Professor Francesca Ferrando

Francesca Ferrando, Ph.D. is Philosopher of the Posthuman and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Program of Liberal Studies at New York University (NYU), New York.

Her courses include From Humanism to Posthumanism and Envisioning Human Existence. She has been lecturing at NYU since 2014.

Francesca is a Philosopher who was born and raised in Italy. She earned her Ph.D. in Philosophy and Theory of Human Science in 2013 from the University of Roma Tre in Rome, Italy. In 2003, she earned her Master’s Degree of Arts in Translation from the British Consulate at the University of Turin where she continued as a Researcher at the CirsDe, Center of Gender Studies. She did web research and was Gender Instructor and Webmaster for the Interdisciplinary Center of Gender Studies (CirsDe).

During 2011–2013, Francesca was Visiting Lecturer in Philosophy of the Posthuman, for the Ph.D. program in Gender Studies at the University of Federico II in Naples, Italy. Previously, she lectured and instructed the Gender Studies at the University of Turin for almost 6 years.

In 2001, she earned her Master’s Degree in Gender Studies from the Netherlands Research School of Women’s Studies at the University of Utrecht in Holland. In the same year, she also earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Literature in Philosophy with Honors at the University of Turin. She has specialized in Languages and Foreign Literature (English and Spanish).

While lecturing in Turin, she also instructed on Creative Writing in public libraries, primary schools, secondary schools, and high schools.

In 2014, Francesca was a Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Research on Women, Gender and Sexuality (Irwgs) and in the Department of Philosophy (2010–2012) under Prof. Achille C. Varzi at Columbia University, New York.

In 2010–2011, Francesca was Independent Researcher on Artificial Intelligence and Gender at the University of Reading in England under the supervision of Kevin Warwick.

In January 2014, Francesca founded the Global Network Posthumans. This group is calling for scholars, artists, scientists, as well as others, interested in the posthuman turn. They cover different areas of expertise, among others, posthumanism, transhumanism, antihumanism, metahumanism, new materialisms, non-human personhood, and digital humanities. Their main goal is to encourage the posthumanist community worldwide to express the multiple perspectives on the pathways of the posthuman. They are focused on organizing global academic events around the world and have been active since 2012.

Seasonal Posthuman Summits are held in New York City and Biennial Global Symposiums are held at NYU. Since 2018, they have been organizing Panels, Lectures, and Workshops at the World Conference of Philosophy.

In June 2019, Francesca published her book Philosophical Posthumanism which discusses Posthumanism as a philosophy of mediation that addresses the meaning of humanity not in separation, but in relation to technology and ecology. The posthuman shift thus emerges in the global call for social change, responsible science, and multispecies coexistence.

Francesca has been a member of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) since 2013, the American Philosophical Association (APA) since 2011, the Assembly of CirsDe at the University of Turin since 2008, and a Member of the Italian Order of the Journalists for the Region of Piedmont (ODG).

In 2014, Francesca was the recipient of the Philosophical Prize “Premio Sainati”, with the Acknowledgment of the President of the Italian Republic. She was also named one of the 100 Top Creatives making change in the world by ORIGIN magazine.

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