Research Seminar: Prosthetics and Personhood

Research Seminar: Prosthetics and Personhood

Location: Alec Clegg, stage@leeds, University of Leeds

Please book a place with Linda Watson l.m.watson@leeds.ac.uk

Professor Sita Popat, Chair in Performance and Technology, Deputy Director of the Leeds Humanities Research Institute

Artificial limbs and digital avatars can both be defined as forms of prosthetic or bodily extension – one mechanical, the other digital. Both are used widely in everyday life, yet their impact upon the lived experiences of their users tends to be approached with different emphases. Medical narratives around artificial limbs tend to focus on functionality, loss, replacement and disability. In contrast, the study of avatars in the arts and computer games engages with identity, embodiment, and playfulness.  Drawing on her Wellcome Trust-funded research, Professor Sita Popat examines the underlying bodily processes that occur when using physical and digital prostheses.  She proposes that embodied experience should not be overlooked in the study of flesh-technology blending and merging, and she argues for a new definition of personhood that recognises the fluid nature of contemporary lived bodies. Her talk includes examples from the arts and computer games, together with personal stories of assembled and disassembled bodies.