This thesis examines science fiction dystopias in which the vestiges of humanist philosophy taint the construction of posthuman subjects. With a grounding in the tenets of both humanist and posthumanist philosophy, I analyze eight works of science fiction that depict artificial intelligence, cyborgs, and body swapping to determine the common critiques made. The source of the troubling aspects of these imagined futures doesn’t derive strictly from the presence of advanced, posthumanist technologies. Instead, the authors shine a light on the monstrosity that results when technological posthumanism comes to fruition while their imagined future societies remain grounded in humanist hierarchies, including that of class, gender, and race.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis examines science fiction dystopias in which the vestiges of humanist philosophy taint the construction of posthuman subjects. With a grounding in the tenets of both humanist and posthumanist philosophy, I analyze eight works of science fiction that depict artificial intelligence, cyborgs, and body swapping to determine the common critiques made. The source of the troubling aspects of these imagined futures doesn’t derive strictly from the presence of advanced, posthumanist technologies. Instead, the authors shine a light on the monstrosity that results when technological posthumanism comes to fruition while their imagined future societies remain grounded in humanist hierarchies, including that of class, gender, and race.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Brady, Elizabeth"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Masters of Arts in English","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Kimberly Davis, Chair
Dr. Matt Bell, Member
Prof. Bruce Machart, Member
"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:22:00Z","subjects":["Science fiction","Dystopias","Philosophy","Artificial intelligence","Cyborgs","Body swapping","Gender","Race","Humanistic ethics"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://vc.bridgew.edu/theses/79","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Kimberly Davis, Chair
Dr. Matt Bell, Member
Prof. Bruce Machart, Member
"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Brady, Elizabeth"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-11-22T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Masters of Arts in English"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Science fiction","Dystopias","Philosophy","Artificial intelligence","Cyborgs","Body swapping","Gender","Race","Humanistic ethics"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://vc.bridgew.edu/theses/79"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis examines science fiction dystopias in which the vestiges of humanist philosophy taint the construction of posthuman subjects. With a grounding in the tenets of both humanist and posthumanist philosophy, I analyze eight works of science fiction that depict artificial intelligence, cyborgs, and body swapping to determine the common critiques made. The source of the troubling aspects of these imagined futures doesn’t derive strictly from the presence of advanced, posthumanist technologies. Instead, the authors shine a light on the monstrosity that results when technological posthumanism comes to fruition while their imagined future societies remain grounded in humanist hierarchies, including that of class, gender, and race.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["“You Must Be an Android”: The Persistence of Humanist Hierarchies in Posthumanist Science Fiction"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Kimberly Davis, Chair
Dr. Matt Bell, Member
Prof. Bruce Machart, Member
"],"dc:creator":["Brady, Elizabeth"],"dc:date.available":["2021-11-22T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis examines science fiction dystopias in which the vestiges of humanist philosophy taint the construction of posthuman subjects. With a grounding in the tenets of both humanist and posthumanist philosophy, I analyze eight works of science fiction that depict artificial intelligence, cyborgs, and body swapping to determine the common critiques made. The source of the troubling aspects of these imagined futures doesn’t derive strictly from the presence of advanced, posthumanist technologies. Instead, the authors shine a light on the monstrosity that results when technological posthumanism comes to fruition while their imagined future societies remain grounded in humanist hierarchies, including that of class, gender, and race.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://vc.bridgew.edu/theses/79"],"dc:subject":["Science fiction","Dystopias","Philosophy","Artificial intelligence","Cyborgs","Body swapping","Gender","Race","Humanistic ethics"],"dc:title":["“You Must Be an Android”: The Persistence of Humanist Hierarchies in Posthumanist Science Fiction"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Masters of Arts in English"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:22:00Z"}