Schismatrix and the Posthuman
Hyper-embodied Representation
Keywords:
Science Fiction, Posthumanism, Transhumanism, Fantasy Studies, Schismatrix, Bruce SterlingAbstract
This paper argues that the “posthuman” is a dominant trope for SF, providing a justification for trans-and-posthumanist SF as inherently fantastic. To do so, it reads Bruce Sterling's Schismatrix stories as offering trans-and-posthuman representations definitive for twenty-first century SF, ones in which embodiment and materiality are prized over disembodied forms. Ultimately, these foundational stories represent posthumans within the context of the modern fantastic, an impulse in modern studies that foregrounds the increasingly imaginary elements defining contemporary, Western culture.
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