Life beyond Earth: Extraterrestrials since 1897

Catalog description

Whether intelligent life exists outside the confinements of planet Earth is an old question to which an abundance of new answers has been given over the course of the twentieth century, from philosophy, religion and science fiction to anthropology, communication studies and astrophysics. Located at the intersection of European and American cultural history, the history of science and technology, literary studies and film, this class charts the manifold figurations of the alien since its modern invention in 1897. Individual sessions will be devoted to invasions from Mars and Venus, H. G. Wells and Liu Cixin, UFO sightings and alien encounters, but also to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence known as SETI, NASA’s Voyager missions, the making of astrobiology into a scholarly discipline, the so-called Plurality of Worlds, Ancient Astronauts and Rare Earth controversies and many other aspects of modern extraterrestrialism. Ultimately, humankind’s self-understanding as a species is defined, tested and exposed when confronted with radical alterity, be it real or imagined. Prerequisite: any HUMN-SHU OR any HIST-SHU course OR POH. Fulfillment: Humanities Interdisciplinary course or Advanced course; Social Science Anthropology track 300 level.