What is the relationship between outer space and life back on Earth? As we enter what experts have dubbed the "New Space Age," with a growing number of nations, corporations, and even Katy Perry participating in space travel, questions about the role outer space plays in our daily lives have renewed importance. This course invites students to think historically about space exploration and astronomy by tracing their global roots and political and cultural significance throughout the twentieth century. Weekly readings will offer students new perspectives on celebratory narratives of the space age. We'll trace empire's role in astronomical research, locate the roots of Cold War space programs in the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp, follow the trail of debris left by falling space junk, and consider how race, religion, and gender have all shaped human relationships to space. We will also study science fiction and how astronauts became cultural icons to understand how different groups, such as citizens of postcolonial nations, Black civil rights activists, and members of the Jewish diaspora, envisioned their place in the space age. Throughout, emphasis will be placed on the relationship between the space age and other global phenomena, including the Cold War, scientific migration, decolonization, and globalization. Readings will be drawn from scholarly work, as well as primary sources including archival images and documents, news media, science fiction stories, and film.
