NOISE week 2: Posthumanism

I absolutely LOVED the academics this past week. In addition to just that, I got to know a lot of the NOISE students better and just generally had a good time.

Before this week, I had no clue what posthumanism is. Frankly, I'm still foggy on the concept; most philosophical theories that begin with post- are just a bitch to get a grasp of (except for postfeminism [the idea that feminism is no longer necessary] and postcolonialism [dealing with the aftermath of political colonialism], those are pretty much straightforward). In anycase, posthumanism is the concept that the idea of the human as a separate, unitary being is flawed. Rather, humans can be thought of as cyborgs (cybernetic organisms) that have human, animal, and technological components (for an awesome essay on the topic here's a link). This is already a reality, what with pacemakers and norplants, and we've known that humans were animals since Darwin, so that's nothing new. However, we all still have a tendency towards "human exceptionalism" or the idea that humans are better than animals. This idea of human exceptionalism not only because it justifies cruelty towards non-human animals, but also because it allows for more oppression to exist. For example, if someone characterizes certain race, or ethnic group, or gender as animalistic or closer to animals, that group is rendered inhuman and thus not deserving of human rights. In short, it's yet another way of rationalizing the -isms. Because of this, trying to shake the idea of human exceptionalism is key. The only problem is, that would mean I'd have to be vegan. I've already pretty much gone veggie, but I really want to enjoy the cheese and pastries and such here. So for now, I think I'll be a hipocrite. When I get back to the states, though, I'll re-evaluate.

Anyway, my tutor group (GO GROUP YELLOW!) created a game of the Sims that had all of our group members in it in Sim form. I had to be a kid because it was the version that couldn't adjust height (bah on that). It was a lot of fun, and just plain awesome, to play the Sims and claim it as work time.

Also this past week we had a feminist pub quiz at an Irish pub in town. Even though our team got 3rd place, it was loads of fun and hey, we still beat two of the teams :P. Without a doubt, though, the most fun of the week was the make some NOISE party last friday. Lots of dancing, amazing food, and really really really good music. Also, as a whole, the NOISE students are just really cool people and I met many an awesome individual. A lot of them are going to school at Universeit Utrecht so we are still hanging out with them as long as we're in Utrecht.

For the next week and 1/2, we'll be recieving lectures from Iveta as well as other scholars from the Universeit Utrecht women's studies department (it's supposed to be one of the best in Europe!). I have a lot more free time now, which allows for wandering and such. Honestly, the more I see of Utrecht, the more I love it. One of these days I'm gonna rent a bike. I'll be sure to fill y'all in on that when the time comes.

Until then, Adios!