SAGE 2012 Colloquim: De/Centering the Human Subject

A wide range of cultural theorists and philosophers classify the present age as a “posthuman” one, in which Enlightenment humanism and classical liberalism cannot be considered effective models for conceptualizing “the human.” Posthumanist thinkers question whether we have ever been only or wholly human in a way that upsets received understandings of the term, itself. Instead “the human” is thought of as a locus of ontological tension, biological hybridity, and technogenesis. While this line of thinking has given way to rich scholarly development, to the creation of theories and critical responses to older models, what can we say posthumanism makes possible or creates?

What set of conditions, what products (material or immaterial), what questions and problems does the posthuman present engender? Specifically, in the area of humanities research--a body of inquiry traditionally devoted, generally, to the analytical study of the human--what are the consequences or products of posthumanism?

We invite graduate students and faculty working in the areas of literary studies, new media, rhetoric, disability studies, animal studies, game studies, cognitive science, and other related fields to submit proposals that develop the themes outlined below. Proposals may take the form of individual papers, multi-paper panels, or roundtables. Abstracts should be emailed to Sarah Gibbons  by March 15, 2012 with “SAGE Colloquium Submission” in the subject line.

SAGE 2012 Colloquium Poster (PDF)