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Written in the Stars

The Narrative Roots of Space Exploration

Kevin P. Keating, BW Instructor, will examine why we tell ourselves fantastic stories of intergalactic travel, from Paleolithic cave paintings to Space X, from Lascaux to Buzz Lightyear.

Part of the series Our Place in Space: The Ongoing Adventures of Us Among the Stars, presented in collaboration with Baldwin Wallace University. See all events in the series.

Stories of exploration, including space exploration, are so deeply ingrained in the human psyche that they may be working at the level of instinct. Some scientists speculate that humans have been stargazing for tens of thousands of years and that our desire to reach distant worlds beyond our own planet has been an inspiration for countless stories. From Paleolithic cave paintings to Space X, from Lascaux to Buzz Lightyear, in this talk will examine why we tell ourselves fantastic stories of intergalactic travel.  

After working in the Cleveland steel mills, Kevin P. Keating became an instructor of English at Baldwin Wallace University. His first novel "The Natural Order of Things" (Vintage 2013) was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes/First Fiction award and received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist. His second novel "The Captive Condition" (Pantheon 2015) was launched at the San Diego Comic-Con International and received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal.