Tag Archives: posthuman mimesis

Mimetic Posthumanism: Homo Mimeticus 2.0 in Art, Philosophy and Technics

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It is indeed tempting to affirm that on and about November 2022 (post)human character changed. The revolution in A.I. simulations calls for an update of the ancient realization that humans are imitative animals, or homo mimeticus. But mimetic posthumanism is not limited to A.I.: from simulation to identification, affective contagion to viral mimesis, robotics to hypermimesis, a plurality of posthuman theorists–from Katherine Hayles to Francesca Ferrando, Ivan Callus to Patricia Pisters, among others—argue that it is because of our all-too-human tendency to imitate that we are caught in a mimetic process of becoming posthuman in the first place. Free download HERE

Special Issue: Posthuman Mimesis

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This special issue, guest-edited by Nidesh Lawtoo sets conceptual foundations for the mimetic turn in posthuman studies. Including key figures in posthuman studies as well as a final dialogue with Katherine Hayles, the issue shows, from multiple perspectives that mimesis is central to our process of becoming posthuman. Available OPEN ACCESS HERE.

Posthuman Mimesis: Introduction

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In this welcome to the Posthuman Mimesis Conference part of the ERC-funded HOM Project (KU Leuven), Nidesh Lawtoo and Carole Guesse argue about the importance of bridging the concept of “mimesis” with the concept of the “posthuman” in view of promoting a mimetic turn in posthuman studies, which, as this conference shows, is already underway. More information here.

Survival as Mimesis (Katherine Hayles)

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In her keynote address for the Posthuman Mimesis conference, part of the ERC-funded HOM project, Katherine Hayles relies on her double training in biology and literary theory to promote a mimetic turn in posthuman studies. With roots in Greek classical drama and development in literary theory, mimesis is often regarded as primarily a discursive technique. Recently, however, Hayles argues that its applications in embodied practices have undergone exponential expansion in an unexpected domain: microbial resistance to viruses.

Toward the Mimetic Posthuman (Carole Guesse)

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As part of the Homo Mimeticus Seminar (KU Leuven), Postdoctoral researcher Carole Guesse (@CrlGss) provides a short introduction to the posthuman and its discourses: transhumanism and posthumanism. She then explores the various ways in which the posthuman – in both theory and (science) fiction – can be characterized as mimetic.