Posthuman to Inhuman: mHealth Technologies and the Digital Health Assemblage

Published in Theory & Event

Volume 25, Issue 4

with Jim Cherrington

Abstract

In exploring the intra-active, relational and material connections between humans and non-humans, proponents of posthumanism advocate a questioning of the “human” beyond its traditional anthropocentric conceptualization. By referring specifically to controversial developments in mHealth applications, this paper critically diverges from posthuman accounts of human/non-human assemblages. Indeed, we argue that rather than “dissolving” the human subject, the power of assemblages lies in their capacity to highlight the antagonisms and contradictions that inherently affirm the importance of the subject. In outlining this claim, we propose a turn from the posthuman to the inhuman as a way of understanding the contemporary landscape of (digital) health.