Postgraduate Module Descriptor


SOC3096: Cyborg Studies

This module descriptor refers to the 2024/5 academic year.

Overview

NQF Level6
Credits15 ECTS Value7.5
Term(s) and duration

This module ran during term 1 (11 weeks)

Academic staff

Dr Astrid Schrader (Convenor)

Pre-requisites

none

Co-requisites

none

Available via distance learning

No

How should we think about the relationship between humans and increasingly powerful technology? What’s so special about humans anyway? Using the figure of the cyborg, a hybrid of machine and organism, we will analyse and reflect upon a wide range of topics related to both technology and the place of humanity in the world. You will be encouraged to critique the principles of humanism and invited to develop them in new directions. Discussions of posthumanist theories and their ethical and political implications will be considered alongside empirical studies drawn from science and technology studies.

There are no prerequisites and it is suitable for non-specialist students in the social and natural sciences, the humanities and engineering and is highly appropriate for students following interdisciplinary pathways.

Module created

09/03/2016

Last revised

26/01/2022