Cosmonaut - A Cultural History (Hardcover)

How the public image of the Soviet cosmonaut was designed and reimagined over timeIn this book, Cathleen Lewis discusses how the public image of the Soviet cosmonaut developed beginning in the 1950s and the ways this icon has been reinterpreted throughout the years and in contemporary Russia. Compiling material and cultural representations of the cosmonaut program, Lewis provides a new perspective on the story of Soviet spaceflight, highlighting how the government has celebrated figures such as Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova through newspapers, radio, parades, monuments, museums, films, and even postage stamps and lapel pins. Lewis's analysis shows that during the Space Race, Nikita Khrushchev mobilized cosmonaut stories and images to symbolize the forward-looking Soviet state and distract from the costs of the Cold War. Public perceptions shifted after the first Soviet spaceflight fatality and failure to reach the Moon, yet cosmonaut imagery was still effective propaganda, evolving through the USSR's collapse in 1991 and seen today in Vladimir Putin's government cooperation for a film on the 1985 rescue of the Salyut 7 space station. Looking closely at the process through which Russians continue to reexamine their past, Lewis argues that the cultural memory of spaceflight remains especially potent among other collective Soviet memories.

General

Imprint:	University Press of Florida
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	July 2023
Authors:	Cathleen S. Lewis
Dimensions:	229 x 152mm (L x W)
Format:	Hardcover - Paper over boards
Pages:	304
ISBN-13:	978-1-68340-370-8
Categories:	Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Communication studies > Media studies Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > Popular science Books > Science & Mathematics > Astronomy, space & time > General Books > Professional & Technical > Technology: general issues > Engineering: general Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Interdisciplinary studies > Cultural studies > Popular culture Books > Humanities > History > European history > General Books > Professional & Technical > Transport technology > Aerospace & aviation technology > General Books > Professional & Technical > Other technologies > Space science > General Books > History > European history > General Promotions
LSN:	1-68340-370-3
Barcode:	9781683403708

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