For much of the twentieth century, outer space has been envisioned as not
only a site of heavenly utopias, but also the ultimate battlefield.
Concentrating on weapons, warfare, and violence, this conference explores the
military dimensions of astroculture in the period between 1942 and 1990. By
highlighting the militarization of extraterrestrial frontiers and conquest in
politics and popular culture alike, ‘Embattled Heavens’ addresses the complex
processes that oscillate between peaceful and aggressive characteristics of
human endeavors in outer space. While the Space Age is usually associated with
Cold War history, this conference complicates established narratives by
integrating Western European and global perspectives. Examining astropolitics,
technoscientific practices, and science fiction, the goal of this conference is
to reconceptualize the history of outer space with a view towards its military
dimensions.
Conference speakers include David Edgerton (King's College London), Bernd
Greiner (Hamburger Institut für Sozialforschung), Michael J. Neufeld (National
Air and Space Museum), Alex Roland (Duke University) and Michael Sheehan
(Swansea University).
Interested attendees are encouraged to register in advance, so that adequate
seating can be provided. Please contact Daniel Brandau and Tilmann Siebeneichner
at astrofuturismus@fu-berlin.de.
http://www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/e/fmi/astrofuturismus/veranstaltungen/C_Heavens/index.html
