We are thrilled to announce the publication of a special issue on Posthumanism in Estudios Norteamericanos, edited by our very own Rubén Peinado Abarrio and Ana Chapman. This issue brings together cutting-edge research that interrogates the limits of humanism, the ethics of emerging technologies, and the complex entanglements of humans, nonhumans, and machines in contemporary culture.
Several members of our research team have contributed outstanding articles to this issue. Here’s a closer look at their work:
1. Critical Perspectives on the Already Posthuman World – Rubén Peinado Abarrio & Ana Chapman
This introduction to the special issue frames posthumanism not as a futuristic abstraction but as a lens to analyze present realities. It explores how posthuman theory reshapes our understanding of bodies, technology, and identity.
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2. Black Utopia and Body Agency in Rivers Solomon’s An Unkindness of Ghosts – Mónica Calvo Pascual
Mónica’s article examines how Solomon’s novel imagines alternative social and bodily arrangements, highlighting non-normative identities, kinship, and posthuman relationality. It’s a vital contribution to discussions on Black utopian futures and speculative fiction.
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3. Transgressing the Code of Desire: Queering the Posthuman in Annalee Newitz’s Autonomous – Laura Larrodera-Arcega
Laura explores how Autonomous challenges heteronormative codes and envisions queer, trans, and bio-engineered bodies in posthuman futures. The article demonstrates how speculative fiction destabilizes traditional categories of identity and desire.
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4. “Hope to Do Some Good, No Matter How F*ed Up You Are”: Ecoterrorism, Trauma and Ecological Affect in The Ministry for the Future – Laura García Soria
Laura’s ecocritical study examines climate affect, ecological trauma, and radical environmental activism in Robinson’s novel. Her work highlights how posthumanist perspectives can illuminate our relationship to ecological crisis and ethical responsibility.
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This special issue provides a rich, multi-faceted exploration of posthumanism, demonstrating how the field continues to reshape literary studies, critical theory, and cultural analysis. From queer and Black utopian futures to ecological crises and the ethics of technological entanglements, the contributions highlight the diverse ways posthumanism challenges and extends our understanding of the human in the contemporary world.