Event Description
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, this talk argues for a 'terralectical' framework for relating to outer space.
Event Information
Free and open to the public; registration required. For more information, please visit the series webpage. Hosted by the Center for European and Mediterranean Studies at New York University.
