Tuesday 13 October 2026, 2pm - 5pm
Seminar Room 63, Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities
All welcome
One intriguing aspect of the development of prosthetics is that there sometimes seems to be a tradeoff between functionality of artificial body parts and their similarity with the natural counterparts. This raises questions about the value of the resemblance of the artificial to the natural, the source of this value, the relationship between the “normal” and the “disabled” body, the potential for human enhancement via prosthetics, and many others. This workshop will deploy methods and expertise from the humanities – ethics, history, art, and literature in particularly - to better understand the issues involved and address these and related questions.
Participants: Helene Scott-Fordsmand (Philosophy, UCL), Wes Williams (Literature, Oxford), Charlotte Dewarumez (History of Art, Toulouse), Digby Chappell (Engineering, Oxford), Weston Baxter (Imperial), Olivia Bennison (History, Oxford)
Organized by Alberto Giubilini, Alex Coke, Digby Chappell
Medical Humanities Research Hub, TORCH Research Hubs
