Towards Posthuman ist American Studies Theory Literature Film

What is posthumanism? What is its relation to Western humanism and post-anthropocentrism? Should, and if so, how can American Literary and Cultural Studies include a stronger posthuman(ist) component? These are only some of the questions we will explore in this course. The first portion of the class is devoted to articulating a critical genealogy of posthumanism from Donna Haraway's -Manifesto for Cyborgs" (1985) through Katherine Hayles's How We Became Posthuman (1999) to Rosy Braidotti's The Posthuman (2013), Stefan Herbrechter's Posthumanism: A Critical Analysis (2013), and Giorgio Agamben's The Open: Man and Animal (2013). As a counterpoint to this theoretical moment, in the rest of the course, we will engage in detailed readings and interpretations of selected American novels, short stories, and probably a couple of films that exemplify the emergence of a posthuman(ist) sensibility or problematic. Each session will include a brief opening lecture, followed by extensive class discussion of the issues raised in the lecture and in the readings assigned for that day. Active class participation is extremely important for the style and subject matter of this class! A tentative course syllabus will be posted online at www.manliodm.com before the beginning of the semester. Texts include: Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968); Richard Powers, Galatea 2.2 (1995); Octavia Butler, Lilith's Brood (2000, previously published as Xenogenesis); Laurence Gonzales, Lucy (2010). Additional material will be made available in a reader.

W3-Professur für Nordamerikanische Literaturgeschichte (Univ. Prof. Dr. Klaus Benesch) B.A.-Nebenfach SLK: Diese Veranstaltung entspricht in WP 2 dem Kurstyp -Begleitkurs zu Themen der Literaturwissenschaft m/n/o/p- (WP 2.0.14/16/18/20). Sie erhalten 3 ECTS, wenn Sie entweder eine Klausur (30-60 Min.) schreiben oder eine mündliche Prüfung (15-30 Min.) ablegen oder ein Thesenpapier (3.000-6.000 Zeichen) oder Übungsaufgaben (3.000-6.000 Zeichen) fertigen. Die Prüfung muss benotet sein. Die Wahl der Prüfungsart liegt beim Dozenten. LMU München SoSe 2015 Dozent