Launching Europe

An Ethnography of European Cooperation in Space Science
Erscheinungsjahr 1995
ISBN: 978-0-691-02972-6
Verlag: Princeton University Press

Buch, Englisch, 296 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 452 g

In this first ethnographic study of the European Space Agency, Stacia Zabusky explores the complex processes involved in cooperation on space science missions in the contemporary context of European integration. Zabusky argues that the practice of cooperation does not depend on a homogenizing of interests in a bland unity. Instead, it consists of ongoing negotiation of and conflict over often irreconcilable differences. In this case, those differences are put into play by both technical and political divisions of labor (in particular, those of big science and of European integration).Zabusky shows how participants on space science missions make use of these differences, particularly those manifest in identities of work and of nationality, as they struggle together not only to produce space satellites but also to create European integration. She argues that the dialectical processes of production include and depend on conflict and contradiction to maintain energy and excitement and thus to be successful. Participants in these processes are not, however, working only to produce tangible success. In her epilogue, Zabusky argues that European space science missions can be interpreted as sacred journeys undertaken collectively, and that these journeys are part of a fundamental cultural project of modernity: the legitimation of and aspiration for purity. She suggests, finally, that this project characterizes not only the institution of technoscience but those of bureaucracy and nationalism as well.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Zabusky, Stacia E.

Fachgebiete

• Technische Wissenschaften Sonstige Technologien | Angewandte Technik Weltraumforschung
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftssektoren & Branchen Fertigungsindustrie Luftfahrtindustrie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Moderne Philosophische Disziplinen Philosophische Anthropologie
• Technische Wissenschaften Verkehrstechnik | Transportgewerbe Luft- und Raumfahrttechnik, Luftverkehr

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of TablesPrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsIntroduction: Multiple Cooperations31The Study of Cooperation: Theoretical Issues172The European Space Agency and the Structure of Cooperation473The Practice of Cooperation: Working Together on Space Science Missions694Struggling with Diversity: The Social and Cultural Dynamics of Working Together1035Evasion and Responsibility: The Politics of Working Together1256Existential Worries: Excitement and Boredom in the Experience of Working Together1537Working Together Transformed: The Production of Technology and Cooperation179Epilogue: Sacred Cooperation and the Dreams of Modernity196Notes221References247Index259