John Cabot University: the Academic Experience

Posthuman Studies and Workshops

The field of Posthuman Studies analyses what it is to be human in an age of rapid technological, scientific, cultural and social evolution. As the boundaries between human and 'the other', technological, biological and environmental, are eroded and perceptions of normalcy are challenged, they have generated a range of ethical, philosophical, cultural, and artistic questions that this discipline seeks to address. Posthuman Studies draws on critical posthumanist theories, as well as transhumanist reflections, and encourages a constructive but rigorously critical dialogue between the various beyond humanist movements. The "posthuman" is a central concept within both critical posthumanism and transhumanism. Both movements talk about the impact of emergent technologies, yet, the meaning of the concept "posthuman" is different in each of these two movements.

The Journal of Posthuman Studies

Leading research papers from the field of Posthuman Studies are being published in the "Journal of Posthuman Studies."

The Editorial Board of the "Journal of Posthuman Studies" consists of many world-leading scholars, thinkers, artists, and intellectuals, and it is the first journal in the world which is dedicated to the posthuman e.g.:

Karen Barad, University of California, Santa Cruz, United States
Rosi Braidotti, Utrecht University, Netherlands
Luciano Floridi, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Steve Fuller, University of Warwick, United Kingdom
Katherine Hayles, Duke University, United States
Eduardo Kac, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, United States

Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Stelarc, Curtin University, Australia
Gianni Vattimo, University of Turin, Italy
Kevin Warwick, Coventry University, United Kingdom
Wolfgang Welsch, University of Jena, Germany
Cary Wolfe, Rice University, United States

Editors in Chief
Stefan Lorenz Sorgner, John Cabot University, Italy
James Hughes, University of Massachusetts, Boston, United States

Ex Officio Editor
Sangkyu Shin, Ewha Womans University, South Korea

The journal was launched officially during the 9th Beyond Humanism conference which took place at John Cabot University in Rome. Watch the official launch address of the journal.

Further Information

The conference was part of the Beyond Humanism Conference series during which all aspects of Posthuman Studies have been discussed since 2009. Watch a video summary of the 9th Beyond Humanism Conference, which gives an insight to the diversity of approaches, which is being dealt with in this field of studies.

CfPs of forthcoming events of the Beyond Humanism Conference Series are being published on The Official Homepage for Beyond Humanism Conference Series.

Find a book series dedicated exclusively to the field of Posthuman Studies. Volume 1 is entitled "Post- and Transhumanism: An Introduction" and serves as the best introduction to this growing field of studies.

Emergent technologies have a lasting impact on the future of work, the evolution of humankind as well as all other parts of our lifeworld. The enormous relevance of Posthuman Studies was addressed in the Opening Ceremony and the initial Plenary Session of the 9th Beyond Humanism Conference.

The arts are also radically being altered as a consequence of the impact of emerging technologies. An example of this is the posthuman metaformance by Jaime del Val, which took place during the 9th Beyond Humanism Conference at JCU.

An outstanding example of posthuman music is being shown in the following concert by Sven Helbig, which was performed during the 9th BHC in the Lemon Tree Courtyard of JCU.

Posthumanism Conference

To analyse selected elements of Sven Helbig's music, a discussion between JCU philosophy professor Stefan Lorenz Sorgner and Sven Helbig took place before the performance.

Posthuman Studies is a dynamic field of studies, which is intensively being tackled in many contemporary series, too, e.g. Black Mirror, Westworld, the Big Bang Theory. Movies, like "Transcendence," or novels, like Dan Brown's "Inferno," address posthuman issues in the same way as world leading entrepreneurs like Elon Musk...


JCU Posthuman Studies Workshops

John Cabot University regularly hosts workshops which are dedicated to the emerging field of posthuman studies. Find additional information on the posthuman studies workshops