Position: Reader in Social Anthropology at the University of Roehampton Bio: Born in Belgium, Istvan studied anthropology in Leuven. He then moved to the United Kingdom, where he obtained a doctorate in social anthropology from Oxford University in 2006 based on his research into conceptions and practices around shapeshifting amongst the Chachi – an indigenous Read More…
Category: aliens
The anthropology of outer space
Social scientists study the exploration of outer space as an arena where geopolitical, environmental and neo-colonial imaginaries are taking shape. Commercial space projects, asteroid mining endeavours and futuristic off-Earth settlement schemes also have imaginative and ideological dimensions, which tend to remain unacknowledged — identifying those dimensions is one of the key aims of Istvan Praet’s Read More…
The worldwide absence of aliens: An anthropological perspective
This week in the CRESIDA seminar series, the speaker is Istvan Praet (University of Roehampton), who is sharing his research on astrobiology, metaphysics and conceptions of alien life. Come and join us on Thursday, October 24th at 4.15pm in Room G070 at Parkstead House to learn more. Abstract Based on ethnographic research with astrobiologists and planetary scientists, this Read More…
