Archeologia del cyborg: storia materiale e tecniche di incorporazione dei dispositivi protesici

The doctoral thesis "Archeologia del Cyborg" aims to enrich the contemporary debate in cognitive sciences on the incorporation of prostheses through an analysis of the material history and cultural contexts within which these technologies have developed. Applying the method of media archaeology, the thesis will discuss how prostheses have transformed, as well as the techniques of visualizing the body and the modes of incorporation, observing both moments of discontinuity and recurring topoi. In particular, the focus will be on the relationship between the body image and the cosmetic prostheses of the second half of the nineteenth century; the discussion will then move on to mechanical artificial limbs as a continuation of the application of media in the early 20th century capable of optimizing the factory worker's gesture; finally, the sensory-motor model and metaplasticity will be analyzed in relation to cybernetic prostheses.