Transhumanism in Dave Eggers’ "The circle": utopia vs. dystopia, dream vs. nightmare

Laguarta Bueno, Carmen (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: Although transhumanism counts with the support of a growing number of followers, some critics and writers of fiction have recently warned about the detrimental effects that some particular technologies may have on human beings. Dave Eggers‘ 2013 The Circle is a novel that overtly deals with the possible dangers of transhumanism. Set in the near future, the novel places particular emphasis on social media tools and surveillance devices. This paper aims to explore some textual strategies the novel uses to set the debate over human enhancement technologies. More specifically, it argues that, by using a series of narrative strategies which ultimately make readers realize the dehumanization that social media tools and surveillance devices bring about, Eggers stresses the need to adopt a critical stance towards these technologies, avoiding the temptation of being carried away by their appealing promises.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.12795/REN.2018.i22.08

Año: 2018

Publicado en: Revista de Estudios Norteamericanos 22, 1 (2018), 165-188
ISSN: 1133-309X

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.101 - Literature and Literary Theory (Q3)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/H03-17R
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MEC/FPU15-02576
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/FFI2015-63506-P

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Filología Inglesa (Dpto. Filolog.Inglesa y Alema.)