7/28/2019 Critical Context Essay Cyborgmanifesto
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CriticalContextEssayanalysis,presentationsandapplicationtothestories
Usetheseoutlinestoaidyourunderstandingofthecriticalessays.
Thenaddyournotesandnotesfromother
membersofyourgrouptocreateyouroverviewforyourclasspresentation.
ThenhavethissheethandyasyoureadeachstoryintheDisastersandApocalypsesection,lookingforpartsthat
apply.
ACyborgManifestobyDonnaJ.HarawayPointsofViewandPerspectives
TraditionalWesternrationalistphilosophyisflawedbecauseitisbasedondichotomiespairedsetsofoppositeconceptswhite/black,male/femalepresentedasnaturalandthereforeasabsolutefacts.
Theconceptofonesingleuniversaltheorymissesmostofrealitynow
restructuretheboundariesofdailylifeholisticpolitics
ThesisCertaindualismhavebeenpersistentinWesterntraditions;theyhaveallbeensystemictothelogicand
practices
of
domination
of
women,
people
of
color,
nature,
worker,
animals
in
short,
domination
of
allconstitutedasotherswhosetaskistomirrortheself.(p.471)
Supportingpoints
AnIronicDreamofaCommonLanguageforWomenintheIntegratedCircuit
C3ICommandcontrolcommunicationintelligence
TheCyborgisacondensedimageofbothimaginationandmaterialreality(p.457
TheCyborgskipsthestepoforiginalunity,ifidentificationwithnatureintheWesternsense.
TheCyborgdoesnotexpectitsfathertosaveitthrougharestorationofthegarden(ofEden)(p.
458)
Thethreebigpoints:
Thelastbeachheadsofuniquenesshavebeenpollutedifnotturnedintoamusement
parkslanguage,tooluse,socialbehavior,mentalevents,nothingreallyconvincingly
settlestheseparationofhumanandanimal.(p.458)
Thedifferencebetweennaturalandartificial,mindandbodyselfdevelopingandexternallydesigned,andmanyotherdistinctionsthatusedtoapplytoorganismand
machinesarenotambiguous(p.460)
Theboundarybetweenphysicalandnonphysicalisveryimprecise(p.461)
TheInformaticsofDomination
wearelivingthroughamovementfromanorganic,industrialsocietytoapolymorphous,informationsystemfromallworktoallplay(p.463)
ItsnotjustthatGodisdead,soisthegoddess.
thebiggestthreattopowerisinterruptionofcommunication
Cyborgs:AMythofPoliticalIdentity
WritinghasaspecialsignificanceforallcolonizedgroupscrucialtotheWesternmythofthe
distinctionbetweenoralandwrittenculture,primitiveandcivilizedmentalities,and
phallogocentrismoftheWestwithitsworshipofthemonotheistic,phallic,authoritativeand
singularwork,theuniqueandperfectname
Cyborgwritingisaboutthepowertosurvive,notonthebasisororiginalinnocence,butonthebasisofseizingthetoolstomarktheworldthatmarkedthemasother(p.469)
ACyborgbodyisnotinnocentitisnotborninagarden(p.474)
Themachineisus
