Supervisors info:
Β. Λαλιώτη, Καθηγήτρια, ΕΚΠΑ
Ν. Πουλάκης, Καθηγητής, ΕΚΠΑ
Ε. Καλλιμοπούλου, Καθηγήτρια, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
In my Bachelor thesis, titled "Cyborg Body in Digital Performing Arts: Gender and Grotesque", I
investigated the complex relationship between technology, gender, and embodiment in digital
performance. Drawing from various anthropological disciplines such as digital anthropology,
ethnography, cyborg anthropology, anthropology of gender, and posthumanist anthropology, my aim
was to explore how the cyborg bodies shape post-gendered subjectivities with political implications.
Employing a methodological approach that involved literature review and analysis of interviews from
journalists to artists on various online platforms (e.g. YouTube and Vimeo), I examined how cyborg
body, blending human and technological elements and challenges traditional gender norms and
notions of embodiment in contemporary digital contexts. Additionally, I broadened my approach to
include theories developed in literary studies, theatre studies, and performance studies, in order to
analyze specific examples, such as Japanese puppetry and digital performances by artists like Bardsley
and Orlan. Through this exploration, I shed light on the ways in which cyborg bodies disrupt
conventional understandings of gender, embodiment, and subjectivity, while also revealing light on the transformative potential of contemporary digital cultures.
