Colonizing Space: Exploration, Extraction, and Inhabitation
RELI 317
Fall 2025
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
ENVS 317, STS 327 |
In his 2025 Inauguration Address, the US President promised that the nation "will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars." What is "manifest destiny," and what does it have to do with outer space? Would planting a flag on Mars amount to claiming it as territory? And why is this administration setting its highest hopes on Mars? This course will track the ideological and colonial history of the Apollo era before approaching the scientific, economic, and legislative landscape of the corporate sector known as "NewSpace." It will explore the mythological underpinnings, narrative imaginings, and theological justifications for the unfettered exploitation and inhabitation of Earth, the Moon, asteroids, and Mars. Finally, it will ask whether an ethically and ecologically sustainable space program is possible. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS RELI |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (Environmental Studies Minor)(Environmental Studies)(Religion Minor)(Religion)(Science and Technology Studies) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Marina Koren, "No One Should Colonize Space"
Alexander VI, INTER CAETERA (1493)
Council of Castile, REQUERMIENTO (1510)
Sylvia Wynter, "The Pope Must Have Been Drunk"
John F. Kennedy, "If the Soviets Control Space"
Catherine Newell, "The Strange Case of Dr. Von Braun and Mr. Disney"
Hannah Arendt, THE HUMAN CONDITION
Mircea Eliade, MYTH OF THE ETERNAL RETURN
Gerard O¿Neill, THE HIGH FRONTIER, letter
Franklin Foer, "Jeff Bezos: Master Plan"
Robert Zubrin, "The Significance of the Martian Frontier"
Elon Musk, "Making Humans a Multi-Planetary Species"
Lucianne Walkowicz, "Let's Not Use Mars as a Backup Planet"
M. Jane Young, "Pity the Indians of Outer Space"
Timiebi Aganaba, "The Future of Space"
Raffi Khatchadourian, "The Elusive Peril of Space Junk"
Bawaka Country, "Listening to Guwak, talking back to space colonization"
Keolu Fox and Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, "The Fight for Mauna Kea"
Declaration of the Rights of the Moon
Ingrid LaFleur, "How to Think Like an Afrofuturist"
Lou Cornum, "Space NDN"
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Examinations and Assignments:
Very active participation, weekly Moodle posts or `markups' of readings, midterm exam, group lesson, short final project |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course fills the "additional course" requirement for the Religion major.
To request POI: add course, then please send an email to mrubenstein@wesleyan.edu, detailing your interest in the course, along with your experience in any of the following fields: religion, philosophy, astronomy, decolonial studies. POIs will be resolved during pre-registration.
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| Instructor(s): Rubenstein,Mary-Jane Times: .....F. 01:20PM-04:10PM; Location: TBA |
Permission of Instructor Required
Enrollment capacity: 15 | Permission of instructor approval will be granted by the instructor during pre-registration through the Electronic Portfolio. Click "Add to My Courses" and "To request a POI electronically, click here" to submit your request. |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 1 | 1st Ranked: 1 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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