Behold the power of the internets!

Sup.

Topic chosen: Qn. 1: ‘Why should out bodies end at the skin?’ asks Donna Haraway. Discuss the idea of skin in relation to how we might imagine our future embodiment.

1. Davis, A., 2010, Skin Replacement,

This article is an adaptation of a larger article written by Davis. The site is of American base and claims to be an online medical library for seniors and caregivers. It was created by FamilyCare America Inc., is open to the public and provides free articles and exterior links. The specific article I chose is appropriate for pre-liminal research and thought regarding the topic of skin. I wanted to have an article that explored the necessity of replacing skin from a medical viewpoint. It also discusses the development of artificial skin for use predominantly by burn victims but can still be linked to support the idea of the necessity of skin for identity purposes.

2. Smith, W., 2004, Science Fiction and Organisation

This is a Google books preview but in the short pages that are released gives insight to the human vs. other identity and how it is dealt with in the mass media machine Star Trek (through it’s invention of the Borg). Google books is yet another facet of the ever popular Google corporation. Google books is a highly reliable scholarly resource as it is a search engine where the user has access to (probably) millions of actual books that have been scanned and made available online. So it’s not a case of whether the source is true or false because it is an electronic copy of the original article. However not all books are present. Also, never is there a fully published piece but the content that is published is usually sufficient for usage. This particular source is relevant because it discusses future human development. The Borg (an example of which is heavily relied) are a creature that ‘assimilate’ humans. Though they achieve long life -a much sought after human dream- it is at the price of their autonomy, self and privacy. This imagining of future human bodies is completely juxtaposed to ‘humanism’ and what it means to be human. The book goes onto other examples of ‘others’ exploring how we define ourselves as human from ‘other’. This example is not one that could be heavily relied on, as it is only the Google preview however if it was in the library I figure it would be more useful.

3. Skirry, J., 2008 Sep 13, René Descartes (1596—1650): Overview

This might seem like an odd reference for an essay on skin but I want to include Descartes because he talks about what it means to be human. Specifically his “cogito, ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am) and the mind-body problem are of interest to me. “Cogito, ergo sum” addresses the philosophy of existence, however not the reasoning of, but the actuality of existence. With this I am reminded of the matrix where, even though people thought they were being autonomous they were being controlled by exterior forces and did not really exist in that world. The line “the body is an entirely material thing without any thinking in it at all” caught my attention as it objectifies the body consequently separating it from the mind. With such ideas from Descartes, could you argue that you need not have skin/body to ‘exist’ or to be considered human? Does skin becomes irrelevant as our ‘body’ can travel past the corporeal expressing itself through modern media such as the Internet? Is this idea demonstrated more proficiently now than any other time due to the technologically eased separation of body and mind? The site from which I am sourcing this article is called the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy and looks to be a stable environment from which to draw concrete and sincere information. I base this on the fact that this article references its author, their email and the university that published the material. It also claims to be a peer reviewed academic site.

4. Boellstorff, T., 2010, Coming of Age in Second Life

Another Google books find, this is an ethnographical text by Tom Boellstorff who engaged with the second life community for over two years. Because it is centred around 2^nd life it is a great source for contemporary expression and posthuman example. Though Boellstorffs writes about his encounters in great length, I found a useful section on ‘skin’. It doesn’t exactly match Donna Haraways discussion of skin as is stated in the question but it addresses the power of racial choice. You create your avatar from the ground up and as such are able to choose whichever race you wish. Second Life is also a great example of future embodiment. You’re able to create a whole new life online meeting new people without the constraints of the body (space, time, etc.).

5. Hayles, N K., 1999, How We Became Posthuman: Virtual bodies in cybernetics,literature and informatics

Yet another source pinched from Google books. This resource would be so much better if I could find the actual book as it links quite nicely with the whole unit and not just this specific topic. This book is definitely one that would be heavily relied on in writing this essay. Hayles discusses posthumanism in great length and delivers it with such delicious and inspiring eloquence. One line that I find particularly thought provoking: “The posthuman view privileges informational pattern over material instantiation, so that embodiment in a biological substrate is seen as an accident of history rather tan an inevitability of life”. Hayles uses examples such as Robocop and the six million dollar man to elucidate the bond between human and machine. Her writing style though at first glance may seem almost deliberately obtuse or convoluted is in actuality supremely intelligent and precise so it’s meaning is strict and clear.

(This assign proved harder than I thought it would be b/c we couldn't use the j.articles @__@ )

Em.