hayles further developed notions of the cyborg and posthuman, similarly arguing that our relationship with technology had become so deeply integrated that we have become posthuman, cyborgs. Posthuman theory has continued to evolve, draw from other fields, and expand beyond considerations of technology and cybercultures. In the last few decades more scholars have taken a posthuman lens to examine the anthropocentrism and (real or perceived) boundaries between “human” and “animal.” More recently, there has been consideration of a broader scope of non-human others, including plants, objects, and other non-human beings. The ideas explored in posthuman thought are not limited to the academy, however. Indeed, literature and popular culture has played a crucial role in exploring and depicting human-machine cyborgs and non-human lifeways.

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