• Joniak-Lüthi Agnieszka

• Joniak-Lüthi Agnieszka

Space tourism, colonization of Moon and Mars, asteroids as resource providers, and the apparently endless possibilities of capitalist expansion in the Solar System are some of the visions that the commercial advocates of spaceflight discuss today. But the perspective of leaving the Earth generates a plethora of other questions, too. For example, who do asteroids belong to? Who has the right to settle new planets? Do we want to reproduce existing gender, ‘racial’, ethnic, economic and other inequalities on Mars? Can we not reproduce them? Do we want to exploit and ruin other planets in a similar way that we have ruined the Earth? Do we need religions on Mars, and if yes which ones? Are humans in Space still human, or do we need the Earth to be who we are?

In this course we will read our way through academic, commercial, legal, and sci-fi literature to understand the ethical, geopolitical, philosophical, and societal questions that necessarily arise around spaceflight and the exploration of Outer Space at the very moment when these become reality.

The course language is English.

Learning Objectives

• Students learn to analyze complex social-political developments, and to place them in current debates and in a broader intellectual history

Students practice and improve upon academic oral presentation and debating skills

Performance and evaluation:

Regular and active participation in class is compulsory. Attendance in the class and preparation of the given readings are part of the workload. Students are expected to read the compulsory literature and formulate one discussion question or a reflection for each class based on that literature. In addition, students prepare individually or in small groups a 10-15 minute input on one of the topics discussed in the course.