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Dear Friends,

I am delighted to invite you to the conference: the Future of Humanity: Post-Humanism and Trans-Humanism.

On Monday, October 24th, 2011, 9.30-20.00, at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem,
43 Jabotinsky Street,Jerusalem.

This will be an interdisciplinary academic conference, contemplating the future of humanity; a meeting place for philosophy, science, technology, culture and art.

And this will be the first academic conference relating to Transhumanism and Posthumanism in Israel.

Attendance is free.

Please find below the entire conference program,

Hoping to see you there!

Ilia

The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and the IconTLV Festival, announce a conference on

The Future of Humanity: Post-Humanism and Trans-Humanism

An interdisciplinary academic conference, contemplating the future of humanity;

a meeting place for philosophy, science, technology, culture and art

Monday, 24.10.2011 | The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute

Part of the events of IconTLV –Israel's International Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival

The terms “Posthumanism” and “Transhumanism” name cultural and philosophical frameworks that emerged in the wake of modern disruptions of humanism. Both concepts signal a crisis in the philosophical conception of “human being” as well as our definition and understanding of humanity and humanism, a crisis which may be traced as far back as Darwin, Nietzsche and Freud and which takes full shape in contemporary thought about technology and virtuality. Man-machine interfaces, virtual worlds, genetic manipulation, the eradication of disease and the dream of a radical reprogramming of human biology set post-humanism and trans-humanism at the centre of current cultural, scientific, artistic, philosophical and even political discourse.

10.00 – Opening Remarks

10.30 – Theoretical Approaches

Chair: Dr. Keren Omry, Dept. of English Language and Literature,UniversityofHaifa

The Question of Voice: Can a Posthuman Speak?

Prof. Elana Gomel, Dept. of English and American Studies,UniversityofTel-Aviv

Towards a Posthuman Aesthetic

Prof. Yael Levin, Dept. of English Culture and Literature,UniversityofTromso

Putting the Impossible to Work: Posthumanism and the Future of Humanity

Prof. Ruben Borg, Dept. of English, TheHebrewUniversity

12.30 – Representations in Popular Cultural

Chair: Prof. Elana Gomel, Dept. of English and American Studies,UniversityofTel-Aviv

Above and Beyond: Super Heroes as Popular Representation of Posthumanism

Mr. Tom Shapira, Dept. of English and American Studies,UniversityofTel-Aviv

Non-human Humanity

Mr. Ehud Maimon, Lecturer, Translator and Editor, the Israeli Society for Science Fiction and Fantasy

Posthumanism Post 9/11

Dr. Keren Omry, Dept. of English Language and Literature,UniversityofHaifa

14.00 – Lunch Break

15.30 – Technology and Life

Chair: Ms.KochiCohen

Society for life extension? Some ideological justifications for the pursuit of longevity

Dr. Ilia Stambler, Dept. of Science, Technology and Society, Bar-IlanUniversity

Incorporation: Game-World Habitation and Post-Humanism

Prof. Gordon Calleja, Head of the Centre for Computer Games Research ITUniversityofCopenhagen

Why Quantum Computers?

Dr. Boaz Tamir, Dept. of Science, Technology and Society, Bar-IlanUniversity

17.30 – The Singularity

Chair: Dr. Joshua Fox, Development Manager, IBM

Mr. Michael Vassar, President, US Singularity Institute

19.00 – Posthuman Apocalypse: Biopolitics, Contagion and End Times

Prof. Sheryl Vint, Dept. of English Language and Literature,BrockUniversity

Academic Committee

Dr. Ruben Borg, Faculty of Humanities, theHebrewUniversityofJerusalemand The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute

Dr. Elana Gomel, Faculty of Humanities,Tel-AvivUniversity

Organization

Mr. Uri Aviv

Ms. Ahuva Goldstand

Ms. Ahuva Goldstand