Source: Philip Nel, 785-532-2165, e-mail philnel@k-state.edu
http://www.ksu.edu/english/symposium/

Monday, February 24, 2003

BRAIN POWER IS THE TOPIC FOR K-STATE'S 12TH ANNUAL CULTURAL STUDIES SYMPOSIUM, MARCH 6-8

MANHATTAN -- It's billed as a conference for participants to think about thought.

"Brain Power: Intelligence, Emotion, Cultural Fantasy" is the topic for Kansas State University's 12th Annual Cultural Studies Symposium, March 6-8.

Guest speakers, whose talks are free and open to the public, are Nancy Kress, who will present "Science Fiction: The Brain Goes Wild," Thursday, March 6, at 7:30 p.m. in Union 212; and N. Katherine Hayles, who will speak on "Coding the Signifier" Friday, March 7, at 8 p.m. in the K-State Student Union Little Theatre. Attending other conference sessions requires a registration fee.

"This conference will gather together a broad range of scholars and researchers who investigate the ways we think about thought itself," said Lee Behlman, K-State English professor. "For centuries, human beings have tried to understand the means by which we think, and such ideas have had a major impact on establishing a sense of our limits and possibilities as human beings."

To address these questions, conference participants will include literary scholars who explore the cultural representations of intelligence, emotions and brains, psychologists who work on brain function and intelligence, and writers on such subjects as artificial intelligence and "The Matrix."

Kress and Hayles are nationally recognized experts on the mind. Kress is a science-fiction novelist whose latest book is "Crossfire." Hayles is a professor at the University of California at Los Angeles. Her latest book is "How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature and Informatics."

Kress, one of the most successful contemporary science fiction writers, writes fiction that speaks to contemporary issues. Her novels and short stories present a very familiar-looking future, where developments in biotechnology lead to major ethical dilemmas.

Michele Janette, K-State English professor, describes Hayles' work on concepts of artificial intelligence as directly relevant to the major issues of our day. "The explosion of the space shuttle Columbia," Janette noted, "has raised the question of whether future space exploration should be 'unmanned,' and the military develops 'smart bombs' that increase the distance between the bomb's destruction and the bodies of those who send that bomb. In her insistence that we see the connections between technology and our bodies, Hayles helps us better understand the world in which we live."

K-State has sponsored the Cultural Studies Symposium since 1991, making it the longest running annual symposium in its field. This year's conference is organized by four English professors: Michele Janette, Lee Behlman, Donna Potts and Don Hedrick.

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