Posthumanism, Transhumanism and Gender Trouble: The future of gender: a case study

This project investigates the futures of gender considering the current development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), cyborg technologies and robotics. The project asks how and to what extent the development of cyborgs, robots and AI inform us of gender and the inter-sectional differences characterizing the human species.  It focuses on the transformation or transformations that human-ness has undergone so far, and then on the meaning of the post-ness and trans-ness of humanness. "Gender trouble" in the title of this research is, of course, an inspiration of Judith Butler's illuminating book Gender Trouble, Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. In addition to this inspiration, the special emphasis attached to "gender trouble" in this research will be on unresolved or unsolvable (?) troublesomeness of gender throughout these social, political and economic transformations. It addresses whether gender trouble will be untroubled depending on the progress of human-isms or not. Does this come to mean that the development or enhancement of the human brain and body (physical/bodily) will also improve the mind or mentality of the social and political on gender troubles? In other words, will the social and political perceptional troubles on gender be resolved once the human is enhanced? Will the post-ness and trans-ness of humanism will transcend traditional gender boundaries? Or, will transhuman still be transhuMAN– super-enhanced males – who will continue dominating women's world? Or, will equality mission, in any sense, be accomplished?
The students are expected to do research, write a literature review, gather, classify, and analyze data, write a paper, resolve conflict, publish the outcomes and share with the audience.