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Territories

Territory is one of the central political concepts of the modern world. Terra, land, earth, refers not only to the materiality of the ground but to the concepts of place, ownership and possession. Territories can be explored, divided, imagined and fought over. They can be mined, exploited, shared or stolen.

This workshop explores how the ground upon which the concept of territories is built may be shifting as humanity concerns itself with outer space. It asks how a move to outer space shifts our thinking on territory. How might it be imagined otherwise or rather how might it solidify existing power dynamics in new ways? As companies and space agencies start to talk of mining the Moon we can ask questions as to who owns the Moon, who has the right to the territory? How does space exploration shift notions of place, territory and rights to it on Earth?

This workshop invites ten academics from different background in the social sciences, humanities and arts to think through the concept of territory. If humans are to leave Earth, then we need a new conceptual Atlas in our toolbox as foundational concepts such as territory are disrupted.

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Territories

Programme