Representing (Post)Human Enhancement Technologies in Twenty-First Century US Fiction (Perspectives on the Non-Human in Literature and Culture)

"This work studies three twenty-first century novels by Richard Powers, Dave Eggers and Don DeLillo as representative of a new trend of US fiction concerned with the topic of the technological augmentation of the human condition. The different chapters provide, from the double perspective of the optimistic transhumanist philosophy and the more balanced approach of critical posthumanism, an overview of the narrative strategies used by the writers to explore the possibilities that biotechnology, digital technologies and cryonics open up to transcend our human limitations, while also warning their readers of their most nefarious consequences. Ultimately, the book puts forward the claim that even if the writers approach the subject from a variety of perspectives and using different narrative styles and techniques, they all share a critical posthumanist fear that an unrestrained and unquestioned use of technology for enhancement purposes may bring about disembodiment and dehumanization"-- Provided by publisher Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Transhumanism and Critical Posthumanism Literary Representations of the Trans- and the Posthuman Cyberpunk, Postcyberpunk and Beyond 1. Richard Powers’s Generosity: An Enhancement (2009): A Metafictional Reflection on the Biotechnological Pursuit of Happiness Generosity: An Enhancement and Transhumanism: The Biotechnological Pursuit of Happiness Critical Posthumanism and Metafiction in Generosity: An Enhancement 2. Dave Eggers’s The Circle (2013): When Digital Utopia Meets Dystopia The Circle and Transhumanism: Social Media Tools and Surveillance Devices Critical Posthumanism, Utopia, and Dystopia in The Circle 3. Don DeLillo’s Zero K (2016): Transhumanism, Trauma, and the Ethics of Premature Cryopreservation Zero K and Transhumanism: Life Extension Technologies Critical Posthumanism and Trauma in Zero K Conclusion Index This work approaches, from dual perspective of the optimistic transhumanist philosophy and the more balanced perspective of critical posthumanism, 21st century novels by Richard Powers, Dave Eggers and Don DeLillo as representative of a new trend of US fiction concerned with the topic of the technological augmentation of the human condition Richard Powers's Generosity: An Enhancement (2009): A Metafictional Reflection on the Biotechnological Pursuit of Happiness -- When Utopia Meets Dystopia: Social Media Tools and Surveillance Devices in Dave Eggers's The Circle (2013) -- Don DeLillo's Zero K (2016): Transhumanism, Trauma, and the Ethics of Premature Cryopreservation