233042 SE Outer Space: imaginaries, infrastructures and global politics (2023W)

As we gaze at the night sky, interpretations of its meaning vary greatly, from cultural heritage to new economy, from the potential for extraterrestrial life to new battlegrounds, from celestial homes of gods to possible new homes for humanity. The course explores how the cultural, economic, political, and imaginative aspects of space activities shape social orders on Earth and vice versa.
We focus on four key dimensions of engagement with space that intersect with broader STS debates. First, we will delve into Modes of Knowing and Space as a Place, rethinking how we conceptualize extraterrestrial actions and sites. This includes examining how distinctions between Outer Space and Earth shift, the role of planetary sciences in place-making practices, and the valuation of scientific research in space experiments.
Next, we explore sociotechnical imaginaries of space futures in the NewSpace age. Studying Outer Space requires an engagement with envisioned futures for socio-political orders in the present. Today, bold, ambitious visions of human futures in outer space are being developed and promoted by many actors and increasingly feature in media accounts and public debate. So-called New Space companies like SpaceX intend to build an entirely new economy in outer space in the next two decades. We will learn about and discuss competing visions for our outer space futures, from governments to commercial actors and the public, and how these hark back to broader ideas of how we want to live on Earth.
The third dimension focuses on the geopolitics and (post)colonial trajectories of space infrastructures. Since the launch of the first satellite in 1957, it was apparent that space travel would not leave politics and nationalism behind but would effectively take them into orbit – and provide a new dimension for their struggle. We learn about how outer space is linked to politics and power relations “on the ground” and how space infrastructures like satellites and spaceports are entangled with colonialism, exploitation, and extraction. Fourth, we explore sustainability issues and responsibility for outer space environments. Despite being often imagined as an empty vessel, decades of spaceflight activities have left an ever-growing pile of junk in the Earth’s orbits, such as rocket components, defunct satellites, and astronaut tools. Space debris can lead to orbital congestion (like a traffic jam on the highway) and already complicate current and future uses of outer space. We will discuss how different actors and institutions deal with the problem of space debris, approaches toward more sustainable space flights, and their challenges, including how the tragedy of the commons plays out in outer space.
We will draw on literature and insights from STS, anthropology, sociology, geography, and political science, to grasp how outer space is linked to terrestrial concerns and vice versa. This multidisciplinary approach will enable us to explore how outer space can be comprehended and how focusing on outer space might extend the reach of STS frameworks and sensitivities.