The World Brain explores the idea that the world coheres as a cognisant system. This idea is not new (the
metaphor of society as an anthill appears in ancient texts), but my project will focus on twentieth-century versions
such as those developed in the fields of ecocriticism (Gaia theory) and techno-cultural studies (hiveminds).
Analysing a range of examples found in novels, films, and scholarly texts (science, media studies, systems theory
and philosophy), the project highlights both the potential dangers of the world brain, and the value of thinking at
planetary scale.
