“You Must Be an Android”: The Persistence of Humanist Hierarchies in Posthumanist Science Fiction

<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>

Name thesis:degree_name

Masters of Arts in English

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Year dc:date.available

2021

Author dc:creator

• Brady, Elizabeth

Contributors dc:contributor

• <p>Dr. Kimberly Davis, Chair</p> <p>Dr. Matt Bell, Member</p> <p>Prof. Bruce Machart, Member</p>

• Science fiction
• Dystopias
• Philosophy
• Artificial intelligence
• Cyborgs
• Body swapping
• Gender
• Race
• Humanistic ethics

Repository record dc:identifier

https://vc.bridgew.edu/theses/79

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vc.bridgew.edu:theses-1078