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This work studies three twenty-first century novels by Richard Powers, Dave Eggers and Don DeLillo as representative of a new trend of US fiction concerned with the topic of the technological augmentation of the human condition. The different chapters provide, from the double perspective of the optimistic transhumanist philosophy and the more balanced approach of critical posthumanism, an overview of the narrative strategies used by the writers to explore the possibilities that biotechnology, digital technologies and cryonics open up to transcend our human limitations, while also warning their readers of their most nefarious consequences. Ultimately, the book puts forward the claim that even if the writers approach the subject from a variety of perspectives and using different narrative styles and techniques, they all share a critical posthumanist fear that an unrestrained and unquestioned use of technology for enhancement purposes may bring about disembodiment and dehumanization.
List of contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Transhumanism and Critical Posthumanism
Literary Representations of the Trans- and the Posthuman
Cyberpunk, Postcyberpunk, and Beyond
1. Richard Powers's Generosity: An Enhancement (2009): A Metafictional Reflection on the Biotechnological Pursuit of Happiness
Generosity: An Enhancement and Transhumanism: The Biotechnological Pursuit of Happiness
Critical Posthumanism and Metafiction in Generosity: An Enhancement
2. When Utopia Meets Dystopia: Social Media Tools and Surveillance Devices in Dave Eggers's The Circle (2013)
The Circle and Transhumanism: Social Media Tools and Surveillance Devices
Critical Posthumanism, Utopia, and Dystopia in The Circle
3. Don DeLillo's Zero K (2016): Transhumanism, Trauma, and the Ethics of Premature Cryopreservation
Zero K and Transhumanism: Life Extension Technologies
Critical Posthumanism and Trauma in Zero K
Conclusion
Index
About the author
Carmen Laguarta-Bueno is a lecturer at the Department of English and German Studies at the University of Zaragoza. Her work has been published in journals such as
Atlantis and
The Nordic Journal of English Studies, and in volumes such as
Transhumanism and Posthumanism in Twenty-First Century Narrative (Routledge).
Summary
This work approaches, from dual perspective of the optimistic transhumanist philosophy and the more balanced perspective of critical posthumanism, 21st century novels by Richard Powers, Dave Eggers and Don DeLillo as representative of a new trend of US fiction concerned with the topic of the technological augmentation of the human condition
