Resplendent Ares: Critical Analysis of the Modernist Discourse of Mars

Abstract

There are critical questions we must engage in before we ever set foot or flag on Mars. Why do we go? How do we convince ourselves it is worth it? In this work, I will analyze the current discourse of Mars. Mars is legitimized as a place through a form of discourse whose roots can be traced back to earlier, colonial forms of discourse. Modernity acts as a normative force by limiting our language to established forms of discourse, like Hegelian notions of progress, while marginalizing other possibilities of narrative. The colonial gaze is only one possible way we have to understand Mars. What is necessary now is to perform the great Foucaultian task of seeking out lost narratives and lost knowledges of our past. I will examine how the power of narrative has been used to convince the public that we should go to Mars. Modernity has phenomenologically shaped Mars and our present discourse of Mars is the result of that metamorphosis. Narratives of science-fiction, science advocacy, special interest groups, and government bureaucracy reflect the modern notions that pervade Areological discourse, thereby promoting a colonial gaze of Mars. Modernity represents a way of seeing Mars that has been pushed upon us by history, eliminating alternate narratives of place through the nonnative practice of modern thinking.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2006

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Janz, Bruce B.

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Degree Program

Humanities

Subjects

Arts and Humanities -- Dissertations, Academic; Dissertations, Academic -- Arts and Humanities.; Discourse analysis; Mars (Planet) -- Exploration; Outer space -- Exploration

Format

Print

Identifier

DP0021996

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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