Soviet space culture: cosmic enthusiasm in socialist societies

Starting with the first man-made satellite 'Sputnik' in 1957 and culminating four years later with the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, space became a new utopian horizon. This book explores the profound repercussions of the Soviet space exploration program on culture and everyday life in Eastern Europe, especially in the Soviet Union itself. EVA MAURER studied History and Russian Literature in Zürich and Münster, Germany and holds a special interest in the cultural and social history of Russia and the Soviet Union. Her PhD study 'Wege zum Pik Stalin' deals with the agency of Soviet mountaineers and their contribution to the mental maps of Stalinism. JULIA RICHERS is Research and Teaching Fellow at the University of Basel, Switzerland, and finished her PhD in 2005. Her interest in spatial theorieslead her to the topics, 'Cosmic Enthusiasm in the Soviet Union' and 'the Soviet Union between Cults of Technology and Utopian Thinking'. MONICA RÜTHERS is Professor of East European History at Hamburg University, Germany. Her research interests include Russian and Soviet Visual History, Jews and Gypsies as European liminar groups, Iconography of Soviet Childhood and Soviet Type ConsumerSocieties. CARMEN SCHEIDE is specialized in East European history and culture. She received her PhD in 1999 from Basel University for a study on Soviet women in the 1920s and wrote her habilitation about the remembrance of World War II in the Soviet Union. INDICE: Preface - Notes on Contributors - Introduction: What does 'space culture' Mean in Soviet society?; 'E.Maurer', 'J.Richers', 'M.Rüthers' & 'C.Scheide' - Writing about Soviet Space Exploration: A Short Overview over the State of Research; 'J.Richers' - PART I: SPIRITUALITY, TRANSCENDENCE AND SOVIET UTOPIANISM IN REFLECTIONS ON SPACE TRAVEL - Introduction: Spirituality, Transcendence and Soviet Utopianism in Reflections on Space Travel; 'E.Maurer' & 'J.Richers' - The Conquest of Space and the Bliss of the Atoms - Konstantin Tsiolkovskii; 'M.Hagemeister - 'Empty/Void Space and the Cybernetic God: Kosmos in the Works of StanisLaw Lem and the Strugatsky Brothers; 'T.Grob' - The ContestedSkies: The Battle of Science and Religion in the Soviet Planetarium; 'V.Smolkin' - PART II: REMEMBERING SPACE, CONSTRUCTING HEROES - Introduction: Remembering Space, Constructing Heroes; 'C.Scheide' & 'M.Rüthers - 'Memories of Space and the Spaces of Memory: Remembering Sergei Korolev; 'S.Gerovitch' - The Heroic and the Ordinary: Photographic Representations of Soviet Cosmonauts in the Early 1960's; 'I.Kohonen' - 'Let's Find Out Where the Cosmonaut School Is': Soviet Girls and Cosmic Visions in the Aftermath of Tereshkova; 'R.Sylvester - 'Constructing Cosmic Enthusiasm: A Case Study of the Krasnodar Territory; 'A.Eremeeva' - Propaganda and Cultural History of Cosmonautics: The Example of Regional Public Organizations; 'V.Sadym' - PART III: PERFORMING SPACE IN WORLD POLITICS: COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIALITY - Introduction: Performing Space in World Politics: Communications and Mediality; 'M.Rüthers - 'Sputnik Goes to Brussels: The Exhibition of a Soviet Technological Wonder;' L.Siegelbaum' - Soviet Cosmonauts and American Astronauts in Yugoslavia - Who Did the Yugoslavs Love More?; 'R.Vucetic - 'Children and the Cosmos as Projects of the Future and Ambassadors of Soviet Leadership; 'M.Rüthers - 'PART IV: SPACE IN POPULAR CULTURE - Introduction: Space in Popular Culture; 'J.Richers' & 'M.Rüthers - 'A Dream Come True: Close Encounters with Outer Space in Soviet Popular Scientific Journals of the 1950's and 60's; 'M.Schwartz - 'Space Exploration in Russian and Western Popular Culture: Wishful Thinking, Conspiracy Theories and other Related Issues; 'A.Rogatchevski' - Two Images of a Spaceman in Estonian Art: The Missing Myth of a Hero and the Fable of Failure; 'A.Porri - 'Epilogue: End of Utopia, Start of Nostalgia - From 'Cosmic Enthusiasm' to 'Nostalgia for the Future': A Tale of Soviet Space Culture; 'A.Siddiqi - 'Appendix

• ISBN: 978-0-230-27435-8
• Editorial: Palgrave MacM
• Encuadernacion: Cartoné
• Páginas: 328
• Fecha Publicación: 29/07/2011
• Nº Volúmenes: 1
• Idioma: Inglés