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Cyborg
A concise introduction to cyborg theory that examines the way in which technology is situated, political, and embodied.
This introduction to cyborg theory provides a critical vantage point for analyzing the claims around emerging technologies like automation, robots, and AI. Cyborg analyzes and reframes popular and scholarly conversations about cyborgs from the perspective of feminist cyborg theory. Drawing on their combined decades of training, teaching, and research in the social sciences, design, and engineering education, Laura Forlano and Danya Glabau introduce an approach called critical cyborg literacy . Critical cyborg literacy foregrounds power dynamics and pays attention to the ways that social and cultural factors such as gender, race, and disability shape how technology is imagined, developed, used, and resisted.
Forlano and Glabau offer critical cyborg literacy as a way of thinking through questions about the relationship between humanity and technology in areas such as engineering and computing, art and design, and health care and medicine, as well as the social sciences and humanities. Cyborg examines whether modern technologies make us all cyborgs—if we consider, for instance, the fact that we use daily technologies at work, have technologies embedded into our bodies in health care applications, or use technology to critically explore possibilities as artists, designers, activists, and creators. Lastly, Cyborg offers perspectives from critical race, feminist, and disability thinkers to help chart a path forward for cyborg theory in the twenty-first century.
This introduction to cyborg theory provides a critical vantage point for analyzing the claims around emerging technologies like automation, robots, and AI. Cyborg analyzes and reframes popular and scholarly conversations about cyborgs from the perspective of feminist cyborg theory. Drawing on their combined decades of training, teaching, and research in the social sciences, design, and engineering education, Laura Forlano and Danya Glabau introduce an approach called critical cyborg literacy . Critical cyborg literacy foregrounds power dynamics and pays attention to the ways that social and cultural factors such as gender, race, and disability shape how technology is imagined, developed, used, and resisted.
Forlano and Glabau offer critical cyborg literacy as a way of thinking through questions about the relationship between humanity and technology in areas such as engineering and computing, art and design, and health care and medicine, as well as the social sciences and humanities. Cyborg examines whether modern technologies make us all cyborgs—if we consider, for instance, the fact that we use daily technologies at work, have technologies embedded into our bodies in health care applications, or use technology to critically explore possibilities as artists, designers, activists, and creators. Lastly, Cyborg offers perspectives from critical race, feminist, and disability thinkers to help chart a path forward for cyborg theory in the twenty-first century.
222 pages, Paperback
Published February 6, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 28, 2024
A quick overview of cyborg thinking. Emphasis on quick.
March 1, 2025
I really appreciate books like this, that provide a short overview of broad topics, explaining how different pieces connect to each other, and then offer lengthy bibliographies so you can go deeper in whatever area interests you most.
It's exactly what it says it is, and I appreciated how clearly written it is for a book that incorporates a lot of heavy theory.
It's exactly what it says it is, and I appreciated how clearly written it is for a book that incorporates a lot of heavy theory.
February 11, 2025
This book is a strong introduction and entry point to feminist cyborg theory, offering an accessible overview while pointing readers toward deeper scholarship. It covers key texts and ideas, making it a useful starting point for those new to the field.
The book explores the cyborg as both a theoretical and real-world figure—one shaped by labor, technology, and power. Discussions on automation reveal how technology doesn’t just assist workers but disciplines them. The section on reproductive technology examines who controls innovation and whose bodies become sites of experimentation. These themes highlight how cyborg theory is not just about the future but the present. The book moves quickly between scholars and concepts, but I think this breadth is also its strength. Personally, I found many tangents, scholars, and rabbit holes to go down as a result :)
The book explores the cyborg as both a theoretical and real-world figure—one shaped by labor, technology, and power. Discussions on automation reveal how technology doesn’t just assist workers but disciplines them. The section on reproductive technology examines who controls innovation and whose bodies become sites of experimentation. These themes highlight how cyborg theory is not just about the future but the present. The book moves quickly between scholars and concepts, but I think this breadth is also its strength. Personally, I found many tangents, scholars, and rabbit holes to go down as a result :)
December 6, 2025
what it says on the tin. probably would've liked it better if i hadn't already read a cyborg manifesto, and i felt that there were lots of interesting ideas that were ushered away on account of being "problematic" shortly after they were introduced. though this could just be a me thing. Who let the quasitranshumanist/extremely cautious technooptimist into the function!!!!!!! i did find the comparisons between the roles of women in the textile and tech industries interesting, as well as the observations on technology making unpleasant and exploitative work easier to hide rather than replacing it. excited to dive into some of the stuff in the further reading section :0
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews