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 particular - 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), Olivia Bennison (History, Oxford)
Organized by Alberto Giubilini, Alex Coke, Digby Chappell
PROGRAM
Digby Chappell (Engineering Science, Oxford): Introduction
Panel 1: Conceptualizing the "Normal" Body
Charlotte Dewarumez (Art History, Toulouse): Imag(in)ing Bodies: Visual Culture and the Shaping of Scientific Thought
Helene Scott-Fordsmand (Philosophy, UCL): Designing for ‘human’ abilities: Heidegger and normative naturalism in medical prosthetics
Discussion
Coffee Break
Panel 2 : Cultural Imaginaries of Bodily Difference
Olivia Bennison (History, Oxford): All Hands on Deck: Prosthetic Hands and the Reductive Stereotype of the Pirate in Early Modern Europe
Wes Williams (Medieval and Modern Languages, Oxford): In the company of monsters: Prosthetics and narrative in/between Paré and Montaigne
Discussion
Medical Humanities Research Hub, TORCH Research Hubs
