This session explored Axis 1 of the Chair’s research, dedicated to the uses and representations of space through the ages.
Two young researchers shared their work:
Bertrand Paoloni, a doctoral student in the history of science and technology at the CAK – EHESS – École des hautes études en sciences sociales, who is working on the first pendulum clocks in the 17th century. He analyses the concept of space travel in the modern era through the work of Christiaan Huygens and his Cosmotheoros, which explores the plurality of worlds and the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
Title of presentation: ‘Conjectures about Celestial Earths and their Inhabitants in Christiaan Huygens’ Cosmotheoros’.
Florian Mathieu, historian of astronomy, ATER at the Cnam (Conservatoire national des arts et métiers) and associate researcher at the Université Paris-Saclay, is interested in the links between social and spatial utopias. His research shows how certain members of the workers’ movement in the early 20th century linked their hopes for social transformation with the exploration of space.
Title of presentation: ‘The relationship between social utopias and space utopias from a historical perspective’.
