Transhumanism : From Ancestors to Avatars

Through an anthropological analysis of transhumanism, this book introduces the reader to the discipline, history and key topics of cultural anthropology. Providing lively ethnographic insights into a fascinating contemporary socio-cultural movement, it will be of interest to students and researchers in social and cultural anthropology.

Transhumanists argue that science and technology will enable us to overcome our biological limitations, both mental and physical, and create a radically enhanced posthuman species and society. In this book, Jenny Huberman examines the values and visions animating the Transhumanist Movement in the United States today, whilst at the same time using the study of transhumanism as a way to introduce a new generation of students to the discipline of cultural anthropology. She explores transhumanist conceptions of revitalization, immortality, the good life, the self, the body, kinship and economy, and compares them to the belief systems of human beings living in other times and places. Providing lively ethnographic insights into a fascinating contemporary socio-cultural movement, this book will be invaluable to students and researchers in anthropology, as well as anyone interested in the phenomenon of transhumanism.