top of page

/ ABOUT

 

Inaugurated in the spring of 2021, NYU Space Talks is a lecture series convened by Alexander C. T. Geppert at NYU's Center for European and Mediterranean Studies and NYU Shanghai with the Department of History in New York City. Each semester, established and upcoming scholars present the latest research on the history and politics of outer space, extraterrestrial life and astroculture, both in Europe and around the globe.

 

All NYU Space Talks are held on Zoom. Everybody is welcome but advance registration is required.

 
 
space-website-background.jpg

NYU
SPACE
TALKS

History, Politics, Astroculture
FALL 2025
space.png
About
Schedule

/ FALL 2025 –– Season X

 
 
 

Season 8

 
History, Communication and the Global Imagination: A Roundtable in Honor of Martin J. Collins
36 Collins - satellite.jpg
John Krige (Georgia Institute of Technology), Teasel Muir-Harmony (Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum), James Schwoch (Northwestern University), James Merle Thomas (Helen Frankenthaler Foundation) and Adelheid Voskuhl (University of Pennsylvania)
Moderation: Alexander C.T. Geppert (New York University/NYU Shanghai)
Tuesday, 16 September 2025, 10–11:30 EDT
Location: Online
Martin J. Collins (1951–2025) was a pioneering historian of Cold War science, global communications, and the cultural politics of space exploration. As a longtime curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and editor of History and Technology, Collins championed scholarship that crossed disciplinary and geographic boundaries. His work brought critical attention to infrastructure, systems thinking, and the transnational flows of information, capital, and power that defined the late twentieth century. This roundtable brings together colleagues and collaborators to reflect on the wide-ranging impact of Collins' research – from work on extensive oral history projects, to curatorial practice, to studies of globalization, satellites, and surveillance – and to explore how his legacy continues to shape contemporary approaches to history, science and technology in both scholarly and public contexts.
Territory beyond Earth: Expansionist Cosmic Imaginaries and the China Dream
37 Puente Lozano - China Space Day 2021 poster.tif
Paloma Puente Lozano (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid)
Tuesday, 21 October 2025, 10–11:30 EDT
Location: Online
Outer space is often portrayed as a new or ultimate ‘frontier’ for exploration, exploitation, or conquest. Given that territorial imaginaries have historically been embedded within broader systems of colonization, it is crucial to examine the extent to which contemporary space imaginaries – rooted in geocentric and territorial narratives – continue to reproduce these dynamics. Building on emerging scholarship on new space-faring actors, this talk explores rhetorical and visual mechanisms that are being used by official bodies in the People's Republic of China (PRC) to shape the imaginary about outer space. All aim to advance the projection, both nationally and internationally, of a certain image of the PRC as a ‘natural’ space actor and, at the same time, disseminating an imaginary of outer space with specifically ‘Chinese characteristics.’
 
The Post-Soviet Space Deal: Survival, Adaptation, Commercialization
38 Dubrovina 02 - N1 .jpg
Olga Dubrovina (Università degli Studi di Milano)
Tuesday, 18 November 2025, 10–11:30 EST
Location: Online
The collapse of the Soviet Union brought radical changes to Russian political economic and social life. One of the most deeply affected sectors was spaceflight. Once a symbol of national pride and a core element of Soviet identity and heritage, the space industry underwent dramatic transformation in the 1990s. Under pressure from global capitalism and emerging international partnerships, it was forced to restructure. A long-awaited opportunity to establish commercial contacts emerged, allowing Russian space hardware and services to enter the international market. This talk examines how the transition from a heroic past to a predominantly materialistic present has shaped collective self-identification. It explores how the transformation of the myth of space into a commercial commodity has fostered a sense of nostalgia among older generations, sometimes verging on, or even evolving into, resentment.
'New Planet, Dad. Please!' Multiplanetarity and Terralectics in Contemporary North American Astroculture
39 Temmen - Space X.jpg
Jens Temmen (Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt)
Tuesday, 2 December 2025, 10–11:30 EST
Location: Online
In Richard Powers’ 2021 novel Bewilderment – quoted in the title – the protagonist, traumatized by our planetary polycrisis, immerses himself in imaginaries of life on other planets. His escapism is a reflection of how contemporary advocacy for space colonization as a quick technological fix for the polycrisis – promoted by technoliberals entrepreneurs like Elon Musk – seeks to replace the ecocritical framework of 'planetarity' with a vision of human 'multiplanetarity'. This talk discusses the literary negotiation of this deeply unethical proposal to sever ties with the 'multitude of our planet' (Elias and Moraru) and replace them with a 'multitude of planets.’ Accounting for the limitations of planetarity in face of the materiality of outer space (Heise), I argue for a 'terralectical' framework for relating to outer space.
EVENT2
CONTCT

/ CONTACT

Professor Alexander C.T. Geppert

New York University

King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center

53 Washington Square South

New York, NY 10012

USA

If you want to receive updates about future NYU Space Talks, please join our mailing list.

Thanks for submitting!

bottom of page