Professor Stefan Sorgner on Posthumanities at University of Tallinn, Estonia
At the end of January, JCU philosophy professor Stefan Sorgner was invited to giving the opening keynote address at a winter school at the University of Tallinn, Estonia dedicated to posthumanities with more than 100 doctoral students participating.
First from right, Professor Stefan Sorgner
Posthumanities and Posthuman Studies address the impact of emerging technologies from a humanities perspective. During the winter school, digital literacy studies, digital humanities, medical humanities, environmental humanities, environmental history, posthumanities, the Anthropocene, posthuman studies, big history, theories of history and many other topics were discussed.
Leading scholars from various fields were invited as additional keynote speakers. The consideration of emerging technologies in the humanities leads to interesting challenges. Are natural scientists and computer experts taking over the humanities? Should natural scientists not be obliged to take humanities courses, too? It is clear that emerging technologies have a paradigm-shifting effect on the world we live in. This does not mean that we ought to overcome our established foundations. Yet, these foundations need to be twisted so that the latest insights and achievements get appropriately acknowledged. This is what Professor Sorgner suggested in his presentation on posthuman studies, which is also a field that gets a lot of attention at John Cabot University.
On Saturday the 9th of February 2019, the 2nd John Cabot University Posthuman Studies Workshop will take place in the Aula Magna Regina, dedicated to the topic Beyond Anthropocentrism. All students and faculty members are cordially invited to attend this workshop.
