Series: Connections and Conversation
Connections and Conversation created and hosted by Shir Shanun, Psy.D. is a psychoanalytic open space for cultivating creativity and freedom of thought and feeling in a free Zoom meeting. We invite you to engage with our presenters and community as they share their interests and passions in conversation on current topics in psychoanalysis. Please see our calendar of events. The meeting often begins with a 45 minute presentation followed by 45 minutes of conversation. When an event is recorded you can access the recording at the vault.
This series is open to all.
In case of questions please contact: [email protected]
Beyond Human: The Dynamicisim of Being or Not Being Human
August 8, 2026 @ 9:00 am - 10:30 am PDT
What does it mean to be human or not? New technologies such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence, the rise of highly immersive modes of play such as video games and tabletop role playing, and the experiences of communities such as otherkin and plurality subcultures, are all modern examples of how shifts in culture and technology influence our understandings and experiences of being non-human or human. This discussion will seek to explore and complicate psychoanalytic approaches to the concept of “humanity” by engaging in multidisciplinary fields including but not limited to studies of post humanism, emerging technologies, disability studies, and queer theory.
Presenter
Sien Rivera, MD
Sien Rivera, MD, is Assistant Program Director of the Prisma Health Midlands/University of South Carolina General Psychiatry residency program, and Assistant Clincial Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Columbia, SC. They received their medical degree from SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine and completed their general psychiatry residency and child adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Prisma Health Midlands/University of South Carolina. They are a former fellow of the American Psychoanalytic Association and a winner of the Ralph Roughton Paper Award. They are former chair of the American Psychoanalytic Association’s Committee on Gender and Sexuality, current co-chair of the COGS subcommittee on Education, and they write and present nationally and internationally on topics related to gender, sexuality, and new technologies.
Series: Connections and Conversation
Connections and Conversation created and hosted by Shir Shanun, Psy.D. is a psychoanalytic open space for cultivating creativity and freedom of thought and feeling in a free Zoom meeting. We invite you to engage with our presenters and community as they share their interests and passions in conversation on current topics in psychoanalysis. Please see our calendar of events. The meeting often begins with a 45 minute presentation followed by 45 minutes of conversation. When an event is recorded you can access the recording at the vault.
This series is open to all.
In case of questions please contact: [email protected]
Beyond Human: The Dynamicisim of Being or Not Being Human
August 8, 2026 @ 9:00 am - 10:30 am PDT
What does it mean to be human or not? New technologies such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence, the rise of highly immersive modes of play such as video games and tabletop role playing, and the experiences of communities such as otherkin and plurality subcultures, are all modern examples of how shifts in culture and technology influence our understandings and experiences of being non-human or human. This discussion will seek to explore and complicate psychoanalytic approaches to the concept of “humanity” by engaging in multidisciplinary fields including but not limited to studies of post humanism, emerging technologies, disability studies, and queer theory.
Presenter
Sien Rivera, MD
Sien Rivera, MD, is Assistant Program Director of the Prisma Health Midlands/University of South Carolina General Psychiatry residency program, and Assistant Clincial Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Columbia, SC. They received their medical degree from SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine and completed their general psychiatry residency and child adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Prisma Health Midlands/University of South Carolina. They are a former fellow of the American Psychoanalytic Association and a winner of the Ralph Roughton Paper Award. They are former chair of the American Psychoanalytic Association’s Committee on Gender and Sexuality, current co-chair of the COGS subcommittee on Education, and they write and present nationally and internationally on topics related to gender, sexuality, and new technologies.
Presentation Archive
Watch recordings and download papers and slides from past Connections and Conversations and Decentralized Learning Experiences.
