Skip to main content Skip to navigation

Book presentation with Rosi Braidotti



The Centre for Research in Philosophy, Literature and the Arts, in collaboration with the Warwick Workshop for Interdisciplinary German Studies and the University Bookshop, invite:


Wine reception in honour of Rosi Braidotti (Utrecht University)

with a presentation of her new book, The Posthuman (Polity, 2013)


Thursday 9 May, 5-6pm, University Bookshop, Arts Centre


posthuman title pageDigital ‘second life’, genetically modified food, advanced prosthetics, robotics and reproductive technologies are familiar facets of our globally linked and technologically mediated societies. These have blurred the traditional distinction between the human and its others, exposing the non-naturalistic structure of the human. The Posthuman starts by exploring the extent to which a post-humanist move displaces the traditional humanistic unity of the subject. Rather than perceiving this situation as a loss of cognitive and moral self-mastery, Braidotti argues that the posthuman helps us make sense of our flexible and multiple identities.

Braidotti then analyses the escalating effects of post-anthropocentric thought, which encompass not only other species, but also the sustainability of our planet as a whole. Because contemporary market economies profit from the control and commodification of all that lives, they result in hybridisation, erasing categorical distinctions between the human and other species, seeds, plants, animals and bacteria.

The Posthuman concludes by considering the implications of these shifts for the institutional practice of the humanities. Braidotti outlines new forms of cosmopolitan neo-humanism that emerge from the spectrum of post-colonial and race studies, as well as gender analysis and environmentalism. The challenge of the posthuman condition consists in seizing the opportunities for new social bonding and community building, while pursuing sustainability and empowerment.


Rosi Braidotti will present her most recent work at this pre-launch event.


ALL WELCOME!