Article:

Jenseits von Mensch und Tier. Science, Fiction und Gender in Dietmar Daths Roman DIE ABSCHAFFUNG DER ARTEN

Dietmar Dath's novel Die Abschaffung der Arten (The Abolition of Species) enacts a revolution in the relationships among humans, animals, and machines. This article demonstrates the connection between technologies of information, evolutionary biology, and nanophysics and their political appropriation, which is constitutive for the text, linking it to current issues such as ‹transhumanism›. From the perspective of gender theory, it turns out that the fictional worlds of the novel partially reproduce oedipal gender roles but are also presented as a product of homosexual desire, dissolving anthropomorphic representations of gender. The novel furthermore explores the poetic potential of bioinformatic and physical knowledge, as can be shown with respect to the connection between anagram poetry and genetic code. We argue that the use of certain media and genres ultimately intends a political activation of the reader.