Exciting developments in the life sciences and their application in biotechnology are helping to

provide pioneering cures and therapies for inherited and degenerative diseases. Consider

genomics and genetic based therapies, neuroscience and neuropharmacology, ICT implants

and prosthetics, nanomedicine and care of the ageing and you will see how the way in which we

perceive ourselves and those around us is slowly being recast. As our knowledge and its

application continues to grow and expand, the range, scope and magnitude of what we are able

to achieve seems to be limitless.

This interdisciplinary symposium is convened in order to build capacity as well as consolidate

existing scholarship on perspectives on the human body and identity in the face of new

advances in emerging technologies.

FURTHER DETAILS

Technology forecasters point to advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology as an ‘enabling

technology’ which opens up further opportunities when combined with other technologies. This

“convergence” of new emerging technologies therefore becomes a matter of great debate. This

is seen, for example, when advances in nanoscience converge with developments in

biotechnology, which also utilise developments in information technology to capture and

simulate human abilities using artificial intelligence systems and, more controversially, cognitive

science. As the animal-human distinction becomes increasingly blurred, it is plain to see the

increasing growth of human power over nature in all of its forms including traditional and

contemporary understanding about human nature itself. More than just speculative science

fiction, talk of brain implants and neural imaging, cyborg enhancement and virtual reality

simulation is suddenly becoming a pressing reality.

At this time we are faced with a key question: what does it mean to be human in the 21st

Century? A series of identity crises emerge. Against the backdrop of developments in ICT, and

especially in virtual contexts we are keen to ensure that our identities are protected and can be

authenticated appropriately, without fear of them being reconstructed by others. Likewise,

concern is expressed over the question of privacy and surveillance when we encounter new

forms of identifying technologies such as biometrics which could challenge our freedom and

dignity. As genetic and neuroscience technologies evolve, they provoke and unsettle some of

our traditional perceptions of who and what we are.

It is envisaged that this symposium will contribute to the conversation on this theme and by

drawing from insights and ideas from across the disciplines, the aim will be to chart challenges

to, and changes in perceptions of identity and the human body in the 21st century.

Some key questions this symposium will aim to address include the following:

Is human identity being transformed, redefined or superseded through new developments in medicine and technology?
Do these new emerging technologies present as radical and revolutionary changes to how we see 
ourselves (as is sometimes claimed)? Or, are they in fact no different to their predecessors?
How are we to evaluate or assess the moral significance of these new technologies to our identity as humans?
What does it mean to have identity and to be identifiable in the 21st Century?
Are new technologies helping to redefine what we recognise as the human body? Are they in some 
ways helping to make the human body redundant? If so, in what ways?
What are the social, ethical and policy implications of these changes, both locally and globally, 
as we increasingly encounter the rapid expansion of biotechnologies worldwide?
Is altering the shape and appearance of the body contributing to our loss of contact with the 
body? How does this affect traditional ideas about the mind/body distinction?

Suggested topics:

􀂃 Ageing and immortality;

􀂃 Artificial intelligence; the Turing test; machine understanding;

􀂃 Artificial life; computational biology;

􀂃 Biometrics;

􀂃 Cognitive science;

􀂃 Converging technologies (nano-bio-info-cogno);

􀂃 Ethical and social implications of advances in emerging technologies;

􀂃 Genetics;

􀂃 Human enhancement;

􀂃 Implant technology;

􀂃 Medical anthropology;

􀂃 Neuroscience.

Organising committee:

• Matteo Bregonzio, PhD research candidate, Computer Science Department, Queen Mary University, London

bregonzio@eecs.qmul.ac.uk

• Dr Yasemin J. Erden, CBET, St Mary's University College, Twickenham,

erdenyj@smuc.ac.uk

• Deborah Gale,MA, King’s College London

deb.dgale@gmail.com

• Matt James,Director, BioCentre

matt.james@bioethics.ac.uk

• Alison MacDonald,PhD research candidate, Medical Anthropology, University College London

alison.macdonald@ucl.ac.uk

• Aaron Parkhurst,PhD research candidate, Medical Anthropology, University College London

ucsab01@ucl.ac.uk

SUBMISSION DETAILS

We invite submission of abstracts in the first instance, with a word limit of around 500-750 words

(maximum), and not including references. The abstract should clearly outline main arguments

and conclusions of the paper. On the basis of these abstracts, the academic organising

committee will compose a short list of speakers to be invited to submit full-length papers for

presentation at the symposium, which will be held in London in May 2012.

All abstracts must be submitted via EasyChair (in a Word attachment; without inclusion of

personal details to allow for blind reviewing): 
https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=c21stbody

Successful papers will be considered for inclusion in a special publication on the same theme.

http://www.bioethics.ac.uk/news/Call-for-Papers--The-2st-Century-Body-.php

IMPORTANT DATES

Tuesday 28th February 2012 Deadline for submission of abstracts (500-750 word limit).

Monday 30th April 2012 Final version of papers to be submitted ahead of symposium

18th May 2012 Symposium, University College London

CONTACT

For more information on submissions, please contact the organising committee directly.

THANKS

The organising committee is grateful for the support provided by BioCentre and the Department

of Anthropology, University College London.

--
Dr Yasemin J. Erden
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Centre for Bioethics & Emerging Technologies
St Mary's University College
Waldegrave Road
Twickenham, TW1 4SX
United Kingdom

+44 208 240 4250
www.smuc.ac.uk/cbet