STIA 4408: Justifying Space—The Changing Ethics and Values behind Space Exploration Dreams

This will be a seminar class about the changing visions and motivations for space exploration, historically and to the present day.

Readings will include historical perspectives such as those of K. Tsiolkovsky, Arthur C. Clarke, Gerard O’Neil, and Carl Sagan, the poetry of Diane Ackerman, the newsletters of space enthusiast organizations such as the National Space Society, the L5 society, and the Planetary Society, as well as more current readings from the popular and space policy literature, and from the field of space environmental ethics. Perspectives will also include other cultural reference frames through readings from the literatures of Afrofuturism and Chinese science fiction.

Through selected readings students will become familiar with the history of space advocacy, a range of ethical perspectives, and the various idealistic and utopian predictions and visions that have been associated over time with ideas of human crewed and uncrewed space exploration.

We will look at how past visions and promises have measured up against the reality of space exploration and also, through this lens, critically examine the visions and motivations being espoused by today’s range of government and corporate space organizations and enthusiasts.