Overview

The Routledge Handbook of Social Studies of Outer Space offers state-of-the-art overview of contemporary social and cultural research on outer space. International in scope, the thirty-eight contributions by over fifty leading researchers and artists across a variety of disciplines and fields of knowledge, present a range of debates and pose key questions about the crafting of futures in relation to outer space. The Handbook is a call to attend more carefully to engagements with outer space, empirically, affectively, and theoretically, while characterizing current research practices and outlining future research agendas. This recalibration opens profound questions of intersectional politics, race, equity, and environmental justice around the contested topics of space exploration and life off-Earth. Among the many themes included in the volume are the various infrastructures, networks and systems that enable and sustain space exploration; space heritage; the ethics of outer space; social and environmental justice; fundamental debates about life in outer space as it pertains to both astrobiology and SETI; the study of scientific communities; the human body and consciousness; Indigenous astronomical systems of Knowledge; contemporary space art; and ongoing critical interventions to overcome the legacies of colonialism and dismantle hegemonic narratives of outer space.

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9781032248615

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Reviews

It's rare that one sees a handbook about humanity's relationship with, and activities in outer space, that goes beyond a few widely discussed themes focussed on science, technology, economics, law or geopolitics. Yet, as this unique collection of different perspectives clearly shows, space is so multi-faceted and touches every person on the planet. To see in one book the many other diverse 'voices' on space - from indigenous, to anthropological, to spiritual, to archaeological, to aesthetic, just to name a few - allows us to begin to comprehend the true 'wonder' of space and recalibrate our thinking about our responsibilities to respect and protect space for the future generations. A wonderful book co-edited by two amazing thought leaders about the future of humanity and its place in the galaxy around us. Emeritus Professor Steven Freeland Western Sydney University & Bond University Vice-Chair of UNCOPUOS Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities This volume captures the capacious work and thinking that comes under the title social studies of outer space. It excels at orienting the reader to the field's formations and setting an ambitious and welcome vision for future work that embraces the multivocality of the cosmos. The contributing authors creatively and insightfully draw from numerous ontologies and epistemologies to animate what space is and can be. This generates an exciting collection that will no doubt inspire many new avenues of research. Lisa Messeri, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Yale University Author of Placing Outer Space: An Earthly Ethnography of Other Worlds This ambitious and timely book brings outer space studies into the 21st century, bringing together cutting-edge critical theory with insights from voices marginalized by traditional space studies - voices that speak to the most pressing issues of today and open up genuine alternatives for future relations with earth and other planets. Weaving together issues of power, violence, social and ecological justice and (inter-)planetary crises, it offers newcomers to the field a nuanced understanding of the complexities of engaging with outer space in theory and practice, while experts will benefit from the richness of disciplines, knowledge systems, perspectives and innovative research found throughout its chapters. This book will make a lasting and critical impact on the field for years to come. Audra Mitchell, Professor, Canada Research Chair in Global Political Ecology, Wilfrid Laurier University Outer space is not outside. It is inside. Inside the slipstreams of colonialism, capitalism, and the Cold War. But look to this extraordinary book to find countercurrents of the decolonial, antiracist, and communitarian - zones not of a universal universe, but of possible pluriverses, outside the orbits of cosmography as usual. Stefan Helmreich, Elting E. Morison Professor of Anthropology, MIT Urgent, provocative, inspiring, troubling, and sure to be of enduring significance. With rich discussions of theories, methods, questions and interventions coming from across the social sciences and humanities,this mind-expanding compendium surveys some of the growing terrain of social studies of outer space and offers a robust welcome to newcomers to this vibrant and growing field. Julie Klinger, Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences at the University of Delaware Alice Gorman and Juan Francisco Salazar are two of the most interesting and innovative writers and thinkers about outer space. They are legends in this field, both in Australia and internationally, and have inspired so many others to follow their lead in exploring this rich and endlessly fascinating topic. In this Handbook, they have brought together such an extraordinary range of diverse voices and perspectives on space. The publication of this Handbook is a watershed moment for all of us interested in using the social sciences and humanities to craft new approaches to human imaginings and futures in space. Ceridwen Dovey

It's rare that one sees a handbook about humanity's relationship with, and activities in outer space, that goes beyond a few widely discussed themes focussed on science, technology, economics, law or geopolitics. Yet, as this unique collection of different perspectives clearly shows, space is so multi-faceted and touches every person on the planet. To see in one book the many other diverse 'voices' on space - from indigenous, to anthropological, to spiritual, to archaeological, to aesthetic, just to name a few - allows us to begin to comprehend the true 'wonder' of space and recalibrate our thinking about our responsibilities to respect and protect space for the future generations. A wonderful book co-edited by two amazing thought leaders about the future of humanity and its place in the galaxy around us. Emeritus Professor Steven Freeland Western Sydney University & Bond University Vice-Chair of UNCOPUOS Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities This volume captures the capacious work and thinking that comes under the title social studies of outer space. It excels at orienting the reader to the field's formations and setting an ambitious and welcome vision for future work that embraces the multivocality of the cosmos. The contributing authors creatively and insightfully draw from numerous ontologies and epistemologies to animate what space is and can be. This generates an exciting collection that will no doubt inspire many new avenues of research. Lisa Messeri, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Yale University Author of Placing Outer Space: An Earthly Ethnography of Other Worlds This ambitious and timely book brings outer space studies into the 21st century, bringing together cutting-edge critical theory with insights from voices marginalized by traditional space studies - voices that speak to the most pressing issues of today and open up genuine alternatives for future relations with earth and other planets. Weaving together issues of power, violence, social and ecological justice and (inter-)planetary crises, it offers newcomers to the field a nuanced understanding of the complexities of engaging with outer space in theory and practice, while experts will benefit from the richness of disciplines, knowledge systems, perspectives and innovative research found throughout its chapters. This book will make a lasting and critical impact on the field for years to come. Audra Mitchell, Professor, Canada Research Chair in Global Political Ecology, Wilfrid Laurier University

Author Information

Juan Francisco Salazar is an interdisciplinary researcher and documentary filmmaker. He is a Professor of Communications, Media, and Environment at Western Sydney University, Australia. Alice Gorman is an archaeologist and heritage consultant. She is an Associate Professor at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia.

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