Call for applications – Posthuman Convergences Theories and Methodologies – Utrecht Summer School Course by Prof. Rosi Braidotti

Aims
The 2020 intensive course will focus on “Posthuman Convergences”. The aim of this interdisciplinary course is to track the convergences between different branches of posthuman knowledge production. It starts by offering a selected overview of contemporary scholarship on the ‘posthuman turn,’ notably its applications and implications in the Humanities and Social Sciences. The posthuman turn is defined as the convergence, within the context of advanced or cognitive capitalism, of post-humanism on the one hand and post-anthropocentrism on the other. Although these lines of critical thought often overlap, they are distinct phenomena both in terms of their theoretical genealogies and their practical applications. Their current convergence is triggering a number of qualitative developments of a very original nature, which we will outline and study. A related aim of the course is to introduce and apply Braidotti’s specific brand of neo-materialist, critical feminist posthuman theory.

Themes and structure
In order to evaluate posthuman convergences, the course will present, explore and assess the defining features of a selected number of fields within the fast-growing Posthumanities, such as the Environmental, Digital and Medical Humanities. Mindful of the differences in power and access that structure the debate on the posthuman, we will also investigate how posthuman knowledge(s) can assist us in moving beyond the patterns of exclusion of the sexualized,
racialized and naturalized “others” that were not recognized as belonging to humanity and were also disqualified as subjects of knowledge. Special attention will also be given to the continuing efforts to learn to think beyond anthropocentrism. Methodological questions and issues will be one of the course highlights.

Following an established tradition, each day of the course is structured as follows: the mornings are devoted to plenary lectures by the course director and invited teachers that outline the main features of the Posthumanities. The afternoons are devoted to parallel seminar sessions and panels, presenting a selection of concrete case studies. Throughout the course, special efforts will be made to highlight the crucial contribution of art practices to all areas of posthuman scholarship and research. The course sessions will take place between 09.00 hrs and 17.30 hrs.

Lecturers
Prof. Rosi Braidotti (Utrecht University), Prof. Anna Hickey-Moody (RMIT University), Dr. Simone Bignall (University of Technology Sydney), Dr. Ruth Clemens (Utrecht University), Dr. Emily Jones (University of Essex), Kaye Sidebottom (Leeds Beckett University), Fiona Hillary (RMIT University) and Goda Klumbyte (University of Kassel).

Compulsory reading
o Posthuman Knowledge (Polity Press, 2019), by Rosi Braidotti
o Posthuman Ecologies (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019), edited by Rosi Braidotti and Simone Bignall

Background reading
o The Posthuman (Polity Press, 2013), by Rosi Braidotti
o Selected entries from the Posthuman Glossary (Bloomsbury Academic 2018), edited by Rosi Braidotti and Maria Hlavajova

Application procedure
Course fee for students: €350
Course fee for non-students: €550
Housing fee (optional): €200.

Apply now via our Utrecht Summer School web page.
Application deadline: June 1, 2020. Due to high demand we will process applications on a first-come, first-served basis. If the maximum number of participants is reached before the deadline, we may close the application process
earlier.

For more information, contact R. Braidotti’s assistant at gw.braidottiass@uu.nl.