重讀《哈利波特》：賽博格與後人類他者

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(1)國立臺灣師範大學英語學系碩士論文 Department of English, College of Liberal Arts. National Taiwan Normal University Master’s Thesis. 重讀《哈利波特》：賽博格與後人類他者 Re-reading the Harry Potter Series: Cyborgs and Posthuman Others. 傅婉婷 Fu, Wan-Ting. 指導教授：狄亞倫博士 Advisor: Aaron Deveson, Ph.D.. 中華民國 109 年 9 月 September 2020.

(2) i. Acknowledgements. This thesis was finished in 2020 during the unprecedented pandemic of Covid-19 that looms all of us globally like Lord Voldemort’s reign of terror. Due to unfortunate happenings in my personal life, I was also under cold, slimy, and depressive feelings most times during writing. Luckily, my advisor Professor Aaron Deveson is here to guide me through the “storm of Dementors”. For me, he is the best advisor I could find indeed. While regularly checking on me and sending me useful information as well as suggestions, Professor Deveson also shows his unwavering confidence in my ability to finish this thesis and encourages me to keep writing. At times he does express concerns and bestows the exact amount of pressure I need to push me forward when I feel down and unworthy. His writing class was one of the first subjects I took in NTNU, which helped me to advance my writing skills and inspired me to attempt to read texts from different academic perspectives. This thesis can never be finished without his tremendous help. I also appreciate Professor Liang Sun-Chieh’s great help and encouragement during the two defenses. It was in his Speculative Literature class that I started reaching out and into the Harry Potter universe and considering more possibilities beyond the realm of fantasy literature or science fiction. He constantly expresses his interest in my thesis topic, and shares profound insights on the genres and motifs related to my research in order to suggest various ways I could tackle with this topic. And, I appreciate the timely advice and critique from Professor Li Hung-Chiung during the final oral defense. As a researcher who spends tremendous amount of time on the posthuman field, he was very generous on the grading of my thesis and offered my constructive feedback in terms of the structure, argument, and further possibilities. Here, I have to take the opportunity to thank these three professors again for their effort to guide me through the final stage of writing in order to reach my ambitious goal to.

(3) ii. analyze the Harry Potter series as a cross-genre text of fantasy and science fiction. I would also like to express my gratitude towards Professor Huang Han-Yu and Professor Lin Ying-Nan for their teachings on classic literature and posthuman theories, which results in my choice of topic today. In addition, I would like to thank my classmate Susan Su, whose thesis titled “Ferity Healing Energy in Mythological Harry Potter Saga” encourages me to challenge any topics related to the Harry Potter Series that interest me. I also owe a great debt to my classmate Lin Yang-Chieh, who has demonstrated great friendship by offering constant help since I first was enrolled in NTNU. He is the one who introduced me to Professor Liang Sun-Chieh and since then I received great help and advice from him. Furthermore, I would like to thank my dear friends Lian Hsin and Li Yi-Shan, who comforted me through emotional breakdowns and believed in my abilities to fulfill my goals. Finally, big thanks to all professors and staffs in Department of English in NTNU, who always encourage me to pursue what I came to this university for, and expect me to achieve great things in the future. Last, I would like to thank my family members: my parents, brother and sister have always been nothing but supportive to my time spent in NTNU. My cousin and nibling regularly visit me in Taipei to make me feel warmth and happiness, relieving me from pressure that I put on myself. Finally, despite my disagreement against Rowling’s transphobic comments on Twitter in 2019, I thank J. K. Rowling for her creation of the Harry Potter Series, which embodies a universe that allows anyone who is under bullying or discrimination of any sort an escape and the light of hope. “Lumos!”.

(4) iii. 摘要. 儘管《哈利波特》七部曲的最後一本書在 2007 年出版至今已十三年，該系列的影響力仍隨著哈利波特現象的發展而繼續，並激發了電影界與文學相關衍生作品。本論文建立了《哈利波特》與後人類主義之間的聯繫，以分析該系列在文學領域的深遠影響和持續動能。該系列之奇幻特色以生與死的終極母題，混合傳統文學中的元素雜匯在一起吸引讀者，並體現了其對當代 VR 或智慧科技的適應性：此類科技使用戶比以往任何時候都更接近沉浸式體驗。此現象與人類的焦慮與無可避免地接受相關聯、游牧、包容的後人類主觀性以及不斷進化的科技有關。本論文采用羅西‧布拉伊多蒂（Rosi Braidotti）的後人類批判理論，旨在將《哈利波特》系列作為後人類文本加以考察，將書中主要角色描繪為體現後人類主觀性的賽博格，並進一步分析其與後人類他者包括生物、社區、宇宙的關係。為能夠對作為後人類文本的《哈利波特》進行詳細分析，並連繫該文本與當代社會的普遍焦慮和關懷，本論文采用了蘇曼‧古普塔（Suman Gupta）的「文本至世界」研究方法來研究文本及其對社會與政治之影響。本論文主張，將《哈利波特》作為賽博格與後人類他者之文本重讀，可使我們將注意力集中在當代人類與科技之間的關係上，例如智能設備與 VR 裝備，以及我們在物理和虛擬世界中的定位。此外，本論文旨在提醒我們注意科技的無限可能以及對我們未來體現的主體性之認可。. 關鍵字：哈利波特、賽博格、後人類他者、布拉伊多蒂、後人類批判.

(5) iv. Abstract Despite that the last book of the Harry Potter Series was published nearly 13 years ago in 2007, the series’ dynamic continues as the Harry Potter phenomenon, and inspires the filming industry and extensive literary works. This thesis establishes the connection between the Harry Potter Series and the Posthumanism in order to analyze the series’ profound influence and continuous dynamic in the literature field. The fantasy features of the series attract readers with the ultimate motif of life and death, mélange of elements from mixed traditional literature, and embody the adaptability into contemporary VR or smart technologies, which involves users closer to the immerging experience than we could ever be before. This phenomenon reconnects to humans’ anxiety and inevitable acceptance of relative, nomadic, and inclusive posthuman subjectivity and the constantly evolving progress of technology. Adopting Rosi Braidotti’s theory of the Critical PostHumanities, this thesis aims to examine the Harry Potter series as a posthuman text by depicting the main characters as cyborgs which embodies the posthuman subjectivity, and further analyze their relationship with the posthuman others, including creatures, communities, and the cosmos (Posthuman, 100). To enable a close analysis of the Harry Potter series as a posthuman text and relate this analysis to contemporary social anxiety and concerns, this thesis adapts Suman Gupta’s text-to-world methodology to contemplate on the text and its social and political effects (1). This thesis argues that re-reading the Harry Potter series as a text of cyborgs and posthuman others brings our attention to contemporary relationship of humans and technologies such as smart devices and VR gadgets, as well as our positions in both the physical and virtual worlds. We are also reminded to pay attention to the infinite possibilities of technologies and recognition of our subjectivities we embody in.

(6) v. the future.. Keywords: Harry Potter, cyborg, posthuman others, Braidotti, the Critical PostHumanities.

(7) vi. Table of Contents. Abbreviations…………………………………………………………………………1 Introduction………..………………………………………………………................2 I.. The Posthuman Studies………………………………………………………...3. II.. The Text-to-world Methodology……………………………………………….6. III.. The Critical PostHumanities…………………………………………………...8. Chapter One: Re-reading the Harry Potter Series as a posthuman text I.. The Genre, Structure, and Phenomenon………………...………………….....10. II.. The Posthuman Subject, Convergence, and Critical PostHumanities………...14. Chapter Two: The Text and Characters III.. Prostheses, Body, Soul….…………………………………………………….25. IV.. Cyborgs and posthuman subjects, The Deathly Hallows and Voldemort’s Horcruxes....…………………………………………………………………32. Chapter Three: Life and Death I.. Biopolitics and Necro-politics………………………………………………..38. II.. Deaths of Black, Snape, Dumbledore, and Dobby…………………….……..40. III.. The Others and Communities……………………………………………….45. IV.. The Cosmos…………………………………….……………………………51. Conclusion….………………...……………………………………………………...57 Works Cited……………….…………………………………………………………61.

(8) 1. Abbreviations. The following is a list of the Harry Potter novels discussed in this thesis. The last words of the titles are used as the abbreviation for each novel. For example, the whole title of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is abbreviated as Stone. The abbreviations below are used in the inner citations of the thesis and arranged in the alphabetical order, instead of the original publishing sequence.. Harry Potter Novels by J. K. Rowling. Azkaban Fire Hallows Phoenix Prince Secrets Stone. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2013. Print. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2013. Print. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2013. Print. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2013. Print. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2013. Print. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2013. Print. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2013. Print..

(9) 2. Introduction. This thesis adapts Suman Gupta’s text-to-world methodology in order to analyze the text of the Harry Potter series and consider on its social and political effects to the world we live in (1). In order to incorporate the posthuman context into my thesis, I also adapt Rosi Braidotti’s books on the Posthumanism, in which she aims to decentralize the unitary, humanistic, Eurocentric, and masculinist subject commonly referred to in Humanism and Anthropocentrism, and decolonize the Anthropocene (Posthuman, 6-8). To her, the posthuman project calls for diversity and heterogeneity. And the posthuman subject is not only about who we are but what we are capable of becoming. Zoe, defined by Braidotti as the matter and force of Life, incorporates the posthuman subjects and others, and expands to communities and the cosmos (Posthuman, 10-11). At the heart of her theory is the suggestion that we are all involved as a part of zoe-lives and to look into the possibilities into the future. In this thesis, I incorporate her theory of the posthuman subject and posthuman convergence in order to analyze the relationships of the wizards/witches with Muggles, other races, species, communities, and the cosmos in the Harry Potter series. Notions on the subjectivity to analyze the tension and rivalry between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort are further adopted, focusing on the differences of their interpretation of souls and lives in the story, and their representations as the collision of different aspects of the posthuman subjectivity. The ‘souls’ mentioned here not only include (post)human souls, but souls of others such as various races and creatures mentioned in the Harry Potter series., which are only complete with the profound connection to others and the world they inhabit. Other books and journals on the studies of posthuman and the Harry Potter series are incorporated to this thesis in order to analyze the social and political effects of the.

(10) 3. Harry Potter phenomenon, how its dynamic continues to influence us in the posthuman condition, and how re-reading it as a posthuman text inspires us to consider who we are and what we are becoming.. I.. The Posthuman Studies Based on feminism, socialism, and materialism, Donna Haraway takes on the path. of blasphemy and irony against the traditional Humanities, and at the center of her ironic faith and blasphemy, is the image of the cyborg. A cyborg is “a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction.” Cyborgs constantly cross boundaries of nature and crafts, organisms and machines. The cyborg is constructed to map our social and bodily reality as well as imagination. Haraway’s cyborg challenges holism, militarism, patriarchal capitalism, and state socialism from which it derives, and turns to embrace the partiality, irony, intimacy, and the non-existence of purity (117-119). On the other hand, human identities are imagined and constructed in the social reality, which means they can be challenged, borrowed, regenerated. Therefore, we are cyborgs. In combination of socialist materialism and feminism, Haraway turns our attention from the Humanities to Posthuman studies, challenging the formation of unitary subjectivity and the idea of genders which encompasses the domination of one on the others. Haraway suggests that the presumption of an “essential unity” indicates the partial, fractured, contradictory, strategic identities constructed through boundaries of gender, race, class, and other social realities (122). The proposition to replace identity she made is affinity, in order to accomplish the unity and politics of allies and celebrating differences instead of imposing domination of one construction of wholesome matrix or group, for instance, the Western self. According to her words, “Epistemology is about knowing the difference.” (123-127).

(11) 4. Haraway encourages us not to cringe away from technologies and turn into subjects of techno-phobia. Communication technologies and biotechnologies introduce social interactions and flow of information depending on science, electronics, and technologies as new sources of power, which we may utilize for reconstruction of social relations (130-132). The politics of the cyborg refers to the embodiment, fragmentation, reconstitution of bodies (140). Aligned with Braidotti’s affirmative ethics, Haraway’s attitude towards the posthuman remains positive in terms of the cyborg writing, which concerns not about the Fall of the past wholeness and domination of one superior, male subject, but “the power to survive” by “seizing the tool to mark the world that marked them as other.” (141) In terms of monsters, cyborg monsters challenge the presumption and limits of Man and Woman, and inspire us to expand the space for possibilities in our communities. “We can be responsible for machines; they do not dominate or threaten us. We are responsible for boundaries; we are they.” (146) “For us, in imagination and in other practice, machines can be prosthetic devices, intimate components, friendly selves. We don’t need organic holism to give impermeable wholeness…” (144) Haraway proposes the regeneration instead of rebirth regarding to the reconstruction and function recovery. Regeneration allows space for mutation, deformity, and other possibilities “post-gender” (118). Rejecting the binary dualism, Haraway provides us the solution which simultaneously destructs and constructs posthuman subjectivities and connections with others (machine, social groups, even the planet), and expands the possibilities for pleasure and hope. N. Katherine Hayles suggests that bodies are systems constructed by information, which include pattern and randomness. In her book, How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature, and Informatics, Hayles explores how information loses its body, cyborgs become artificial, cultural representation of technology, and how we became posthuman. Focusing on the virtual body and flows of.

(12) 5. information, Hayles reckons that the construction of posthumans does not require an actual cyborg as subject (8). “Virtuality is the cultural perception that material objects are interpenetrated by information patterns.” (17) We live in the condition of virtual reality which implies that we participate in this cultural perception that information has become more fundamental and essential than materiality (21, 23). Hayles takes the virtual ping pong game as example in order to explain how it is completed partially in real life, and partially in virtual reality. She argues that all material objects, such as DNA code and the World Wide Web, are interpenetrated by flows of information (18). Regarding to the virtuality and contemporary literature, Hayles suggests that literary texts “reveal complex cultural, social and representational issues tied up with conceptual shifts and technological innovations.” Different technologies of text production lead to shifts in consumption, and initiate new experiences of embodiment, which interacts with codes of representation to generate new kinds of textual worlds. It is a way for us to recognize that we are embodied creatures living in embodied worlds (28). In virtual reality it is the pattern and randomness that are more essential than presence and absence, since in the virtual reality our avatars are both present and nonpresent; us as users are both inside and outside the screen (31). Take Ebony Elizabeth Thomas’s book The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games as instance for Hayles’ ideas, she emphasizes on the importance and possibilities created by fandom and retelling the stories in environments of digital intimacy in order to shape the collective consciousness and open up interpretive space (11-12). Thomas argues that theorizing the dark fantastic in stories that are written for some people and not others is a restorative, transformative, and emancipatory way to remake our world (21). While I indulge myself in Haraway’s notions of the cyborg, I am wary of her profound connection and references to the main science (for instance, biotechnologies).

(13) 6. despite her effort connecting it with socialist-feminism, in fear that it remains in the framework of Eurocentric male-dominant language and writing, and partially neglects the geo- and zoe- aspects and possibilities in the posthuman condition. This concern extends to Hayles’ ideas of virtual bodies, for her emphasis of flows of information over material bodies can lead to neglection and ignorance to the material world we all live in. Therefore, starting with Haraway’s concept of the cyborg and Hayles’ theory on virtual bodies as inspiration and my access into the posthuman networks, I intend to focus mainly on adaptations of Braidotti’s Critical PostHumanities into my analysis and re-reading of the Harry Potter saga as a posthuman text which inspires us to reconstruct our connections with advanced technologies, their influence on our posthuman subjectivity, and the concerns of and care for the planetary predicament we face in our time.. II.. The Text-to-world Methodology First published by Bloomsbury in 1997, the books have now been translated into. over 80 different languages across the world, with more to come. Up until February 2018, 500 million copies are sold worldwide (“500”). It is not only the publishing industry undergoing this economic boom; all seven books are adapted into films, and derivative works such as a play, films, audio books, AR games, and theme parks are launched surrounding the Harry Potter universe. On the other hand, the books cause denunciation and censorship issues majorly due to religious bigotry and result in banning in multiple countries (19). Gupta suggests that such banning in terms of “protection of children” reveals children as a category with social, political, and religious effects (20). The Harry Potter phenomenon no doubt brings forth the global, international, cross-cultural discussions. In order to understand how specific texts and their readings lead outwards towards and devolve from the world they occur within,.

(14) 7. Gupta suggests the text-to-world approach to focus on how the Harry Potter series may be read and how it affects the world (22). In the book Re-Reading Harry Potter, Gupta first compares different copies of the Harry Potter series to prove that the books aim for both children and adults: the texts are identical; however, the covers are different. The children’s copies are covered with colorful illustrations, which immediately lure the child readers to merge into the story, empathizing with the hero who is in the midst of it all (4). On the other hand, the adults’ copies are covered with black-and-white photographs, indicating the nostalgic sensibility, mysterious symbolic meanings, and a retreat into the past (5). The different styles in the book covers lead to the concept of the “implied reader” and the confidence behind the Harry Potter phenomenon, which further leads to Gupta’s interest on its political and social constitute (6-7). Gupta then extends his analysis to Harry and other characters in the books. Various issues regarding to the series are analyzed: from the phenomenon, readers, genres, to media, world views, technologies, and its social and political impacts on different generations. The Harry Potter series marks a generation of children infiltrated by the Harry Potter hype, and simultaneously, Harry grew organically as a character, a story, and a brand. Meanwhile, adults read the series with extraordinary enthusiasm, too (89). Gupta suggests that aside from the pleasure obtained from reading the text itself, children’s reading of the Harry Potter series is a mediated process of adults’ reconstruction of moral lessons, during which adults speak for themselves. The Harry Potter books and phenomenon are addressed to inform us something about us and the social and political world we inhabit, and children is one of the categories within (1213). Regarding to the debate of the mismatch of meeting the light-hearted with killjoy seriousness, the unthinking with analytical rigor, the obvious trivial with the.

(15) 8. expectation of depth, and the mass-market product with elite literary taste, Gupta argues that such debate in itself indicates something that calls for consideration. The series and phenomenon deserve social and political analysis due to their economic success, transcendence of cultural boundaries, and challenges of appropriateness (15-18). This is the reason for which I choose to adapt the text-to-world methodology into my thesis; I intend to establish close connection between re-reading the Harry Potter series as a posthuman text and explaining how it relates to contemporary complex opinions towards advanced technologies, as well as how we can recognize ourselves as posthumans and include all others in the cosmos.. III.. The Critical PostHumanities Deriving from the premise of the demise of Man, and in light of Humanism’s. unfulfilled promises and unacknowledged brutality, a new methodological measure is needed (Braidotti, The Posthuman, 51). Posthumanism marks the end of the opposition between Humanism and Anti-humanism, and works towards the alternative ways to conceptualize the human subject (37). Braidotti compares the posthuman in relation to post-anthropocentrism with post-humanism and argues that other than the latter’s emphasis of philosophy, history, cultural studies, and the classical Humanities, postanthropocentrism also includes science and technology studies, new media and digital culture, environmentalism and earth-sciences, bio-genetics, neuroscience and robotics, evolutionary theory, critical legal theory, primatology, animal rights and science fiction. This high degree of trans-disciplinarity enhances its complexity (57-58). The global circulation of goods, data, capital, and information defines the interaction of contemporary subjects (59). She proposes the concept of zoe in contrast with anthropos and bio in order to encompass all life matter into her discussion, including the environment, planet, and cosmos (60). Furthermore, in order to de-center.

(16) 9. the European, male dominant anthropocentric subject of the Humanities and include all non-human others (zoe), Braidotti proposes the concept of nomadic, inclusive, relational post-anthropocentric posthuman in order to embrace more planetary challenges (153). According to Braidotti, we now face the global phenomenon of commodification of Life by global capitalism when it reduces bodies to the accumulation of information (59, 62). The global economy becomes postanthropocentric because it ultimately unifies all species into one market, and blurs all boundaries at the same time (63-64). Later, Braidotti in her book Posthuman Knowledge expands her theory and proposes the term “posthuman convergence” and the Critical PostHumanities (2). Braidotti suggests that “ We-are-not-one-and-the-same-but-are-in-this-convergencetogether”, and the Critical PostHumanities expands the horizon of Posthumanities in order to face the fear, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and planetary crises we all face in our time. In posthuman convergence, we make transversal connections beyond ourselves and any single time block, in hope for affirmative ethics on understanding who we are, what we become and what we are capable of doing..

(17) 10. Chapter One Re-reading the Harry Potter Series as a Posthuman Text. I.. The Genre, Structure, and Phenomenon According to Gupta’s definition: society refers to the “constitution of a collective”. (with modes of subsistence, cultural forms, informal organizational structures, etc.); polity refers to the “rules and values with which a collective is administered and conducted” (with the aid of legal procedures, constitutions, executive and regulatory institutions, official organizational structures, etc.) (25). These terms are not independent, and the text is the field in which an act of communication occurs between the author and reader, between different readers, cultures, institutions, and existing texts, in order to exercise its social and political effects (26-27). In terms of communication, the Harry Potter phenomenon does include the interest in the author. J. K. Rowling has been incorporated into the phenomenon just as her readers. However, her intentions and responsibilities fade into irrelevance since she is not the author of the phenomenon, rather, part of the phenomenon as the author (3435). Gupta proposes the concept of the “imagined author”, who emerges from readers’ engagement with the text, and becomes the constructed author with social and political effect (36). Adapting this concept, Gupta refocuses on the text and its social and political influence with the world, for the public image of real-life Rowling as a mother, female writer, philanthropist vastly marketed, does not affect the interpretation of the text. In light of J. K. Rowling’s unfortunate transphobic content of her tweet 1 on. On December 19th 2019, J. K. Rowling posted a tweet supporting Ms. Forestater and indicating discrimination against the Trans community, suggesting that Trans women are not real women and Trans men are not real men. (Bird, “'Harry Potter' Helped Me Come Out as Trans, But J.K. Rowling Disappointed Me.”) 1.

(18) 11. December 19th, 2019, which caused an uproar among her fans, this thesis distances the author from the content of the seven Harry Potter books, as many of her fans and fan websites have announced on-line, in order to support Trans people’s rights. (Korynta et al.) Despite hurt feelings are caused by J. K. Rowling’s tweet and inconsistency with the values she presented in the books, Helen Lewis suggests that one must remember that the author of the series is from a certain era and specific social backgrounds, which inevitably result in limitations. She is one of us. Like many fans who actually quote from the books against this act of discrimination, Lewis also suggests that we turn to the character who is a true moral center in the series: Severus Snape, who was bullied by Harry’s father, lashed it out on Harry, loved Harry’s mother and yet indirectly caused her death with betrayal, and redeemed himself through sacrificing his life to help Harry. He is a victim, a bully, a villain, and a hero. (The Atlantis) Jackson Bird in his article published on the New York Times also suggests that we turn to Hagrid, who is a halfgiant, one of the social minorities discriminated by others: “…I am what I am, an’ I’m not ashamed. ‘Never be ashamed’, my ol’ dad used ter say, ‘there’s someone who’ll hold it against you, but they’re not worth botherin’ with.’” (Fire, 456) To analyze the Harry Potter series, Gupta inevitably mentions the genres the series belongs to. First, he confirms to address “children” and “children’s literature” as categories of social and political effect for and from adults. Children as consumers of children’s literature are the constructed targets of corporations to mediate the books from the author to readers. Children represent the condition of the ideal future that can be molded. However, Gupta chooses to keep some distance from the notion of children’s literature for the construction of children in the text is not the main focus here (53-54). Second, Gupta brings forth the fantasy literature into the discussion. However, the Harry Potter series does not fall into the rigorous definition of this genre, despite the series may own its popularity to this background. Gupta argues that the Harry Potter.

(19) 12. books fit some but not all modes of fantasy literature, and seem to inspire another category as “popular fantasy literature”. These discussions constitute the social and political effects of the series, rather than explain them (65-66). Other than the two genres, Gupta also mentions the religious perspective which focuses on how the series present the practices of witchcraft and becomes the force which Christians must fight against. Ironically, this notion acknowledges the Magic world as an alternative reality and at the same level of the Christian world-view (74). In terms of repetition and progression, each Harry Potter book is sufficiently repetitively closed and predicable, and yet progressively open and unpredictable. Each book embodies the similar structure of similar events which lead to similar results. At the same time, Harry and his story continue to proceed, indicating the time passed, development of characters, and most importantly, the elaboration of the universe. The elaboration method applied in the series is the key to maintain the balance between repetition and progression. It is performed through increasing the complexity gradually in order to achieve higher awareness (93-96). Furthermore, fairy tales and folklores are alluded and transformed in the Harry Potter series to encode modern values while retaining traditional effects in order to bring us from the Magic world to our world instead of to the past (98). The Harry Potter phenomenon is primarily understood in terms of the hype culture in our world. Harry’s initial knowledge to the Magic world begins with a marketplace and bank, and the busy streets filled with magical consumables such as sweets, broomsticks, and other objects (134). These scenes relate to the mélange of exaggerated advertisements and signs in big cities that are commonly seen in sci-fi productions. In the series, there are almost every aspect of modern advertisement in the series: the calculated misspelling, endorsements, discussion of the effects of product enhancement, etc. The only difference between the advertising in the Magic world and our real life is.

(20) 13. that in the Magic world the advertisements do not disappoint. The exaggerations become truth and provide great satisfaction to the customers. Advertisements in fact, advertise magic, and thus, the story to us (138-140). With readers’ expectation of the films adapting Harry’s story and turning the Magic world to life, Gupta proposes the adaptation of a “reproductive illusion” into the discussion of the films derived from the Harry Potter series. Gupta clarifies that this expectation from the readers which Gupta refers to as “informed readiness” is not to believe that magic is real, but to witness the success of the films making the unbelievable believable. (143-144) The viewer remains medium aware as it is a full experience of the virtual reality instead of a representation. Therefore, the medium disappears to accommodate magic easily, allowing the viewer to experience the virtual reality and simultaneously recognize the fact that it is virtual the whole time (144). Gupta further mentions the internal logic of the story which indicates the continuity and consistency of which his text-to-world methodology is chosen to serve. This sense of continuity is crucial in order to seamlessly link the Magic world with the Muggle world, and thus extends to our world (145-147). Gupta argues that aware of the series and phenomenon, the viewers of the Harry Potter films expects to access the success of virtual reality of the illusion without compromising the medium invisibility. The films become the vision (the virtual reality) based on invisible technology (the medium). Ironically, it is the technological devices that succeed in making Magic possible. Furthermore, Gupta argues that there is the exorcism of technological expectations in the story (148-150). I disagree with Gupta’s argument for I take the stance to consider magic as a sort of advanced technology which connects the Magic world to the Muggle world, and thus, our world. However, Gupta at least acknowledges the presence of negotiation and renegotiation between the three worlds (150)..

(21) 14. Gupta criticizes how Harry’s innate abilities and chosen-ness are problematically illustrated in the series and thus lead to the servitude and slavery upon House-elves. This unthinking luck of Harry leads to our desire within our world and triggers the Harry Potter phenomenon (162). Adapting the text-to-world methodology, Gupta leads this observation back to the dependence on science-technology, and simultaneously growing distrust and misuse of it. The growing sense of risk and in-equality are related to science-technology, international capitalism, and power mechanisms. In the midst of all that is the mass media which informs us events in the world and yet distances us from the immediate reality (163). Gupta’s book inspires me to adapt his text-to-world methodology and reminds me to make close connections between my arguments and the contemporary crises in our world.. II. The Posthuman Subject, Convergence, and Critical PostHumanities Rosi Braidotti suggests that there are three strands of contemporary posthuman thoughts: first, a reactive form of the posthuman developed from moral philosophy; second, an analytic form of the posthuman enforced by science and technology studies; third, Braidotti’s own critical post-humanism which derived from anti-humanism (38). The reactive approach to the posthuman is defended by liberal thinkers such as Martha Nussbaum, who while acknowledging the challenges imposed by technologydriven global economies, emphasizes on the need for universal humanistic values, and proposes the Humanistic cosmopolitan universalism in order to defy the fragmentation of globalization (38). However, Braidotti criticizes Nussbaum’s proposition for leaving no room for experiments with new models of the self (39). Regarding to science and technology studies which raise questions about the status of men and yet avoid theories of subjectivity, Braidotti suggests that the differentiation between the Humanities and Sciences is formed (39-40). The science and technology studies tend to justify their.

(22) 15. neutral positions and become over-confident about their moral intentionality. They neglect the autonomy achieved by machines, and the complexity of smart technologies which lies at the core of post-anthropocentrism (42-43). On the other hand, Braidotti acknowledges that the issues of robots and machines proposed by science and technology studies do support the fact that this is no time to return to the nostalgic humanistic values (45). The critical posthuman subject is defined as a relational subject constituted in and by multiplicity that works across differences and is also internally differentiated (49). She argues that contemporary bio-genetic capitalism generates the global form of a reactive mutual inter-dependence of all living organisms, including non-humans. This sense of unity is commonly defined as a shared vulnerability against common threats. However, what Braidotti proposes here is an affirmative bond of the subject with multiple others (50). She attempts to redefine a new role of Europe that is nomadic, globalized, culturally diverse, and detached from Eurocentrism, which decenters the Europe, accommodates the others, and introduces possibilities of transformation (5354). This point of view will later be adapted into my analysis of the text of the Harry Potter series, in which Voldemort as the embodiment of the idealistic European “Man” changes into the twisted dehumanized form due to his choices to locate himself as the ultimate superior race/species among others and actions of terror. In order to explore various aspects of post-anthropocentric subjectivity, Braidotti proposes three processes: becoming-animal, becoming-earth, and becoming-machine (66). Animals have been depicted as social indications of virtues and moral values for the benefit of humans, commonly seen in fantasmatic human-animal interactions as non-anthropomorphic characters. At the social level, alluding to Haraway’s concept of companion species, and animals as labor force and commodities, Braidotti suggests that animals are no longer social constructs of humans’ self-projection; a zoe-egalitarian.

(23) 16. approach is needed (69-71). Braidotti mentions the case of Dolly the sheep and claims that this entity which is no longer an animal and not yet a machine embodies complexity and becomes the icon of posthuman condition (74). Discussions on species equality in a post-anthropocentric world urges us to question the violence and hierarchical thinking that result from human arrogance and transcendental human exceptionalism. Braidotti further moves on to the non-human force of Life as zoe, to refer to the virtual cosmic energy in our world (86), and global crises such as climate change. She adopts monism to de-familiarize us and turn to the open-minded, inter-relational, multi-sexed, trans-species flows of becoming through interaction with multiple others, and thus exceed boundaries to acquire a planetary dimension (89). Moving beyond the becoming-animal, and becoming-earth, Braidotti mentions that the posthuman predicament entails the complex political economy which connects bodies to machines in a more intimate way through simulation and mutual modification instead of the metaphorical analogy of a device that imitates human capacities (89-90). She proposes the assumption of cyborgs as the dominant social and cultural formations that transmit information and are active throughout the social fabric, with economic and political implications. Her assumption of the enfleshed and extended, relational self emphasizes the immanence of connections and assemblages (90, 92). Referring to Guattari’s concept of “machine autopoiesis”, Braidotti argues that it establishes the link between organic matter and technological or machinic artefacts, and redefines machines as intelligent and generative (94). I will adopt the three processes (becoming-animal, becoming-earth, and becoming-machine) proposed by Braidotti into this thesis for the discussion of the relationship between wizards/witches and other races/species, the Magic and Muggle worlds, and their wands/other magical prostheses, to prove the crucial need to discuss on the posthuman condition and subjectivity in the.

(24) 17. Anthropocene. Moving beyond the “high” cyber studies of Haraway and Hayles into post-cyber materialism, Braidotti proposes a nomadic, zoe-centered, post-anthropocentric approach which connects the human and non-human life in order to develop an ecophilosophy of becoming in the Anthropocene and cosmos we all share (104). In her final conclusion, Braidotti expresses her major concerns: to find adequate theoretical and imaginary representations for our lived conditions and to experiment with alternative forms of posthuman subjectivity (187). She argues that the posthuman subject is not postmodern for it does not rely on any anti-foundationalist premises. It is not post-structuralist for it does not function within the linguistic turn or other forms of deconstruction (188). The posthuman nomadic subject is materialist, and vitalist, embodied and embedded, conceptualized through monistic politics. Later on, Braidotti in her book Posthuman Knowledge expands her theory and proposes the term “posthuman convergence” of posthumanism and postanthropocentrism in the Anthropocene, and within the scope of advanced capitalism. To Braidotti, it is crucial to first answer the question: who are ‘we’, including all inhabitants on Earth living in the time of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Sixth Extinction? The background of her arguments lies in the technological intervention imposed by us and our intimacy to devices. Our actions further cause the dramatic global climate change and endanger ecologies as well as personal psychological status in an unprecedented level. According to Braidotti, outdated universal representative terms such as ‘Man’, ‘I’, ‘We’, are no longer sufficient to address on the challenges of our time. Posthuman Knowledge focuses on enlisting the features of the posthuman subjects under Braidotti’s frame and attempting to search for a new scholarship in production of knowledge within and across fields of Humanities and Posthumanities (2-8)..

(25) 18. The posthuman convergence of posthumanism and post-anthropocentrism functions not as an inhuman and indifferent statement but to emphasize the transversal mutual influence on each other. It is multi-directional and open to possibilities, discussions, and possibilities, and crucial on the critique of Humanism. Braidotti challenges to redefine the posthuman subjects in our time whereas we proceed far beyond where Humanism and Anthropocentrism can take us. The framework we need is no longer the separation and confinement of humans away from the non-human others. Instead, the posthuman convergence calls for differences, dynamics, influences, relations, alternatives, and links (6-13). In order to re-define who ‘we’ are beyond Humanism and Anthropocentrism, we need to first set down the posthuman setting for negotiations (39). The concept of posthuman convergence is what Braidotti offers. Furthermore, it is already here among us, and it is crucial that we are aware of it. In order to explore in the posthuman convergence and search for a posthuman subject of our time, Braidotti first clarifies her definition of the present, as the continuous time flow of becoming in the Anthropocene. None of the past, present, and future is a frozen time block; humans constantly grasp “what we are ceasing to be” and “what we are in the progress of becoming”, whereas the past is an aggregate of future pasts awaiting to be realized, and the future the process of revelation of the yet unrealized virtual past. Between the past and future is the present in which activities occur (64-65). What is our present then? Braidotti mentions the Anthropocene as the framework surrounding us, in which we face our fear of extinction and the hope of regeneration. Learning that the Anthropocene embodies the crisis of white, Eurocentric, masculine colonization of over human as well as non-human others, we are simultaneously recognizing the opportunity for change, that is, what we are capable of becoming (71-74). To address the crises and issues ‘we’ face currently, a subject entity of our time is.

(26) 19. needed to connect with non-human others. Following the traces of Humanism and yet distancing her statement from it, Braidotti defines posthuman subjects as “We’-whoare-not-one-and-the-same-but-are-in-this-convergence-together”, emphasizing on the transversal subjectivity. Traditional subjects of Humanism or Anthropocentrism tend to unitary, Eurocentric, white, masculine, and humanistic, which entail the white supremacy and leave the non-human others outside, unclear, uncared. However, Braidotti turns her posthuman subjects into the “zoe/geo/techno assemblage” including and connecting the non-humans and calling for transformation (44). Posthuman subjectivity therefore turns into the transversal alliance of humans and others, including but not limited to animals, technological factors, and geological entities, in our time of climate change, ecological crisis, exploding advanced capitalism and technologies, and terror of wars. What differs Braidotti from Donna Haraway is her notion of zoe/geo/technorelated factors. Zoe refers to the “unprotected and vulnerable life of all living beings”, whereas bios refers to “the life of humans organized in society” (10). Haraway mentions the positive possibilities brought about by bio-science. On the other hand, Braidotti focuses more on the zoe factor to include all the non-human beings. Despite variated focuses on two theorists, we need to constantly remind ourselves that binary oppositions are dangerous in Braidotti’s theory and therefore, simply making shallow contrasts between Braidotti and Haraway can result in us falling back to the Humanistic notion of binarism. One specific notion of Braidotti intrigues me: from Posthuman Disability Studies to DisHuman Studies (Goodley, 2014), the formation of subjectivity in disability constantly defies the traditional unitary and anthropocentric definition in Humanities. The Posthuman Disability Studies simultaneously connects the Humanities and Posthumanities and yet remains on their borders, enlarging the space of thinking and.

(27) 20. imagination. I will return to this perspective later on employing the character Alaster (Mad-Eye) Moody for instance. Braidotti explains her post-disciplinary discursive proposition of the Critical PostHumanities in four aspects: Thematically, the Critical PostHumanities deals with the broaden up posthuman subject inclusive of non-human others, ecological and technological factors, as well as planetary concerns. Methodologically, the Critical PostHumanities propositionally and relationally questions institutional scholarship and traditional Humanities in order to open up and make connection of different fields. Conceptually, from nature and cultures to grounding in empiricism of zoe/geo/technorelations, the Critical PostHumanities refuses to take matters for granted, confined in a specific moment and perspective. Finally, politically, the Critical PostHumanities frees posthuman subjects from domination in academic production of knowledge, allowing the space of innovative themes and theories (100-102). The Critical PostHumanities responds to the problematic assumptions of Humanities and Anthropocentrism on Eurocentric white supremacy and excluding other species, and expands the horizon of Posthumanities in order to face the fear, fatigue, anxiety, and depression we face in our time, as well as the ongoing planetary crises of climate change and ecological collapse, and finally, the constant threat of militarization of advanced technologies and terror of wars. In posthuman convergence, we make transversal connections beyond ourselves and any single time block, in hope for affirmative ethics on understanding who we are, what we become and what we are capable of doing. Braidotti proposes the model of affirmative ethics on two different lines of thinking: major science and minor science, the former being more profit-driven, and the latter being more curiosity-driven (153). This model should not be misunderstood as vague and hollow positive attitude towards the crises we face. Due to the continuity of the Critical PostHumanities, it is imperial to remain affirmative to face what we are.

(28) 21. dealing with in the present. From past to future, the virtual to the actual, we should continue to strive for eradicating the dominations of certain power over the others and the boundaries that come along. The transversal alliance has extended from groups of privileges to other groups, and further onto non-human organisms, and technological entities as well as social affinities. Following the postcolonial, feminist, and posthuman notions of negativity, we live in a time of negative emotions such as fear, fatigue, anxiety, and depression. However, it is even more crucial for us to search for affirmative ethics in order to respond to current issues in discussion, and explore possible solutions. What is the immanent inexhaustible element in us to push us forward then? It lies in the infinite connections between humans and all factors and others, where myriad possibilities multiply and expand. Furthermore, while death remains the limit and ending of our lives on one hand, this limit turns into the drive for possibilities and accomplishments. Braidotti mentions stoicism as a crucial element in the posthuman convergence, for we constantly face the crises happened in the past, current concerns of the consequences of our deeds, and anxiety for the future. Later on, she states the vital force of Life and Zoe again on their infinite possibilities and power of becoming. Not only are they sites of resistance, but multiple alternatives to the necropolitics and advanced technologies (174-177). Braidotti’s emphasis on the praxis of actualizing the virtual calls on us to endeavor in the recognition of us as posthuman subjects, collective transversal ensembles: “‘we’ are not one and the same but are in this convergence together.”, and make transversal connections between fields, disciplinaries, and all subjects and elements, in order to fulfill the need for a new affirmative ethics on posthuman and non-anthropocentric relations. It is among us all and yet differential. I employed Braidotti’s posthuman theory to my analysis on the text of the Harry Potter series in order to examine the continuous dynamic of the Harry Potter.

(29) 22. phenomenon and how re-reading it as the posthuman text inspires us to redefine who we are and what we are becoming. My hypothesis is that the Harry Potter series is a global posthuman text in disguise of the genre of fantasy. It is the analogy of our daily experience as cyborgs and of the interactions of us with non-human others. Going beyond bio-centered studies, the adaptation of Braidotti’s ecological, postanthropocentric theory of the posthuman allows me to include thoughts on posthuman connections of humans, non-humans, communities, and the cosmos..

(30) 23. Chapter Two The Text and Characters. J. K. Rowling’s world known Harry Potter Series depicts a story of the young wizard, Harry Potter’s struggles against Lord Voldemort, who intends to become immortal, take full control of the magic world, and enslave the non-pure-blood humans and non-human others. As previously mentioned, Haraway’s cyborg challenges holism, militarism, patriarchal capitalism, and turns to embrace the partiality, irony, intimacy, and the non-existence of purity (117-119). As a story that began as a seemingly classic children and teenagers’ literature, the Harry Potter series soon developed its own style and expanded into this unique universe of magic. I would like to analyze the text from the posthuman perspective, starting from looking at the main characters as cyborgs, and the magical items as prostheses. The main protagonist Harry starts his journey as a young boy who is seemingly virtuous and athletic, bullied by his family members. His aunt and cousin are portrayed as the evil stepmother and siblings that are commonly seen in fairy tales. And Harry is soon rescued by a friendly human-shaped non-human other with magic, and moves to live in a castle. His bravery, kindness, and athletic skills wins him friendship, popularity, and the position as a sports star among peers. However, unlike the traditional depiction of an attractive, masculine hero, we later find out that he starts to show traces that are often considered feminine, such as sensitiveness, strong emotions. He is thin, and despite his strong resemblance of his father, he is constantly reminded that he has his mother’s eyes. As the story proceeds, his other physical features are constantly deliberately left out by the author. He seems to become this character that many of us can identify with; this is proven through the record-breaking sales numbers of the series. During the long-lasting fight against Lord Voldemort, scenes of him showing frustration.

(31) 24. and emotional outbreaks take a large proportion of the story, especially in the last three books. When he behaves recklessly, decisions are made not due to his pride, but instinct that has been closely associated with his mother. On the other hand, his high reliance on his female friend, profound connection with non-human others provide more depth and dimensions to this character. The complicated features of Harry Potter make him exceed the border lines of a traditional fantasy character, a masculine hero, and a humanist subject. His femininity and connection with others as well as outer worlds (Magic and Muggle) allow us to re-examine him as a posthuman subject, and this analysis alludes to our contemporary relationship with objects, others, and the cosmos. In the series, it is testified by Dumbledore that Harry Potter and Voldemort share similar backgrounds and features, which almost turns Harry into a Slytherin student (333, Secrets). However, Harry and Voldemort end up becoming different characters. I perceive them both as cyborgs, but the connection of prostheses and Voldemort remains in the mechanic level. The wands he uses are simply tools instead of the media through which he connects with others. The sole purpose of prostheses is to dominate and suppress others. Harry and Voldemort’s life pattern demonstrates how one subject becomes a cyborg through the extension of prosthesis. But the connection to others and the cosmos through prostheses is crucial for subjects to become simultaneously humane and posthuman. Other than the protagonist and antagonist, the massive scale of the story creates this universe of magic which include wizards and witches as well as others. Through the issue of right of possession of wands and creatures’ rights, Rowling showcases the complex conflicts among humans in different social levels, and with others. Furthermore, creatures in the story are no longer one dimensional or depicted as one general species. There is the loyal house-elf friend, Dobby, who uses his own powerful magic to sacrifice his life saving Harry, putting him in a noble, higher, if not the same,.

(32) 25. moral position than Harry’s. On the other hand, there is Kreacher, who despises Dobby and deems him as a betrayer of his own kind. Similar situation also happens in the community of centaurs, where they make different political choices independently, and take respective actions to wither join or flee from the final battle. According to Signe Cohen, the Harry Potter books shatter conventional knowledge of times, space, and identities, erase the subject-object boundary, and turn Harry’s world into a constant changing universe which interacts with its visitors and inhabitants. Cohen argues that for contemporary readers living in a global, multicultural environment, the Harry Potter series demonstrate how one embraces difference, distrusts the already-given answers, and forges one’s own truth because “individual meaning can be forged out of multiplicity” (61-64). Her argument coincides with Rosi Braidotti’s proposition in her book Posthuman Knowledge to re-define who ‘we’ are beyond Humanism and Anthropocentrism (39), as well as my analysis of the Harry Potter series as a posthuman text and Harry as one of the posthuman subjects in order to search for the meaning of life and what ‘we’ may become.. I.. Prostheses, Body, Soul In June 2017, “A Fully Organic Retinal Prosthesis Restores Vision in a Rat Model. of Degenerative Blindness” reports on the fabrication and functional validation of a fully organic prosthesis for long-term in vivo subretinal implantation in the eye of Royal College of Surgeons rats. The results indicate the improvement from limitations such as the mechanical mismatch and the complexity of the manufacturing process and operational principles, as well as the possibility of developing a new generation of fully organic, highly biocompatible and functionally autonomous photovoltaic prostheses (Maya-Vetencourt, 2). The high biocompatibility of this new type of fully organic prosthesis highlights the potential clinical relevance and long endurance “after months.

(33) 26. of implantation, despite the continuous exposure to biological fluids, body temperature and inflammatory cells” (3, 7). In May 2018, Robert Service published a news article in Science, reporting on the construction of an artificial sensory nerve that is made by organic materials by a team of researchers led by chemist Zhenan Bao at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. “Not only are the soft, flexible, organic materials used to make the artificial nerve ideal for integrating with pliable human tissue, but they are also relatively cheap to manufacture in large arrays.” Due to the inexpensive feature of the organic electronics like this, “the approach should allow scientists to integrate large numbers of artificial nerves that could pick up on multiple types of sensory information.” This system is believed to be able to “provide far more sensory information to future prosthetics wearers, helping them better control their new appendages”. (Service, “New”) The abovementioned experiments inspired me to consider the tendency of biotechnologies which turns to organic materials for prostheses or implants, and further rereading of the Harry Potter series as a posthuman text and view the magical objects in the story as organic prostheses. From the perspective of children’s literature, Drew Chappell mentions magical objects used to resist the control over children’s minds and bodies such as the invisibility cloak, the Marauder’s Map, Room of Requirement, and flying broomsticks or creatures (287-288). Among these items the Room of Requirement especially embodies the resistance against both the mind and the body, when it is used to host Dumbledore’s Army, the students’ group founded in order to allow the students to learn practical magic spells against dark magic, and protest against Umbridge’s unfair policies in Hogwarts; the students would have access to the room only when this is exactly what they want in mind. These objects and their functions lead back to my proposition of recognizing Harry as a contemporary posthuman cyborg subject,.

(34) 27. whereas these objects are considered as prostheses attached to extend and broaden up the subject’s mind in order to learn who s/he is, and therefore, allow us to learn about who we are. However, I reckon that this relationship between the prostheses and subjects should apply to not only children. The wands, for instance, are made by wood infused with strings of parts of magical creatures. The materials are seemingly organic, but the wands function as prostheses of their holders, an extension of the body. They are also deeply connected with holders’ mental state, which is described in an almost neural-processing way. Not only does this phenomenon appear on child wand-holders, but adult wizards/witches. Furthermore, just like a smart device (phone, watch, etc.), the wands depicted in the story embody certain level of user authorization. Demonstrated in the first book, the first time a witch/wizard holds a wand indicates a certain kind of imprint and connection with the wand. The duel between Voldemort and Harry demonstrates the importance of the wands and the possibility for one wand to connect to another, especially when the wand recognizes traces of Voldemort in Harry (later we find out that Harry is in fact the last horcrux accidentally created which contains a piece of Voldemort’s soul). In the seventh book, Rowling further elaborates the second-hand usage of a wand which requires removal of the mental connection of between the first user and the wand, here described as “removal against the first user’s will” (Hallows, 742). On the other hand, Alastor’s mad-eye demonstrates how the prosthetic under the right usage and connection to others, can maximize its as well as the user’s value. Alastor (Mad-eye) Moody’s artificial eye functions as and beyond a real human eye, and serves more as an X-Ray and surveillance gadget that operates according to his will. It functions a major identifier of the user’s identification, embodies his personality, and amplifies his power, making a seemingly disabled old man one of the most powerful and respected wizards in the Magic world, while adding the mysterious sense to his image. The.

(35) 28. formation of subjectivity in disability constantly defies the traditional unitary and anthropocentric definition in Humanities. The Posthuman Disability Studies simultaneously connects the Humanities and Posthumanities and yet remains on their borders, enlarging the space of thinking and imagination. Haraway suggests that modern machines take forms of microelectronic devices which are everywhere and invisible. This miniaturization is dangerous and refers back to the ubiquity and invisibility of the cyborg, which are hard to be noticed politically and materially (121). Later on, I would like to insert the VR experience enclosing human perceptions into discussion. Her notion of the microelectronic devices of advanced technologies refocuses our attention to the smart devices and VR experience services that occupy our contemporary daily lives, and further triggers my comparison with the magical objects in the Harry Potter saga. For instance, the relationship of wizards with their magic wands are similarly intimate and almost inseparable as our relationship with smart phones or smart watches and bracelets. Harry was in despair and panic the first time he lost his wand: “He usually kept his wand with him at all times in the wizarding world, and finding himself without it in the midst of a scene like this made him feel very vulnerable. …They set off again, Harry still searching his pockets, even though he knew his wand wasn't there.” (Fire, 124-125) This psychological attachment does not weaken overtime during Harry Potter’s transition to adulthood. In the seventh book, his wand was accidentally destroyed by his friend Hermione, and he was told that it was impossible to fix it, which is the fact that continues to bother him till the end of the saga and turns into his lament on the loss of this object that defined his subjectivity even more than his own flesh.. “…He stared at it, aghast, unable to take in what he was seeing… the wand that had survived so much…” (Hallows, 349).

(36) 29. “…His sense had been spiked by the calamity of losing his wand. …Without realizing it, he was digging his fingers into his arms as if he were trying to resist physical pain. He had spilled his own blood more times than he could count; he had lost all the bones in his right arm once; this journey had already given him scars to his chest and forearm to join those on his hand and forehead, but never, until this moment, had he felt himself to be fatally weakened, vulnerable, and naked, as though the best part of his magical power had been torn from him.” (Hallows, 350). This intimate dependence on the objects which I will later define as prosthetics of posthuman subjects determines us as cyborgs and further introduces us to the simultaneous pleasure and anxiety that we have against advanced technologies in our time. To further explore the discussion, the wand is not only a “smart device”, but made with organic materials of wood (plant) and parts of creatures (animal). This means the wand complicates and mixes humans with nature and machines, which provides us the space for possibilities of cross-disciplinary Critical PostHumanities. Other than being viewed as smart objects of advanced technologies, according to Zoe Jaques, the wand is emphasized as a commodity (138), which according to her results in reconfirmation and reinforcement of human domination over the others. However, I would like to provide my perspectives on the wand being interpreted not only as a commodity but a prosthesis that expands the possibilities of posthuman subjectivity and establishes transversal connections between humans and others as well as the Magic World in the Harry Potter saga. As I previously mentioned, Braidotti proposes an affirmative bond of the subject with multiple others in order to face the common threats and anxiety we all share living.

(37) 30. in the same cosmos (50). She attempts to redefine a new role of Europe that is nomadic, globalized, culturally diverse, and detached from Eurocentrism, which decenters the Europe, accommodates the others, and introduces possibilities of transformation (5354). This point of view is adapted into my analysis of the text of the Harry Potter series, in which Voldemort as the embodiment of the idealistic European “Man” changes into the twisted dehumanized form due to his choices to locate himself as the ultimate superior race/species among others and actions of terror.. “… T. M. Riddle got an award for special services to the school fifty years ago.” (Secrets, 231). “… Tom Riddle, poor but brilliant, parentless but so brave, school perfect, model student…” (Secrets, 311). “… a tall young man Harry had no difficulty whatsoever in recognizing as Voldemort. He was plainly dressed in a black suit; his hair was a little longer than it had been at school and his cheeks were hollowed, but all of these suited him; he looked more handsome than ever.” (Prince, 434). Voldemort had entered the room. His features were not those Harry had seen emerge from the great stone cauldron almost two years ago: They were not as snake-like, the eyes were not yet scarlet, the face not yet masklike, and yet he was no longer handsome Tom Riddle. It was though his features had been burned and blurred; they were waxy and oddly distorted, and the whites of the eyes now had a permanently bloody look, though the pupils were not yet the slits that Harry knew they would become..

(38) 31. He was wearing a long black cloak, and his face was as pale as the snow glistened on his shoulders. (Prince, 441). His hands were like large, pale spiders; his long white fingers caressed his own chest, his arms, his face; the red eyes, whose pupils were slit, like a cat’s, gleamed still more brightly through the darkness. (Fire, 644). This image collides with Harry as the representative of compassionate posthuman subject who is not only open to others and constantly attempts to connect himself with the community. In the text, Rowling repeatedly emphasized on the importance of the integrity of Harry’s “soul”, which is in fact, kept intact because of his emotional and spiritual attachment to others and the Magic world he holds dear to. Thus, Harry’s complete posthuman subjectivity includes and simultaneously extends to others, his community (the Magic world), and further into the Muggle world. I am also intrigued to compare Dolly the sheep with the Voldemort returned in the Fire, in which he is re-produced into a new hybrid form of human and animal features. Braidotti suggests that Dolly represents the new post-anthropocentric human-animal interaction as simultaneously the last specimen of her/its species and the first specimen of a new species. She/it is a heterogeneous mix of organisms and machine, delinked from reproduction and divorced from descent. Dolly embodies a new gender, simultaneously an orphan and mother of her/itself. She/it inhabits complex and selfcontradictory time zones, shattering the linearity of time and exists in a continuous present (74). The re-produced Voldemort’s body is composed of the bone of his father, flesh of his servant, and blood of his enemy, bind together with the power of Magic (which I constantly allude to technology). This new form of Voldemort is a form of both human and animal features, and ageless. Similar to Dolly, Voldemort becomes the.

(39) 32. embodiment of the posthuman. However, it is to be noted that Dolly is a product of human manipulation in the laboratories, while Voldemort actively chooses to become the posthuman cyborg with the aid of magic. Due to the fact that the Harry Potter series is a fantasy work, there is certain distance between the “creatures” appear in the story and animals that Braidotti contemplates on. However, it is the hybrid feature of the characters and creatures in this fantasy work that allows me to discuss on the animality and relative posthuman subjectivity, which is constantly inclusive, nomadic, and extensive.. II.. Cyborgs and Posthuman Subjects, The Deathly Hallows and Voldemort’s Horcruxes The Harry Potter saga starts from the eleventh year of Harry Potter’s life, in which. he enters the Magic world and becomes a wizard. From the beginning to the end of the series Harry Potter is constantly fighting against the Dark Lord Voldemort, who is a powerful and merciless wizard but mysteriously shares characteristics and a certain kind of connection of mind with Harry. In the last book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows the mysteries are revealed: when first attempting to kill Harry, Voldemort’s curse bounces back and hits himself, causing a piece of his soul to detach from him and attaches onto Harry; this is also the reason for which there is a connection between their minds. While the genre of the series is commonly viewed as fantasy novels, I would like to analyze the text from the posthuman perspective, starting from looking at the main characters as cyborgs, and the magical items as prostheses; and then in specific adapt Katherine N. Hayles’ theory on cyborgs in “Toward Embodied Virtuality.” into my thesis. The term “cyborg” derives from cybernetic organism. A cyborg is commonly referred to a being with both organic and bio-mechatronic body parts, and the term.

(40) 33. applies to an organism that has restored function or enhanced abilities due to the integration of some artificial component or technology that relies on some sort of feedback. Not only does this definition include the well-known half-robot, half-human figure, the term cyborg can also refer to networks of communication and control. For example, a corporation can be considered as an artificial intelligence that makes use of replaceable human components to function. People at all ranks can be considered replaceable agents of their functionally intelligent government institutions, whether such a view is desirable or not (Carvalko). The well-known scholar Donna Haraway's cyborg theory rejects the notions of essentialism, proposing instead a chimeric, monstrous world of fusions between animal and machine. Cyborg theory relies on writing as "the technology of cyborgs," and asserts that "cyborg politics is the struggle for language and the struggle against perfect communication, against the one code that translates all meaning perfectly, the central dogma of phallogocentrism." Instead, Haraway’s cyborg calls for a non-essentialized, material-semiotic metaphor capable of uniting diffuse political coalitions along the lines of affinity rather than identity (Haraway 149-181). While Haraway’s definition on cyborgs focuses on the physical body, Hayles’ definition of cyborgs differs. Hayles first separates the body from the information by the erasure of embodiment. According to her, conceptualized information is viewed as an entity distinct from the substrates carrying it, a bodiless fluid that can flow between substrates without losing meaning or form. The body is further distinguished into the enacted body and the represented body, which in combination in the electronic environment becomes the subject’s identity. This construction makes the subject a cyborg, for the two bodies are brought into conjunction through the technology that connects them. Thus, in the matter of the production of identity, it can no longer be separated from the human subject. When the subject is put into the cybernetic circuit, it splices the subject’s will, desire, and perception into a.