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SUMMARY:Societies in Orbit: Historicizing the European Space Age\, 1942-19
 72 - Alexander Geppert\, Emmy Noether Research Group Director Friedrich-Me
 inecke-Institut Freie Universität Berlin&quot\;
DTSTART:20140212T130000Z
DTEND:20140212T140000Z
UID:TALK50413@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:DJ Goode
DESCRIPTION:Outer space is not just a place\; it also has a history. Over 
 the course of the twentieth century\, the dark\, infinite and unfamiliar v
 oid that surrounds planet Earth has stimulated the human imagination as ne
 ver before. For several decades\, anticipation of human spaceflight was in
 timately bound with futuristic visions of technoscientific progress\, and 
 space exploration became key to societal self-images. Travelling to remote
  planets\, 'conquering' the unknown and 'colonizing' the universe\, it was
  commonly assumed\, would in turn uplift society and transform ourselves.\
 n\nAnalysing the cultural significance of outer space in post-war Western 
 Europe\, this lecture charts the rise and fall of the so-called Space Age 
 and discusses the ways in which it can be historicized. Ultimately\, I arg
 ue\, the emergence of our globalized present cannot be explained without t
 he thrust into outer space\, whilst the historical project of space explor
 ation itself has long expanded into an endeavour of global dimensions. The
  increasingly planetised and miniaturized world of today is a consequence 
 of that Space Age\, but a Space Age very different from what its creators 
 envisioned.
LOCATION:Combination Room\, Wolfson College
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