Publication of IJGHMI
From Flesh to Code: The Digital Afterlife of the Human Body in Contemporary Literary and Visual Culture
Author : Dr. Isabella R. Morgan
Open Access | Volume 2 Issue 2 | Apr–Jun 2025
https://doi.org/10.63665/IJGHMI_Y2F2A002
How to Cite :
Dr. Isabella R. Morgan, "From Flesh to Code: The Digital Afterlife of the Human Body in Contemporary Literary and Visual Culture", International Journal of Global Humanities and Management Insights [IJGHMI], Volume 2, Issue 2 (Apr–Jun 2025), pp. 11–17.
Abstract
In the digital age, our understanding of the human body, memory, and mortality is being transformed. This study investigates how literature and visual culture depict the “digital afterlife,” where identity and presence persist as data and code beyond biological life. Drawing from posthumanism, media theory, and cultural memory studies, it explores the tension between physical finitude and digital persistence, analyzing AI avatars, digital memorials, and algorithmic identities. The research reveals that digital afterlife narratives challenge traditional humanist views, demanding new ethical and philosophical approaches to embodiment, memory, and posthumous presence.
Keywords
Posthumanism, Digital Afterlife, Embodiment, Memory, Virtual Identity, Literary Studies, Media Culture, Mortality, Technoculture, Digital Humanities.
Conclusion
The transition from flesh to code redefines what it means to live, remember, and exist. Literature and visual culture reveal both the allure and unease of digital immortality, where human identity is archived, simulated, and sustained through algorithms. As the boundaries between life and data blur, ethical and philosophical reflection becomes essential to ensure dignity, authenticity, and humanity in a networked afterlife.
References
- Morgan, I. R., & Whitman, C. B. (2023). Digital embodiment and literary imagination. Journal of Media and Culture Studies, 15(2), 112–130. https://doi.org/10.1000/jmc.1523
- Takahashi, K. (2022). Virtual afterlives and identity simulation in contemporary narratives. Digital Humanities Review, 9(1), 45–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/dhr.2022.09.003
- El-Khoury, A. (2024). From flesh to code: The ontology of bodies in virtual culture. Cultural Theory Quarterly, 18(3), 203–225. https://doi.org/10.1007/ctq.18324
- Santoro, H. L., & Nair, P. R. (2023). Memory, data, and posthumous digital presence. Interdisciplinary Journal of Posthuman Studies, 11(2), 77–99. https://doi.org/10.3128/ijps.1123
- Whitman, C. B. (2022). The ethics of algorithmic resurrection. Journal of Posthuman Ethics, 7(1), 33–51. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpe.7122