Mildred Harris 2023
The Extended Body in Cyberspace
Held Online via Zoom | Presented by Elizabeth Nelson
Free and Open to the Public
Few people in the first world can live without their mobile digital technology, be it smartphones, tablets, or laptops, and the social media apps that keep them connected. Fully 80% of Americans go online several times a day; younger people are continually jacked in, to borrow William Gibson’s prescient phrase. In the twenty-first century, digital devices have become extensions of the body, creating a new techno-human environment. This seminar adopts a somatic approach to our relationship with mobile digital technology, inquiring into the benefits and the costs—to body, mind, spirit, and soul—of techno-humanism. We will reflect on our digital lives and the unchallenged habits made possible by convenient, ubiquitous “smart” devices which have encroached on, and profoundly altered, the way we live, work, and love.
Elizabeth Nelson, PhD, core faculty at Pacifica Graduate Institute, teaches research process, methodology, and dissertation development along with courses in technology, literature, and archetypal psychology. Her books include Psyche’s Knife: Archetypal Explorations of Love and Power (Chiron, 2012) and The Art of Inquiry: A Depth Psychological Perspective (Spring Publications, 2017), coauthored with Joseph Coppin. She teaches and speaks internationally and has published numerous scholarly papers and book chapters on subjects including feminism, film, dreams, and research. Dr. Nelson has been a professional writer and editor for more than 30 years, coaching aspiring authors across a variety of genres and styles.
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