Between Trans- and Posthumanism

The aim of this webinar series is to explore the encounters and differences between Trans-humanism and Posthumanism. These two concepts have been gaining strong popularity in the last decades, motivated mainly by radical innovations in the fields of Information Technologies, Robotics, and Biosciences. Despite some initial common grounds, these two terms have grown apart, setting some significant differences in terms of their philosophical, ethical, and political frameworks.

To examine these differences, the webinars will explore a series different fields, such as bioethics, film and media studies, gender studies, art theory, and philosophy. Each session will focus on one or more of these fields, in an attempt not only to highlight how the debate of posthumanism and trans-humanism has permeated different cultural and academic disciplines, but also to develop cross-disciplinary encounters between them. Each session will have one key speaker who will be accompanied by a discussant from the Sant’Anna School (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna).

• Session 1 (April 13^th, 15:00-17:00): Unlimited Life. The Evolution of an Idea. Speaker: Riccardo Campa (Jagiellonian University, Poland). Discussant: Barbara Henry (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna). 
• Session 2 (May 18^th, 17:00-19:30): We Have Always Been Artificially Intelligent. Speaker: Joanna Zylinska (Goldsmiths, UK). Discussants: Elisa Piras / Serena Giusti (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna). Registration link: https://bit.ly/3ac0uOD
• Session 3 (June 29^th, 17:00-19:30): Transhumanism and posthumanism in contemporary media. Speaker: Francesco Sticchi (Oxford Brooks, UK). Discussant: Claudio Celis (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna). Registration link: https://bit.ly/3gpAi79 
• Session 4 (October): Posthuman Vulnerability (TBC). Speaker: Christine Daigle (Brock University, Canada). Discussant: Ilaria Santoemma (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna).
• Session 5 (November): Transhumanism as Neosubstantivism (TBC). Speaker: Andrés Vaccari (UNRN, Argentina). Discussants: Piercosma Bisconti / Claudia Schettini (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna).

This event is organised by Prof. Barbara Henry and Dr. Claudio Celis (DIRPOLIS Institute).

In case you have any questions, please contact claudio.celis@santannapisa.it