Building a Better Mind &
Body…
The different ways in which Hayles
characterized posthuman-ity conjured
some pretty interesting imagery for me.
For example thinking of the body as the original prosthesis I kept
picturing human limbs being replaced with the advent of new information. This represented the constant and continuous
construction and reconstruction of a new (posthuman) body. One way in which this occurs in our daily
lives as graduate students is through our coursework. Per semester we take 3 to 4 courses each with
its individual syllabus. The ideas
represented/generated in each course symbolize a limb of the posthuman
body. With each new idea or set of
information I envision a limb being replaced and the construction of a new
body.
I also understood Hayles’ characteristic of privileging informational patterns over materiality in the identification of subjects, objects, and activities in terms of education. I was reminded of an article I read by Jean Anyon (1981) who described the manner in which education and curriculum maintains the establishment of classism in society through the filtration and distribution of information presented in educational institutions based on social class. In her study of schools in two New Jersey school districts Anyon demonstrated the “social stratification of knowledge” (p. 4) in schools among varying social classes. For example, students who attend working-class schools are presented with a curriculum which works toward the establishment of basic skills, while students in the middle-class are exposed to a curriculum that emphasizes hard work and the establishment of knowledge based on what others tell students is correct; students in the affluent-professional schools are presented with a curriculum that emphasizes critical thinking, and the establishment of their role in society in relation to the world around them; and students who attend the executive-elite schools are exposed to a more analytical curriculum based on the establishment of problem-solving skills, as well as the subjugation of groups in lower social classes. Another example which comes to mind when we consider the privileging of informational patterns is the development of (functional) literacy skills. Gee (1987) & Delpit (1995) suggested that in attempting to acquire society’s dominant discourse students actually attempt to mimic privileged informational patterns so that they are able to function “within some larger set of values and beliefs” (Gee in Mitchell & Weiler 1991, p. 546).
The conception of consciousness as epiphenomenal makes me think of the ideal Jain who sits and is affected by his environment without being influenced by the things or ideas that emerge out of this changing environment. I am not sure how to perceive this information. Hayles alludes to Descartes who suggested to society “I think, therefore I am.” What does this really mean in terms of processing information? Freire (1970) & Sandoval (2000) suggested that through the development of consciousness with regard to our position and relationship to power within this system we are able to transcend and transform events, knowledge and experiences. Hayles suggested something along similar lines when she describes the transformation of awareness and state of being through one’s changing/developing state of consciousness.
The different ways in which Hayles
characterized posthuman-ity conjured
some pretty interesting imagery for me.
For example thinking of the body as the original prosthesis I kept
picturing human limbs being replaced with the advent of new information. This represented the constant and continuous
construction and reconstruction of a new (posthuman) body. One way in which this occurs in our daily
lives as graduate students is through our coursework. Per semester we take 3 to 4 courses each with
its individual syllabus. The ideas
represented/generated in each course symbolize a limb of the posthuman
body. With each new idea or set of
information I envision a limb being replaced and the construction of a new
body. I also understood Hayles’ characteristic of privileging informational patterns over materiality in the identification of subjects, objects, and activities in terms of education. I was reminded of an article I read by Jean Anyon (1981) who described the manner in which education and curriculum maintains the establishment of classism in society through the filtration and distribution of information presented in educational institutions based on social class. In her study of schools in two New Jersey school districts Anyon demonstrated the “social stratification of knowledge” (p. 4) in schools among varying social classes. For example, students who attend working-class schools are presented with a curriculum which works toward the establishment of basic skills, while students in the middle-class are exposed to a curriculum that emphasizes hard work and the establishment of knowledge based on what others tell students is correct; students in the affluent-professional schools are presented with a curriculum that emphasizes critical thinking, and the establishment of their role in society in relation to the world around them; and students who attend the executive-elite schools are exposed to a more analytical curriculum based on the establishment of problem-solving skills, as well as the subjugation of groups in lower social classes. Another example which comes to mind when we consider the privileging of informational patterns is the development of (functional) literacy skills. Gee (1987) & Delpit (1995) suggested that in attempting to acquire society’s dominant discourse students actually attempt to mimic privileged informational patterns so that they are able to function “within some larger set of values and beliefs” (Gee in Mitchell & Weiler 1991, p. 546).
The conception of consciousness as epiphenomenal makes me think of the ideal Jain who sits and is affected by his environment without being influenced by the things or ideas that emerge out of this changing environment. I am not sure how to perceive this information. Hayles alludes to Descartes who suggested to society “I think, therefore I am.” What does this really mean in terms of processing information? Freire (1970) & Sandoval (2000) suggested that through the development of consciousness with regard to our position and relationship to power within this system we are able to transcend and transform events, knowledge and experiences. Hayles suggested something along similar lines when she describes the transformation of awareness and state of being through one’s changing/developing state of consciousness.
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