Otherwhere Ethnography : An Introduction to Outer Space Studies

This book offers an introduction to the field of outer space studies by means of a selection of "otherwhere ethnographies," fine-grained accounts of how space exploration is being reconfigured in an age where major nation-states are no longer its only prime movers. A collective of social scientists and humanities scholars provide detailed accounts of how space research and space enterprises are being rethought in an age where extraterrestrial exploration is no longer the monopoly of a handful of superpowers.

What happens when contemporary space exploration outgrows Space Age modernity? In this volume, a collective of social scientists and humanities scholars provides an introduction to the emerging field of outer space studies. This is done by means of "otherwhere ethnography," richly detailed accounts of how space research and space enterprises are being rethought in an age where extraterrestrial exploration is no longer the monopoly of a handful of superpowers. While many off-Earth endeavours remain embedded within characteristically modern forms of thought--scientism, productivism, extractivism, (neo-)colonialism--there is also an emerging trend to move away from such ingrained conceptual frameworks. If one looks beyond the much-hyped projects of billionaire space gurus and their coterie of rocket-obsessed followers, one notices that Space Age modernity can also be thought otherwise, and that the very idea of "exploration" has already mutated into something else. Outer space studies can be envisaged as the antenna that seeks to capture this momentous, ongoing mutation.