“Martian Encounters” is a series of international, interdisciplinary conversations, bringing together thinkers and practitioners from various fields of art, science, and literature to address four major themes shaping our visions of the future on Earth and beyond: Maps, Temples, Borders, and Ecosystems. Uniting scientific, social, political, and cultural perspectives, we will explore these topics through a central concept of “otherness,” interrogating how we define people, things, and ideas as different, foreign, or alien.
The event will take place virtually via Zoom on November 12 and 13, 2024. It will feature five panels: one for each theme (Maps, Temples, Borders, and Ecosystems), along with a final synthesis session. Session details and registration links are listed below. To learn more and read full details, visit csi.asu.edu/martian-encounters.
The conversations will be held in English and Spanish, with simultaneous translation between both languages. All sessions are free and open to the public.
“Martian Encounters” is organized thanks to a collaboration between the Center for Science and Imagination, Future Tense (a project of ASU and New America), Marsarchive.org, El Cúmulo de Tesla, the Palacio de la Autonomía at UNAM, and the Art, Science, and Technologies program of the Institute of Astronomy at UNAM.
Schedule & Registration
Borders, Tuesday, November 12, 9:00 – 10:30 am (Central Mexico Time) / 8:00 – 9:30 am (Arizona)
Featuring astrophysicist Juan Carlos Toledo, multidisciplinary artist Martha Riva Palacio, and community-based researcher, media artist, and doula Alexandrina Agloro, moderated by Marcela Chao
Temples, Tuesday, November 12, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm (Central Mexico Time) / 10:00 – 11:30 am (Arizona)
Featuring fiction author and editor Erick J. Mota, fiction author and Arabic Studies scholar Luis Carlos Barragán, and essayist, poet, and analog astronaut Kate Greene, moderated by Libia Brenda
Ecosystems, Tuesday, November 12, 4:00 – 5:30 pm (Central Mexico Time) / 3:00 – 4:30 pm (Arizona)
Featuring biologist and science communicator David Venegas, space architecture researcher Elena Rocchi, and ecologist, environmental educator, and writer Jessie Rack, moderated by Alejandra Espino del Castillo
Maps, Wednesday, November 13, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm (Central Mexico Time) / 10:00 – 11:30 am (Arizona)
Featuring video game designer Randy Smith, literature scholar and language activist Mito Reyes, and Indigenous futurism scholar Grace Dillon, moderated by Joey Eschrich
Martian Weirdness, Wednesday, November 13, 4:00 – 5:30 pm (Central Mexico Time) / 3:00 – 4:30 pm (Arizona)
Featuring space anthropologist Anne Johnson, physicist and astrobiologist Antígona Segura, fiction writer and journalist Gabriela Damián Miravete, and poet, essayist, and analog astronaut Christopher Cokinos, moderated by Marcela Chao