Exploring Cyborg Theory: Power, Technology, and Identity

Join us for an insightful evening with Laura Forlano, coauthor of , as she explores the deep connections between technology, power, and identity through the lens of critical cyborg theory. In a time when automation, AI, and embedded technologies are reshaping our world, Cyborg offers a critical examination of how these developments are more than just technical advancements—they are lived, political experiences. With years of interdisciplinary research in the social sciences, design, and engineering education, Forlano will guide us through the ways gender, race, and disability influence our interactions with technology, challenging us to rethink the integration of these tools into our everyday lives.

Forlano will introduce the concept of critical cyborg literacy, providing a fresh perspective on the complex relationships between humanity and technology across various fields, from art and design to healthcare and computing. Drawing on insights from feminist, critical race, and disability studies, she will chart potential futures for cyborg theory in the twenty-first century. Whether you're a technologist, artist, or simply curious about the future of our cyborg world, this talk promises to inspire new ways of thinking about the role of technology in shaping our shared future. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with one of the leading voices in the critical study of technology and society.

⮕ With your event ticket, you'll also receive a code for 60% discount on the audiobook of Cyborg!

We’re proud and excited to welcome Laura to the Long Now Boston community, and hope to see you there!

We will be in the Cambridge Public Library Community Room.

Author biographies

, a Fulbright award-winning and National Science Foundation funded scholar, is a writer, social scientist and design researcher. Currently, Forlano is Professor in the department of Art + Design at the College of Arts, Media, and Design (CAMD) at Northeastern University.

From 2011-2022, she was an Associate Professor of Design at the Institute of Design and Affiliated Faculty in the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology, where she was Director of the Critical Futures Lab. In 2018-2019, she was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Digital Life Initiative at Cornell Tech in New York City and Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. Her research is focused on the aesthetics and politics of socio-technical systems and infrastructures at the intersection between emerging technologies, material practices and the future of cities; specifically, she writes about emergent forms of work, organizing and urbanism. Forlano’s research and writing has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Journal of Business Anthropology, Demonstrations, Catalyst, She Ji, Design Issues, the Journal of Peer Production, Fibreculture, Digital Culture & Society, ADA, Journal of Urban Technology, First Monday, The Information Society, Journal of Community Informatics, IEEE Pervasive Computing and Science and Public Policy. She is co-editor with Marcus Foth, Christine Satchell and Martin Gibbs of From Social Butterfly to Engaged Citizen (MIT Press 2011). She received her Ph.D. in communications from Columbia University.

Danya Glabau

I am an anthropologist and STS scholar with a PhD from the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at Cornell University. I am an Industry Assistant Professor in the department of Technology, Culture, and Society at NYU Tandon School of Engineering and Director of the Science and Technology Studies program. I was previously an Adjunct Instructor in the department from 2017-2019. I have been Faculty at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research since 2015.

My work is centered in feminist STS and medical anthropology and looks at topics including food allergies, medical activism, cyborgs and feminist cybercultures, the political economy of the global pharmaceutical industry, and the risks posed by digital health.

My first scholarly book, , examines how food allergy activism in the United States is shaped by reproductive politics, particularly norms of whiteness and femininity in caretaking and the ideal of the nuclear family. Other academic writing appears in Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, Technoscience, Medicine Anthropology Theory, Science as Culture, and the Journal of Cultural Economy.

I am the author of numerous articles for the online tech and culture magazine Real Life, including Sins of the Mother, an essay about the special perils of medical self-tracking technologies for pregnant people and parents, Bill of Health, an analysis of the new risks created by the integration of digital health platforms, and Fancy Feast, an examination of how race, gender, and colonialism influence food trends.

Beyond academia, I have worked as an independent ethnographic research and design research consultant in technology-related fields. I have led solo projects and built teams as part of large organizations. I have worked across contexts and time constraints, with non-profits and for-profit organizations, from designing agile ethnography frameworks to align with software development goals to conducting six-month ethnographic studies to suit client needs. This work has resulted in internal findings that addresses multiple stakeholders, as well as white papers, such as the reports Hate in Social Virtual Reality (2018) and The Trolls are Organized and Everyone’s a Target: The Effects of Online Hate and Harassment (2019) for the civil rights organization the Anti-Defamation League. I have also worked with early-stage biotech start-ups defining company strategy, building advisory boards, liaising with academic research centers, and co-leading Angel and Series A funding efforts.

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