Being Human in Film & Literature

Description

In this course, we regard the `human' as (1) an evolving concept and (2) a lived experience. As a concept, we trace the theoretical understanding of the human from humanism, transhumanism to posthumanism. As a lived reality, we consider our place in the shifting relations between the human, the nonhuman and our environments. By close reading selected films, literary works and critical writings, we will explore encounters between the humanities and the sciences to rethink our relationship with our immediate reality. Our central question is: What does it mean to be human in the face of rapid technological advances, digitalization, climate change and the destruction of biodiversity?