1965: Astérix Among the Stars

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Planet Earth Seen From Space: A Very Brief Visual History

International audienceThe article proposes a brief visual genealogy of scientific whole Earth imagery from the beginning of the nineteenth century until today. It shows in particular that imagination played and still plays an absolutely central role in this history. Indeed, all whole Earth views from outer space – whether these are engravings from the nineteenth century, photographic recordings from the twentieth century, or digital images from the twenty-first century – invoke necessarily imaginative processes. Although data-gathering and visualisation technologies have dramatically modified the accuracy of the scientific knowledge and information that feeds into whole Earth imagery, imagination still has a very strong grasp on how we represent, visualise and finally conceptualise planet Earth

A visual history of the ozone hole: a journey to the heart of science, technology and the global environment

International audienceJust over thirty years ago, in 1985, the “ozone hole” made its appearance in the press as a global environmental threat. As one of the most important global environmental issues of the late twentieth century, the “ozone hole” is also a remarkable visual (and metaphorical) construction. This essay examines the historical trajectory of the iconic “ozone hole” within the context of global environmental imagery. It shows in particular the tensions that underlie these images, how the visual and associated technologies can help turn highly localized phenomena into global environmental issues, and to what degree global environmental images may influence public opinion and imagination. The essay closes with some critical notes on environmental images and a call for sustained research into global environmental images

A propos de Katrin Jordan, Ausgestrahlt. Die mediale Debatte um 'Tschernobyl' in der Bundesrepublik und in Frankreich 1986/87, Göttingen, Wallstein Verlag, 2018, « Medien und Gesellschaftswandel im 20. Jahrhundert »

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1965. Astérix dans les étoiles

National audienceAu moment où Astérix fait son Tour de Gaule en bande dessinée, le héros donne son nom au premier satellite français, pour un premier tour du monde, le 26 novembre 1965. Cette autonomie spatiale revendiquée doit pourtant beaucoup à la coopération internationale antérieure. La puissance française serait-elle aussi mise sur orbite

Revisiting the “Ozone Hole” Metaphor: From Observational Window to Global Environmental Threat

International audienceIn 1985, just over 30 years ago, the " ozone hole " made its appearance in the press as a truly global environmental threat. As one of the most important global environmental issues of the late twentieth century, the " ozone hole " is also and maybe most importantly a remarkable metaphorical, visual and imaginary construction. This essay examines the historical trajectory of one of the most influential environmental metaphors of the twentieth century, the famous " ozone hole, " from its birth within the astronomical community at the beginning of the twentieth century to its contemporary framing as a global environmental threat. The article provides evidence why metaphors constitute a valuable object of historically informed studies of scientific practice, and shows in particular how metaphorical landscapes shift over time, mapping at the same time larger social and political developments. The essay ends by showing how scientific images and metaphorical framings interact and how they shape scientific and popular discourse on nature, as well as our understanding of the global environment

Epistemische Topografien. Fotografische und radartechnische Wahrnehmungsräume

National audienceDie folgenden Überlegungen erkunden die Bedeutung wissenschaftlicher Wahrnehmung im Zeitalter der Nutzung des gesamten elektromagnetischen Spektrums. Dabei soll zunächst historisch nachgezeichnet werden, wie apparative Methoden wissenschaftliche Wahrnehmungsräume seit Beginn des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts aufspannen. Radartechnische Visualisierungen sollen danach helfen, in Abgrenzung zur fotografischen Methode, jene Brüche in den Visualisierungsstrategien hervorzuheben, welche die Neumodellierung der Sinne herbeigeführt haben. Dafür wird der Begriff der »epistemischen Topografie« vorgeschlagen, um auf die Besonderheit der jeweiligen Aufnahmetechnik und damit auf die jeweilige Neudefi nierung von Wahrnehmung hinzuweisen. Abschließend soll in jene Zonen von Wissenschaft vorgedrungen werden, in denen die Phänomene sich verlieren und wissenschaftliche Wahrnehmung an ihre medial bedingten Grenzen stößt

Global Ocean Representations

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Visualising the global environmental: new research directions

International audienceThis special issue on the visual cultures of global environmental issues proposes innovative research directions by introducing new methodological frameworks and profoundly rethinking the crucial role of the visual in environmental research. The five papers gathered here were written by researchers coming from various disciplinary and cultural backgrounds, thus helping bridge the divides between different disciplinary traditions. Each essay examines the notion of the 'global environment', and of 'global environmental images' in particular, from a different theoretical perspective. From these emerge shared concerns about underlying aesthetics and politics, and reflections on the tensions that arise when visualising the environment, especially when objects and theories are at a global scale. In this introduction, I reflect upon two aspects across the five papers exploring tensions between the 'local' and the 'global', as well as the politics of images within global environmental research. Considered as an ensemble, this special issue calls for sustained interdisciplinary inquiry into global environmental images, paying close attention to the nature of this new type of global knowledge, the imaginaries mobilised, as well as the politics, power struggles, asymmetries and marginalisation processes which are inevitably involved when talking about the global environment

La Terre vue de l'espace : brève histoire d'une vue en permanente redéfinition

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