Blog 2

a) Most obviously, all three of these texts relate to the body in a broad sense, including ways in which science has changed perceptions thereof. Balsamo works from a more feminist/postmodern standpoint, where technology is at the forefront and opens new possibilities (not at all necessarily positive); Bridges covers some of the same concepts relating to technology, including various human/machine hybrids, but does not deal exclusively with gender and takes a more factual/historical rather than theoretical perspective. Linke is interested in National Socialism, which, in its connotations of blood, brings about some interesting ideas relating to birth and death as they relate to women.

b) Key Terms: Postmodern, Modern, Cyborg, Android, Automaton, Simulacra, Discourse, Corporal, Replication, Reproduction

c)Questions:

-Has technology benefited women in society?

-Do terms remain useful when their meaning becomes unclear (replication/reproduction, the various forms of artificial/enhanced humans)?

-In the world of "discourse", where does the individual figure in?

-Might it be relevant that the types of cyborgs depicted in fiction do generally not resemble anything in the real world? Maybe we're getting carried away here. . .

Comments:

It is interesting to see similarities between these texts; for instance, both Balsamo and Linke note the focus on men as the "default" body in different contexts.

I do wonder if taking a more multicultural view on gender might reveal a more complex view of things. That is to say, within the context of this course "Western" culture seems to be the source, where there might be other perspectives to consider. Which may be neither here nor there, given the reality of our circumstances.