Dongshin Yi

This dissertation considers the future convergence between gothic studies and\nhumanism in the age of posthumanism and proposes “cyborgothic” as a new literary\ngenre that heralds that future. The convergence under consideration is already in\nprogress in that an encounter between human and non-human consistently inspires the\ntwo fields, questioning the nature of humans and the treatment of such non-human\nbeings as cyborgs. Such questioning, often conducted within the boundary of humanities,\n

In an attempt to convert “Zombie Liberalism,” which is currently used to criticize American liberalism and even to signal its demise, into something that might help revive liberalism, this paper maps out some of the positive aspects of zombies and considers their potentials for liberalism. First of all, zombies that are being read, seen and watched have traditionally represented various philosophical and social issues related to human nature, colonialism, capitalism, technology and so forth. As

Taking note of a recent trend in zombie narratives, wherein non-zombie monsters appear as the main characters and thus cause ruptures in the conventional narrative structure that inhabits only zombie-to-human conflicts, this paper examines how this trend comes from the limitation of zombie narratives that, due to the ordinary and infectious nature of zombies, are unable to come to a conclusion by themselves. With their supernatural power or intelligence that helps map out the illusory point of o

Instead of looking at zombies as living beings that turn dead-alive, as ones that remind us of the living’s unavoidable vulnerability to death and the inorganic state before and after life, this paper aims to view zombies as things that show what things really are. This view of zombies draws upon the recent development of posthumanism, namely, new materialisms, where collective efforts are being made to discuss the importance of things, especially in this age of ecological catastrophe, and searc

Due to their eccentric and often controversial nature, H. G. Wells’s political writings have often been treated separately from his enormously popular scientific romances, and this trend ends up creating what Robert Shelton calls “two Wellses” in “Wellsian scholarship.” This paper, however, argues that there is an enduring relationship between Wells’s scientific romances and political writings. The former, which appeared early in his career, serve as a testing ground, where Wells experiments wit

Epitomized in Albert Hubo, a humanoid robot that was showcased at 2005 APEC in Busan, Korea’s robot industry has recently made such a stride that the Korean government has launched a plan to put a maid-robot in every household by 2020 and is in the process of drawing up “Robots Ethics Charter.” Although the government’s plan and the idea of the charter may seem exaggerated at this stage, the rapid development in the fields of robotics, bio-engineering and artificial intelligence makes it hard to

Drawing upon Martin Heidegger’s distinction between man and the animal, which appropriates Jakob von Uexküll’s theory of Umwelt and whereby it is described that man lives in “transition” and “transposition” while the animal in “captivation,” this essay examines how Gulliver conceives the Heideggerean notion of man by distinguishing himself from animals and animal-like humans but ironically ends up becoming captivated by that very notion. As a satire of what might be called “Heidegger’s Man,” who

Abstract Asking “what is wrong with animal rights?” Kelly Oliver argues that “ethics must go beyond rights” and proposes “a sustainable ethics,” in which our “ethical responsibility” is to remain “responsive and nourishing.” While supportive of this ethical turn in human–animal relations, this article questions whether response, respect, and care are the ideal guidelines for human–animal relations for the following reasons: (1) given the sheer number of animals, our resources and capacities for