IMAGINING OUTER SPACE, 1900-2000

An International Conference

Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Forschung (ZiF)
with the support of Fritz Thyssen Stiftung
Universität Bielefeld

February 6-9, 2008

Organization: Alexander C.T. Geppert

www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/outerspace

This conference on the cultural history of outer space, space travel and
space exploration examines the manner in which Europeans imagined outer
space over the course of the twentieth century. Unlike most of the existing
historiography, it is less interested in the political, diplomatic and
technological aspects of European space programs per se, than in the
socio-cultural rationale behind the investment of enormous resources. How
was outer space represented, communicated and perceived? In what way were
changing conceptions affected by its continuous exploration? And how did
the idea of spaceflight develop into such a central element of the project
of Western modernity? Analyzing connections between science and fiction
from a comparative European perspective, the conference will pay special
attention to sites and situations where technologies and images have
contributed to the omnipresence of fantasmatic thought.

Speakers include numerous distinguished experts such as Profs. Steven J.
Dick (NASA), Debbora Battaglia (Mount Holyoke College), Pierre Lagrange
(CNRS), Roger D. Launius (National Air and Space Museum), Michael J.
Neufeld (National Air and Space Museum), Claudia Schmölders
(Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), James Schwoch (Northwestern University),
Helmuth Trischler (Deutsches Museum) and many others. The conference will
also feature a special screening of rare historical films, several poster
presentations and an interactive installation "SpacePlace. Art in the Age
of Orbitization."

A complete program including abstracts and brief biographies of all
participants can be found at www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/outerspace. For
information on the conference venue please visit www.uni-
bielefeld.de/(en)/ZIF/

The number of available places is limited, so pre-registration is
mandatory. Please contact Alexander Geppert at geppertfas.harvard.edu for
further information.

PROGRAM

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

15.00 Welcome Reception and Opening Remarks
Ipke Wachsmuth (ZiF) and Alexander C.T. Geppert (Harvard)

16.00 Introduction
Alexander C.T. Geppert: European Astrofuturism, Cosmic Provincialism.
Historical Problems and Historiographical Perspectives

16.30 Keynote Lecture
Steven J. Dick (NASA): Space, Time and Aliens. The Role of Imagination in
Outer Space

18.00 Feature Presentation I
Philip Pocock (ZKM): SpacePlace. Art in the Age of Orbitization

Thursday, February 7, 2008

09.00 Panel I: Theorizing Outer Space
Chair: Claudia Schmölders (HU Berlin)

Debbora Battaglia (Mount Holyoke College): On Galaxies of Discourse
Thomas Brandstetter (Universität Wien): Imagining Inorganic Life.
Crystalline Aliens in Science and Fiction
Benjamin Lazier (Reed College): Philosophers in Space. Towards a History of
Earth and Artifact in Twentieth-Century Thought

11.15 Panel II: Personalizing Outer Space
Chair: Bernd Weisbrod (Universität Göttingen)

Rebekka Ladewig (HU Berlin): Cosmism in Early Twentieth-Century Russia.
Interrelating the Technical and Cultural Avantgardes
Christina Wessely (MPI für Wissenschaftsgeschichte): Cosmic Spectacular.
Rocketry, Weltanschauung and the Quest for Cosmic Ice in Weimar Germany
Thore Bjornvig (University of Copenhagen): Transcendence of Gravity. Arthur
C. Clarke and the Apocalyptic of Weightlessness

14.00 Panel III: Localizing Outer Space
Chair: Roger D. Launius (National Air and Space Museum)

Kerrie Anne Dougherty (Powerhouse Museum Sydney): Spaceport Woomera
Sven Mesinovic (European University Institute): Inner Space. Utopic Visions
of Ocean Exploration

16.15 Panel IV: Screening Outer Space
Chair: Peter Becker (Universität Linz)

Burghard Ciesla (Universität Potsdam): Outer Space, Inner Fear. Cold War
SF-Films in East and West
Henry Keazor (Universität Frankfurt am Main): A Stumble in the Dark. Gerry
Anderson's "Space 1999"
Werner Suppanz (Universität Graz): Nazis in Space. Distant Worlds as
Projection Screen of Cultural Memory

19.30 Feature Presentation II
Jürgen Ast (Berlin): Screening of Historical Films

Friday, February 8, 2008 --

09.00 Panel V: Fictionalizing Outer Space
Chair: Angela Schwarz (Universität Siegen)

Claudia Schmölders (HU Berlin): Unwriting Heaven. A Very Short History of
an Idea
Steffen Krämer (LMU München): Ancient Heroes and Early Christian Ascetics.
Archetypes of Modern Science Fiction
Patrick J. Gyger (Maison d'Ailleurs): Conjuring the Final Frontier. The
Role of Science Fiction in Space Exploration

11.15 Panel VI: Visioning Outer Space
Chair: Alexander C.T. Geppert (Harvard)

Pierre Lagrange (CNRS): The Invention of Ghost Rockets and Flying Saucers
in 1946/47
James I. Miller (Davidson College): Encountering Aliens in a Familiar
World. Fabricating a New World in Quarouble, France, 1954
Guillaume de Syon (Albright College): Between the Bubble and the Moon.
Visions of Space Travel in Francophone Comic Strips

14.00 Panel VII: Politicizing Outer Space
Chair: Kai-Uwe Schrogl (European Space Policy Institute)

Monica Rüthers (Universität Basel): Space, Children's Material Culture and
Soviet Imagery after Sputnik
Michael J. Neufeld (National Air and Space Museum): "Smash the Myth of the
Fascist Rocket Baron." The East German Campaign Against Wernher von Braun
in the 1960s

16.15 Panel VIII: Communicating Outer Space
Chair: Ralf Bülow (Berlin)

Roger D. Launius (National Air and Space Museum): Apollo Imagery and the
Communication of American Culture
Bernd Mütter (Universität Bielefeld): Per Media Ad Astra? Outer Space in
West Germany's Media 1957-1987

Saturday, February 9, 2008

09.00 Panel IX: Automatizing Outer Space
Chair: Paul Ceruzzi (National Air and Space Museum)

James Schwoch (Northwestern University): "Short, Nasty, and Brutish." The
Curious Life of Telstar, 10 July 1962 - 21 February 1963
Gonzalo Munevar (Lawrence Technological University): Self-Reproducing
Automata and the Impossibility of SETI

11.15 Panel X: Designing Outer Space
Chair: Peter Davidson (National Museums Scotland)

Eva Mayring (Deutsches Museum): Pictures from Outer Space. Industry and its
Designers
William R. Macauley (University of Manchester): Inscribing Scientific
Knowledge. Interstellar Communication, Universal Laws and Contact with
Cultures of the Imagination
Tristan Weddigen (Universität Bern): Alien Spotting. Damien Hirst's Beagle
2 Mars Lander "Calibration Target" and the Exploitation of Outer Space

14.00 Conclusion
Chair: Steven J. Dick (NASA)
Helmuth Trischler (Deutsches Museum): General Comment

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Convener
Alexander C.T. Geppert
Freie Universität Berlin/Harvard University
geppertfas.harvard.edu

Conference Venue
Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Forschung (ZiF)
Universität Bielefeld
Wellenberg 1
D-33615 Bielefeld
trixi.valentinuni-bielefeld.de

Conference Website
www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/outerspace

Venue Website
www.uni-bielefeld.de/(en)/ZIF/