Semiotic Flesh

Thurtle, Phillip, and Robert Mitchell. Semiotic Flesh: Information & the Human Body. Seattle: Walter Chapin Simpson Center for the Humanities, 2002.

For much of the 20th century, an apparently solid conceptual wall allowed us to separate information and bodies. Yet in the last few decades, it has become increasingly clear that this conceptual wall leaks - bodies and information will not stay separate from one another. Data have become flesh just as flesh has become data. Semiotic Flesh marks an important contribution to the emerging field of information studies, providing multiple perspectives on the implications of burgeoning information technologies and biotechnologies. The essays and responses in this volume focus on the sites where flesh and information productively intermingle, including the strange connections between LSD and DNA research, the implications of computer-assisted surgery, and the role of the human body in virtual reality installations.

Status of Research
Completed/published
Research Type
Share