Cogut Institute for the Humanities

Alberto Alcaraz Escarcega is a third-year doctoral student in the Department of Political Science, specializing in political theory. He is interested in exploring a more-than-human account of political subjectivity. What prospects unfold from radically opening up subject formation to the variegated forces of what is usually (mis)understood as inert “stuff?” One possibility is that we can begin to understand different stimuli not as merely events that evoke specific reactions in an already formed subject but also as constitutive of the subject itself. A set of stimuli that Alcaraz is particularly interested in exploring is the constant stream of lights, sound, and vibrations that emanate from our cell phones. How are these (and the information that they represent) rewiring our understanding of the self, other, and community?