| Alien Chic: Posthumanism and the Other Within Contributor(s): Badmington, Neil (Author) |
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ISBN: 0415310237 ISBN-13: 9780415310239 Publisher: Routledge OUR PRICE: $47.45 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: September 2004 Annotation: "Alien Chic" sets out to provide a cultural history of the alien since the 1950s, asking why our attitudes to aliens have changed from fear to affection, and what this can tell us about how we now see ourselves and others. The author begins by exploring our relationship with the concept of aliens, primarily through films, including "Invaders from Mars," "Mars Attacks" and "Mission to Mars." He then progresses to ideas of humanism and what makes us human, taking in the works of thinkers such as Descartes, Barthes, Freud, and Derrida. The book then considers the concept of posthumanism in an age in which the lines between what is human and what is non-human are increasingly blurred by advances in science and technology, for example cloning and genetic engineering, and the development of AI and cyborgs. This leads to the question of whether our embracing of all things 'alien' stems from a need to reaffirm ourselves as "human." Written in a clear and engaging style, Alien Chic is an original and thought-provoking contribution to the study of posthumanism. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Body, Mind & Spirit | Ufos & Extraterrestrials |
| Dewey: 001.942 |
| LCCN: 2004002290 |
| Physical Information: 0.5" H x 6.28" W x 9.2" (0.78 lbs) 203 pages |
| Themes: - Topical - New Age |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Alien Chic provides a cultural history of the alien since the 1950s, asking ourselves why our attitudes to aliens have shifted from fear to affection, and what this can tell us about how we now see ourselves and others. Neil Badmington explores our relationship with aliens, inscribed in films such as The War of the Worlds, Mars Attacks , Mission to Mars and Independence Day; and how thinkers such as Descartes, Barthes, Freud, Lyotard and Derrida have conceptualised what it means to be human (and post-human). Alien Chic examines the the concept of posthumanism in an age when the lines between what is human and what is non-human are increasingly blurred by advances in science and technology, for example genetic cloning and engineering, and the development of AI and cyborgs. Questioning whether our current embracing of all things 'alien' - in the form of extraterrestrial gadgets or abduction narratives, for instance - stems from a desire to reaffirm ourselves as 'human', this is an original and thought-provoking contribution to the study of posthumanism. |