“Technology, the Post-Human, and Constructing Alternate Ir/realities”

In her article “Robo-Diva R&B,” Robin James writes that artists such as Beyonce, Ciara, and Rihanna “use
music to rewire the way whiteness and patriarchy are programmed into our bodies and structures of feeling” as
critiques of the “nature/technology hierarchies that white patriarchy has used to discount and devalue the
voices and accomplishments of black female artists.” (James 419)
We have discussed various technological advancements in the recording, post-production, dissemination, and
performance of black popular music. We have simultaneously covered a host of perspectives and identities
that artists from the late 1960s to the early 1980s have asserted through their music and public/performance
personae to create worlds that better depict their experiences in and of the world. James’s article does an
excellent job of connecting these two themes in music that is more contemporary to our current experiences.
For this blog post, I’d like you to elaborate on any relationship between these two themes in an Afrofuturist
approach
While the idea of technological advancement in music production and listening is easily comprehended, using
technology to express human (and post-human) identity may seem…alien or alienating. This post is as much
about thinking creatively as well as critically in drawing these connections.