“Astrosociology”: Science Fiction As Classroom Material for Humanities-Based Hypothetical Discourse of Space Exploration and Development (Updated)
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Trans. JSASS Aerospace Tech. Japan Vol. 12, No. ists29, pp. Tu_1-Tu_5, 2014 Topics Teaching “Astrosociology”: Science Fiction as Classroom Material for Humanities-Based Hypothetical Discourse of Space Exploration and Development (Updated) By Renato Rivera RUSCA Meiji University, Tokyo Japan (Received July 31st, 2013) This paper will examine applied usages of popular culture works in the classroom for the execution of innovative programmes and will also serve as a progress report on the ongoing course at the Meiji University School of Commerce, titled “Introduction to Astrosociology”, part of the Special Themed Activity Classes (Tokubetsu-teema jissen kamoku). For this purpose I will describe my own lesson plan and ultimately illustrate the importance of not only the usefulness of these works as tools for education, but also the issues which they bring to the mind of the young individual living in our current postmodern age. Key Words: Teaching Environments, Practical Applied Knowledge, Multidisciplinary Approaches, Social Sciences 1. Introduction proposals at Kyoto Seika University, I took the opportunity to create a course which would encompass astrosociological This presentation paper serves two main functions: firstly, themes within the School of Commerce to students who have as my first major oral conference report on my ongoing course never studied astronomy, astrophysics or the like. at the Meiji University School of Commerce, titled The course began in September 2010, at a time when “Introduction to Astrosociology”, part of the Special Themed space-related issues were rarely being picked up by the media Activity Classes (Tokubetsu-teema jissen kamoku), it until the Hayabusa (MUSES-C) spacecraft, which had introduces the concept of the course and its significance completed a miraculous return to Earth, fulfilling its mission within the human sciences. Secondly, it builds my to return samples from an asteroid after a series of major previously published progress reports1) on developments of failures, had rekindled a major resurgence in public interest in said course, in particular through the introduction of the outer space, and even inspired three major motion pictures. “Constructing the Future Society” Symposium, a conference Coming from a background in the study of how media which served as an extension of the course into a major forum affects society, I personally felt that education institute had a for interdisciplinary discourse on space issues between duty to take advantage of our current wealth of visual/aural researchers from a variety of fields, members of the public and affluence and attempt to guide the young generation using students, held very recently in March 2013. these tools, providing hints for them to eventually tackle The term “astrosociology” was defined and put into usage issues on their own by observing things from a variety of within the academic realm by Jim Pass, who in 2003 went on perspectives. to establish the Astrosociology Research Institute. I use this term because it is the closest in concept to the 2. The Role of Popular Culture as Knowledge cross-communicative forum which I am attempting to create Proliferator in order to gain wider awareness of social issues which are controlled by the natural sciences such as astrophysics, or It was not Tsiolkovsky in 1895, nor Artsutanov in 1959, but even through technology and meteorology. rather the award-winning The Fountains of Paradise, the Pass defines “astrosociology” as “the study of astrosocial science fiction novel written by Sir Arthur C. Clarke in 1979, phenomena (i.e., the social, cultural, and behavioral patterns which finally managed to popularize the idea of the “Space related to outer space)”… “[It is] (1) a subdiscipline of Elevator” throughout the consciousness of the general public. sociology and (2) a multidisciplinary field that includes, but is Likewise, in Japan, it was the 1979 animated series Mobile by no means limited to disciplines/fields such as psychology, Suit Gundam, directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, that spread the anthropology, economics, social psychology, political science, concept of Space Colonies across the young, predominantly space history, space law, space policy, philosophy, as well as male viewership. the arts.”2) Having wanted to spread awareness of Through its prevalence in capitalist society, popular culture “astrosocial phenomena” using media since my time as a and science fiction have, throughout modern history, given us sociology graduate student in Kyoto University before my dreams as well as been a tool for propaganda. In the run-up 2010 move to Tokyo, but not having much success after failed to the Apollo lunar landings during the 1960s, children and Copyright© 2014 by the Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences and ISTS. All rights reserved. Tu_1 Trans. JSASS Aerospace Tech. Japan Vol. 12, No. ists29 (2014) young people in the US were already immersed in outer space of these was an idea purely constructed from the mind of hype. This public fascination with space seems to have Clarke. Rather, these concepts could be said to have been faded from its glory days, gradually so since the end of the "rescued" by Clarke, from wallowing in the obscurity of the 1970s. When once Space Shuttles and Concords roamed the writings of astrophysicists in scientific academic journals and skies, the present 2013 is now a manifestation of economic such sources of limited readership. Additionally, in being utopia for the consumer. Gone are the visions of societies in put into a narrative context, these ideas played crucial roles the future being intertwined by travel in Syd Mead-inspired within Clarke's stories, giving us, the readers, a sense of vehicles, rather, the world is nowadays connected on a virtual conviction and acceptance that the world envisaged within plane. The intangibility of the “Information Age” is those pages could in fact be a later incarnation of our own, something that few visionaries of the future had envisaged in through the behaviour of characters, properties and ideals fiction, perhaps with the exception of Forster’s The Machine depicted. One challenge every fiction writer must face, Stops. Whilst not denying the practical conveniences in our especially in the case of fantasy, is how to instill into the lifestyle brought about by software such as Twitter, Facebook reader the suspension of disbelief. In the case of Clarke, the and Skype, it is quite clear that our introvert attitudes have suspension of disbelief is transformed into a mere handful of gone as far as to question our necessity to ever leave our conditions: "If A happens, then B may happen. This is the houses to meet people, let alone take a look outside and gaze story of B." That is to say, A is the condition, B being the at the stars contemplating the possibility that the human race consequential events which navigate the path of the narrative. may one day be living amongst them. As mind-bogglingly Thus, if we equate the tale of the Fountains of Paradise as B, amazing some of our new gadgets such as the iPhone may then the pretext to this is that the story takes place in a world appear to be, at the very least if we were to show them to time where the condition "Space Elevators, structures stretching travelers from as recent as the 1980s, in our struggle to keep from the surface of the Earth that reach out into outer space, up to date with the latest newsfeeds and search trends we may can be constructed". Their wonder and captivation aside, the actually have closed ourselves off from the realm of reason Clarke's stories remain classics is because the condition imagination in which they prided themselves on. True A itself is brought into the public eye and henceforth enough, looking at the latest offerings from the entertainment interdisciplinary efforts conjoin to make it a reality. One sector of the media (yet not limited to it), and contrasting it major area where this differs from unilateral scientific with the once-rich smorgasbords of varied genres including research and development writings is that Clarke has cutting-edge science-fiction with socially-relevant satire, one incorporated the aspect of "humanity" within his stories, and can see a sharp decline in complexity and a strong reliance on how humans interact with this technology. That is not to say satisfaction through visual impact, due to ever-advancing that aerospace engineers do not consider the effects on their computer graphics technology. I believe that education can equipment on humans, to assert so would be ridiculous. fill this gap, and in this paper I will introduce my plan to However, in creating detailed worlds in not-so-distant futures tackle the issues which need addressing immediately, so as not where humans recognizably behave like humans and to bring up a generation ignorant of the direction in which exploring concepts like religious practices within the context their ancestors once dreamt of taking their descendants. of space elevators – what essentially is a modern Tower of Babel – Clarke is giving us the opportunity to look at 3. Formulating the Sociology of Plausible Futures: ourselves and consider what kind of lives we want to lead, Taking Cues from the Classics what futures we want to bring about, what actions that we take today will lead to certain events which we may want to avoid. The concept of the role of humanities and social sciences in In short, he is lecturing as both the scientist and the a hypothetical future world where technology has evolved to sociologist/anthropologist. the extent that mankind has the option of living out in space or The importance of this "context" is something that should on other planets of course has been mostly explored by these never escape the social consciousness of the general public, no aforementioned entrepreneurs of literature.