Hot off the press: Apocalyptica Vol. 2 Posthuman Survival
For the latest issue of peer review and open-access journal Apocalyptica we turn to the notion of posthuman survival. Undoubtedly, the concept of the posthuman encapsulates a diverse and vast range of theoretical approaches, the scope of which by far exceeds the discussion we are suggesting here. However, at its core, posthuman thought questions the centrality of the human, which gains particular significance in the context of evolving anthropogenic crises.
The issue opens with lead editor Jenny Stümer's exploration of how nuanced vulnerabilities and injustices complicate our conception of humanity, underscoring the significance of the tensions, conflicts, and ambiguities examined in the subsequent articles. This is followed by a re-imagined and elaborated version of Robert Folger's "(Un)veiling Extinction: Notes on an Apocalyptic History of Mexico," his bold Annual Tagore Lecture held at UCL, London, United Kingdom back in April.
The collection features a series of compelling articles on posthuman survival, ranging from elemental zombie apocalypses to borderscapes and nuclear memory through transmedia storytelling. These innovative pieces, including an original article contribution from former CAPAS-Fellow Teresa Heffernan, are complemented by a philosophically rich yet pertinent commentary on Derrida and Nietzsche's perspectives on the notion of a 'coming' apocalypse. Two insightful book reviews round out this section, with Florian Mussgnug (Affiliated Researcher and former fellow at CAPAS) examining Kowalewski's edited collection The Environmental Apocalypse (2022) and Anchal Saraf discussing current CAPAS-Fellow Anais Maurer's captivating new work The Ocean on Fire (2024). The issue concludes with a dossier entitled "Imagining the End of Times," reflecting on CAPAS's recent exchange with INAH, MNA, and INBAL in Mexico City. Curated by former CAPAS-Fellow Adolfo Felipe Mantilla, who conceived the exhibition "Imagining the End of Times: Stories of Annihilation, Apocalypse, and Extinction," the dossier features illuminating contributions from Patricia Murrieta-Flores, Alejandra Bottinelli Wolleter, Emily Ray, and Robert Kirsch, all former CAPAS-Fellows.
ABOUT THE JOURNAL
Apocalyptica is an interdisciplinary, international, open access, double-blind peer-reviewed journal published by CAPAS. The journal explores the many sides of apocalyptic thinking in order to investigate an archive of the apocalyptic imaginary and to assess experiences of apocalypse and post-apocalypse as they unsettle the past, present, and future. Looking for thought-provoking voices and diverse perspectives invested in the end of worlds, we highlight scholarship from a broad range of fields that champions the potential of critical thinking and cultural analysis in the humanities, social-, and cultural-science as an imaginative and (potentially) transformative force. The aim is to actively explore the apocalypse as a figure of thought (a practice, relationship, form, experience, aesthetic, or theme) in order to grapple with the cultural politics of disaster, catastrophe, and the (up)ending of worlds.
