Faculty of Humanities
School of Arts
Department of Visual Arts
Selected Highlights from Research Findings
Gendered bodies and new technologies has one founding premise, namely that embodiment constitutes a non-negotiable prerequisite for human life. Although this may seem like an obvious statement, it is a statement that needs to be affirmed in the virtual age wherein we live. New technologies in most of its forms tend to discredit the embodied aspects of human life and instead concentrate on the disembodied aspects thereof. Among new technologies the following are specifically noted: microelectronics, telecommunication networks, nano-technology, virtual reality, computer-mediated communications and other forms of computer technologies. In short, 'new technologies' refer to all things digital. I explore the issue of embodiment from a gendered perspective, seeing that the female body is the embodiment most likely to be discarded, not only in metaphysical systems, but also in developments within new technologies. The main focus of my gendered analysis is on the visual image and more specifically as it manifests in cinema, advertisements, the Internet, interactive artwork and television. The critical perspective that foregrounds my approach is that of the fairly new field of cyberfeminism. The main concern of cyberfeminism being a critical engagement of women's position in terms of new technologies. In this regard, cyberfeminism does not perpetuate an anti-technology stance, but rather embraces technology by emphasising the embodied nature of our existence.
I have identified four body types to explore the interactions between bodies and new technologies. They are: the techno-transcendent body; the techno-enhanced body; the marked body and the cyborg body. The four body types differ in the way in which gendered embodiment is negotiated in its interaction with new technologies and these are highlighted and discussed in the four chapters dealing with these four body types.
In hierdie era waartydens menslike interaksie met nuwe tegnologieë al hoe minder opsigtelik raak en byna naatloos op mekaar pas, is dit ook so dat liggame al hoe meer gekonstrueer word as blote ontwerpersoppervlaktes wat na willekeur verander en verbeter kan word. Hierdie doktorale tesis stel voor dat om mens te wees ook noodwendig beteken om beliggaamd te wees. Beliggaming kan kortliks beskryf word as die ingewikkelde en dinamiese wisselwerking wat daar bestaan tussen 'verstand' en 'liggaam'. In kontras met die meeste kuber-teorieë wat spreek van 'n transendentele optimisme en poog om die liggaam met al haar gebreke agter te laat, posisioneer hierdie studie homself as 'n beliggaamde perspektief in die analise van nuwe tegnologieë. Deur so 'n beliggaamde posisie in te neem verbind die studie homself ook met 'n kuberfeministiese standpunt, want die kuberfeminisme neem 'n soortgelyke beliggaamde hoek ten opsigte van nuwe tegnologieë in. Die studie kyk onder andere na visualiseringstegnologieë soos film, video, Internet kuns, advertensies en die media in die algemeen, maar spesifiek hoe gender en liggaamlikheid in die hierdie tegnologieë uitgebeeld word. As sulks is die studie breedweg gestitueer in die groter raamwerk van visuele kultuur- en gender studies.
Contact person: Ms AA du Preez.
Ongoing research is being conducted into the entertainment economy in South Africa and how this manifests in entertainment landscapes such as theme parks and casinos. This research is concerned with how Euro-American models of postmodern entertainment, which bear specific ideological underpinnings, are at odds with post-colonial discourse's attempts to deal with identity politics in South Africa today. The significance of the research is that it indicates the continuing process by which Africa is stereotyped as the site of Otherness in global popular culture and tourism. Related research into print advertisements reveals a similar perpetuation of colonialist mentalities in the manner in which products and places are marketed for popular consumption.
Contact person: Dr J van Eeden.
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