Imagining outer space : European astroculture in the twentieth century

Resource Information

The work Imagining outer space : European astroculture in the twentieth century represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Sydney Jones Library, University of Liverpool. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

Imagining outer space : European astroculture in the twentieth century

Title remainder

European astroculture in the twentieth century

Statement of responsibility

Edited by Alexander C.T. Geppert

Contributor

• Geppert, Alexander C.T., 1970-

Subject

• Astronautics -- Social aspects | History -- 20th century -- Europe
• Astronautics and civilization
• Outer space -- Exploration | History -- 20th century -- Europe

Language

eng

Summary

• Imagining Outer Space makes a captivating advance into the cultural history of outer space and extraterrestrial life in the twentieth-century imagination. Bringing together seventeen state-of-the-art essays, the volume explores the complexities of West-European astroculture and breaks new ground in the historicization of the Space Age.
• 'This wonderful multinational and multidisciplinary collection is greater than the sum of its fascinating parts. Crystalline aliens, a mysterious Siberian explosion, silicon-based life forms, Tintin, Thunderbirds, Star Trek and Raelians are just some of the many things which are examined in a brilliantly eclectic series of essays.' - David Edgerton, Imperial College London 'With generous references to the scholarship and original sources, as well as its own intelligent and well-integrated contributions, this book establishes a comprehensive new field of research - 'astroculture." - Michael G. Smith, Purdue University, USA 'Europe too has a history of imagining outer space, distinct from yet inextricably linked with global cultures of perceiving and experiencing the universe. This splendid volume offers a fascinating panorama of visions of the future. Anyone interested in the complex relationship between technology, space, and culture will garner much from this groundbreaking work.' - Helmuth Trischler, Deutsches Museum 'Imagining Outer Space...takes a step in the right direction by defining the concept of astroculture and offering some interesting examples of relevant research.' - The Space Review 'A rich field for cultural history... A beautiful book... However peripheral Europe's contributions to the Space Age may have been, nothing was spared in the imagination. The matter was of exemplary global interest, after all. It is the details that count here, and the contributions in this volume offer plenty: crystalline aliens and Mars scenarios, spaceflight in comic strips and ghost rockets (a European equivalent to flying saucers), UFOs in postwar France and well-intentioned offers of interstellar communication.' -Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 'Imagining Outer Space offers an interdisciplinary and transnational approach to the cultural and social history of the space age in Europe. While it offers fascinating insights into the European context, it is its redrawing of the disciplinary boundaries of space history that should be most applauded... Highly recommended.' - Anke Ortlepp, H-Soz-u-Kult

Cataloging source

UK-WkNB

Dewey number

306.46094

Index

no index present

Literary form

non fiction

Summary expansion

Imagining Outer Space makes a captivating advance into the cultural history of outer space and extraterrestrial life in the European imagination. How was outer space conceived and communicated? What promises of interplanetary expansion and cosmic colonization propelled the project of human spaceflight to the forefront of twentieth-century modernity? In what way has West-European astroculture been affected by the continuous exploration of outer space? Tracing the current thriving interest in spatiality to early attempts at exploring imaginary worlds beyond our own, the book's authors analyze contact points between science and fiction from a transdisciplinary perspective and examine sites and situations where utopian images and futuristic technologies contributed to the omnipresence of fantasmatic thought. Bringing together state-of-the-art work in this emerging field of historical research, the volume breaks new ground in the historicization of the Space Age