GUIDING QUESTION 6: Haraway’s ‘Manifesto’ is a political text generated from socialist feminism of the 1980’s. In what ways have feminists taken up her radical ideas since then?
Peta S. Cook – The Modernistic Posthuman Prophecy of Donna Haraway
This source is a paper by Peta S. Cook, which was presented to the Centre for Social Change Research at the Queensland University of Technology. It is an in-depth study of Haraway’s ideas, and the way in which her theories are interpreted by contemporary feminists and a wider modern audience. Cook indicates that Haraway’s vision of a post-gender cyborg has been instrumental in provoking feminist interest towards issues of gender. That is, the importance of the reclamation of patriarchal technological tools as a source of liberation from gender oppression. This explanation is extremely useful as a reference for this question on Haraway’s manifesto, given the significance of gender in the way feminists have engaged with her radical ideas. Cook’s paper is also an excellent resource because of its critical take on the ‘Cyborg Manifesto’. It takes note of the flaws that are apparent within Haraway’s work, helping to give us a frame of reference for particular deficiencies in her theories. This is important, in that the recognition of failings helps us to compare and evaluate her ideas in relation to other feminist concepts. A final, very important conclusion that is determined within this paper, relates Haraway’s cyborg to the present day, suggesting its transgression of traditional bodily-based binaries and therefore its modernity in a linear and utopian construction.
Gerald S. Greenberg - CBQ Review Essay: Cyborg Discourse: Technology’s Transformation of Communication
In this article from Communication Booknotes Quarterly, Gerald S. Greenberg discusses the notion of the cyborg and the idea of a utopian age in which communicators would operate in a completely disembodied environment. He makes specific reference to Haraway’s ‘Cyborg Manifesto’ as a symbol of the turning point in the approach to computer-mediated communication. The essay goes on to state that Haraway’s acceptance of this mode of communication originally led to her ostracism by feminist colleagues, but eventually had an impact so widespread that it has been referenced and adopted by many scholars and feminists since. Greenberg’s writing informs the reader in detail of the way in which Haraway’s manifesto has influenced subsequent feminists and therefore is a noteworthy resource which can be used as a reference in answering the essay question we are looking at here.
David Gunkel – We Are Borg: Cyborgs and the Subject of Communication
This is an article from the American journal Communication Theory. Gunkel discusses in detail, the infiltration of contemporary culture by the figure of the cyborg. In relating this idea to Haraway’s Manifesto, Gunkel creates a valuable research tool for investigating this question. He writes about the prevalence of science fiction in pop culture, which is very important to note given the predominance of media in our everyday lives. Specific reference is made to the novels of Philip K. Dick and Vonda McIntyre and to the images that saturate our screens in films such as The Terminator and Star Trek. These contemporary vehicles for science fiction work to emphasise the contrast between the media’s idea of a cyborg and the vision implemented by Haraway. The article states that in her writings, Haraway explains that the cyborg constitutes not merely a subject of fantasy, but also a contemporary social reality. Gunkel goes on to explain that in the wake of the ‘Cyborg Manifesto’, there was a significant increase in interest in the cyborg, especially in the fields of information technology and computer-mediated communication. These clarifications are very useful in answering the essay question, as they help to make clear the way in which Haraway’s ideas have been taken up since the publication of her “Cyborg Manifesto”.
John Jones – Complex Rhetoric Review: Haraway “Cyborg Manifesto”
Professor John Jones, of the University of Texas, reviews Donna Haraways ‘Cyborg Manifesto’ on his blog Complex Rhetoric. This blog post serves as an excellent research reference for this question given its allusions to Haraway’s influence on the feminists that followed her. He notes that the manifesto did, in fact, act as a catalyst for a new way of thinking about how the individual and society interact with machines. The review goes on to explain some of Haraway’s radical ideas, such as her demonstration that the processes of language have made the cyborg a social reality. She argues that social theory must recognise the extent to which our humanity is intertwined with physical and social tools, and proposes that we apply the cyborg as a metaphor to understand this connection. Professor Jones then makes reference to the influence that Haraway has had on how we, as humans, think about ourselves. As a result of advances in modern science, with the Human Genome Project and self-administered DNA, we are obliged to “read” the code of our bodies through language. This idea is central to Haraway’s argument, in her suggestion that language is always embodied and plays a key role in the way in which people enact power and identity.
Theresa M. Senft – Reading Notes for Donna Haraway’s ‘A Cyborg Manifesto’
This article is a scholarly interpretation of Haraway’s manifesto, which breaks the text into categories in order to analyse it in parts. It is extremely articulate and includes a comprehensive description of Haraway’s background, noting her education, training and her initiation into feminist studies. It also takes interest into her motivation for writing the “Cyborg Manifesto”, advising the reader of much important information required for understanding her ideas, and therefore writing about the way in which they have influenced the feminists that followed her. Senft notes that Haraway’s manifesto operates in the spirit of “l'ecriture feminine” in that it uses non-linear, performative and autobiographical language to describe the truth of a new kind of body: that of the cyborg.
WEBLIOGRAPHY
Cook, Peta S, “The Modernistic Posthuman Prophecy of Donna Haraway” http://eprints.qut.edu.au/646/1/cook_peta.pdf, 2004, (accessed 6 September, 2010)
Greenberg, Gerald S, “CBQ Review Essay: Cyborg Discourse: Technology’s Transformation of Communication” in Communication Booknotes Quarterly, http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.library.uwa.edu.au/smpp/content~db=all~content=a788074801, 2007, (accessed 7 September, 2010)
Gunkel, David, “We Are Borg: Cyborgs and the Subject of Communication” in Communication Theory, http://www.questia.com/read/96436395?title=We%20Are%20Borg%3a%20Cyborgs%20and%20the%20Subject%20of%20Communication%2c%20in%20Communication%20Theory, 2000, (accessed 6 September, 2010)
Jones, John, “Complex Rhetoric Review: Haraway ‘Cyborg Manifesto’” http://complexrhetoric.blogspot.com/2009/08/review-haraway-cyborg-manifesto-1985.html, 2009, (accessed 7 September, 2010)
Senft, Theresa M, “Reading Notes for Donna Haraway’s ‘A Cyborg Manifesto’”http://www.terrisenft.net/students/readings/manifesto.html, 2001, (accessed 7 September, 2010)
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