Seminar 6th February 2026 - David Jeevendrampillai
Welcome
Please join us at the Centre for Exoplanets and Habitability for a seminar with Dr David (Jeeva) Jeevendrampillai from the University of Manchester.
How to Attend
The seminar will be hosted both in-person and online - see details below for how to connect.
In-person - Westwood Lecture Theatre (WLT) at 13:30 (see campus mapLink opens in a new window)
Online - via Microsoft TeamsLink opens in a new window
Building the Cosmos: Anthropology and the Social Life of Space Science
It is often said that space as the “province of all humankind,” a realm that promises shared futures beyond the limits of Earth. Yet the road to the cosmos begins in very particular places. Telescopes rise on contested mountains, launch sites reshape local economies, and visions of off-world settlement force us to confront an unfamiliar question: what kind of society are we trying to export into the universe?
This talk introduces the anthropology of outer space; an emerging field concerned with the social life of cosmic ambition. Through examples ranging from disputes over astronomical infrastructure to the design of space habitats, it shows how efforts to reach beyond Earth are simultaneously projects of world-making grounded in assumptions about authority, belonging, responsibility, and the global good.
For scientists accustomed to thinking at planetary and cosmic scales, anthropology offers a complementary lens: one that brings into focus the human negotiations that make large-scale science possible, while revealing why projects framed as benefiting everyone do not always feel that way to those living closest to them. Understanding these dynamics is no longer peripheral to space science, it is increasingly part of its conditions of success.
When?
Friday 6th February 2026 - 13:30 GMT
Where?
Westwood Lecture Theatre (WLT)Link opens in a new window
or on Microsoft TeamsLink opens in a new window
Who?
Everyone is Welcome!
Dr David Jeevendrampillai
Dr David (Jeeva) Jeevendrampillai is an Anthropologist of Outer Space at the University of Manchester. His current research examines the curation, narration and use of Earth Imagery from the International Space Station. He is interested in the anthropology of the future, technology and modernity, the politics of knowing place and emergent conceptions of the human and the body, particularly concerning technology and data. His interests encompass but are not limited to discussions on land rights, post-cosmopolitanisms and colonialism. He is interested in bringing together the wide array of academic disciplines involved in space science to engage in a critical discussion around outer space.
For more information about Jeeva's work, visit his webpage on the University of Manchester websiteLink opens in a new window.