A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
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I want to be particularly clear that I do not understand my project as a pure genealogy.<br />
The relation between my approach and that articulated by Foucault is assuredly impure. M<strong>in</strong>e is<br />
an approach that recognizes <strong>the</strong> importance <strong>of</strong> that model's critique and <strong>in</strong>corporates some <strong>of</strong> its<br />
<strong>in</strong>sights while recogniz<strong>in</strong>g its excesses. Whereas Foucault <strong>in</strong> his tendency toward hyperbole<br />
wanted to jettison cont<strong>in</strong>uity <strong>in</strong> favor <strong>of</strong> discont<strong>in</strong>uity, I argue that effective historical narrative<br />
must account for both. It must be both cont<strong>in</strong>uous and discont<strong>in</strong>uous, both serial and episodic.<br />
The model that Foucault presented <strong>in</strong> response to <strong>the</strong> problematic nature <strong>of</strong> traditional<br />
historiography <strong>in</strong> some ways fell <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> primary trap <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> controversialist—<strong>the</strong> obverse<br />
imag<strong>in</strong>ed as solution to <strong>the</strong> problems <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> model under attack. While I agree with much <strong>of</strong><br />
Foucault’s appropriation <strong>of</strong> Nietszchean genealogy, I feel <strong>the</strong> most effective response to <strong>the</strong><br />
problems <strong>of</strong> traditional historiography is more measured than <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>version he suggests. An<br />
effective response must recognize <strong>the</strong> value <strong>of</strong> track<strong>in</strong>g cont<strong>in</strong>uities while not imag<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g that <strong>the</strong><br />
present state <strong>of</strong> affairs is somehow predest<strong>in</strong>ed. Let us simply say that this project is a history<br />
<strong>in</strong>formed by genealogical critique. With that said, let us move on to a discussion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> dialectic<br />
that drives <strong>the</strong> cont<strong>in</strong>uous and discont<strong>in</strong>uous appearances <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> O<strong>the</strong>r that comprise <strong>the</strong> heart <strong>of</strong><br />
this dissertation, <strong>the</strong> dialectic <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> material and <strong>the</strong> e<strong>the</strong>real.<br />
MATERIAL/ETHEREAL<br />
One <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> primary historical narratives attached to <strong>the</strong> rise <strong>of</strong> “Modernity” is <strong>the</strong> story <strong>of</strong><br />
rationalization and disenchantment. Most famously articulated by German sociologist Max<br />
Weber, <strong>the</strong> process described by <strong>the</strong>se paired terms is one <strong>in</strong> which <strong>the</strong> sacred is <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly<br />
systematized and/or displaced by rational systems. As Lewis Coser parsed it, “The world <strong>of</strong><br />
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