Exogeography: Astronomy and Astropolitics
This course explores the multidisciplinary fields of exogeography, astropolitics, and astronomy, providing students with a comprehensive understanding of human activities beyond, the exogeographical conditions of celestial bodies, including the Moon and Mars, and the philosophical questions that arise. Indeed, humanity is on the verge of another historically significant migration: the first wave of the human settlement of space. In the end, settlement policies will reflect the physical realities of space, but they will also be dependent on the political and economic realities of Earth. Unlike the space race of the 1960s, today, the race in the 2020s include many different actors: the United States, China, Europe, Russia, Japan, India and also non-national possibilities such as Space X. Quite apart from what might be scientifically or technologically possible, politics will be the deciding factor when and how we are going to the Moon and Mars. This course addresses the following questions: How long until we colonize Mars? What would be the rules for exploring/settling outer space? How are we planning to go back permanently to Cosmos, to our origins? And perhaps the main question: Why to explore and settle inhospitable celestial bodies?
Astropolitical research seeks to explore, understand, and scrutinise the reasons why humanity is doing things in outer space, whether for political, military, economic, scientific, or exploratory purposes. This course deals with the geopolitics of the outer space and its philosophical relevance for the understanding of the world's politics.
The main goal of the course is to enable its students to understand basic astropolitical realities and to be able to analyze from a holistic perspective the inherent questions of space exploration and future settlement of other celestial bodies. This course is essential for students planning to choose the IR major and those interested in studying the philosophical, sociological and political consequences of our extraterrestrial future.
