Introducing Bioethics though Pop Art in Transformative Learning Settings

Mr. George Stremplis and Dr. Katerina Delikonstantinidou

The emergence of various biotechnological interventions (e.g. genetic testing, “designer babies,” etc.), along with theories imagining a posthuman mode of being using speculative biotechnologies, demand that we understand more about the convergence of bioethical issues and current social reality. Since the nuances of scientific discoveries and “frontier” bioethics are not readily accessible to the general population, it is interesting to focus on the ways pop art has treated these issues; how it has expressed the hopes, anxieties, and fears attached to a biologically enhanced future. Utilizing diverse media, pop art has variably expressed the deepest-rooted desires for enhancement and control of the human condition. In this seminar, participants will engage with core bioethical issues of our times—issues that shape public discourse—through variously mediated pop art narratives (analogue and digital). Moreover, they will be encouraged to exercise critical reflection on their own views and assumptions regarding bioethical issues while examining such narratives. By the end of the seminar, participants will have discovered useful, pop-art-inflected teaching strategies via which they can introduce bioethical issues in the learning process. The foregoing strategies can facilitate the development of a diverse and inclusive approach to biotechnologies and abstract ethical issues.

When: 22 February 2022 (exact date TBA)
What time: 17:00-19:30
Language: English
This is an online event (Zoom link TBA)

As there is a limited number of seats, students interested in attending the workshop should contact Dr. Theodora Patrona (tpatrona@enl.auth.gr) and reserve a place beforehand.

Mini bio

George Stremplis is finishing his Master of Bioethics at the University of Crete and has a Master of Philosophy in Systematic Philosophy and Bioethics from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. His research interests lie in human enhancement narratives in popular culture, the Aristotelian philosophy, the Transhumanist movement, environmental and feminist bioethics. Since 2015, he is a Scientific Collaborator at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Aristotle Studies, A.U.TH., partaking in a plethora of academic conferences, seminars, and symposia.

Katerina Delikonstantinidou holds a PhD in Theatre Studies from the School of English, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She has recently completed her postdoctoral research which focuses on applications of myth-based digital theatre in adult education settings at the Department of Theatre Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She works as adjunct lecturer at the Department of English Language and Literature in the same institution. Her first monograph, Latinx Reception of Greek Tragic Myth: Healing and Radical Politics was published by Peter Lang in 2020. Her research interests include theatre and performing arts, myth’s (multi/transmedia) reception, education, and the digital paradigm.

Introducing Bioethics though Pop Art in Transformative Learning Settings