Professor Ian Crawford edits book linking astrobiology and big history
The new book brings together the work of scholars exploring key themes across these new disciplines.
Ian Crawford, Professor of Planetary Science and Astrobiology in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, has edited a new book: Expanding Worldviews: Astrobiology, Big History and Cosmic perspectives. The book brings together 18 papers presented at two meetings that Ian organised a year apart on opposite sides of the planet: the first meeting was at the Humanities Research Centre at the Australian National University, where Ian held a Visiting Research Fellowship in 2018, and the second meeting was held at Birkbeck in 2019.
Professor Crawford explains: 'Astrobiology and Big History are both relatively new academic disciplines. Astrobiology is concerned with the evolution and prevalence of life in a cosmic context, while Big History aims to integrate human history into the deeper evolutionary history of the universe. The conferences on which this book is based were an attempt to explore the intellectual links between these topics, and the cosmic and evolutionary worldviews that they both engender.
It's great to see this volume of papers published, which I hope will be of interest to a wide range of scholars and, in a small way, help bridge the gap between the sciences and humanities.'
Professor Crawford teaches on the BSc Planetary Science with Astronomy and has worked throughout his career to mentor early career planetary scientists and to promote public engagement in this field of science.
Further Information
Expanding Worldviews: Astrobiology, Big History and Cosmic Perspectives (Springer)
Find out what it's like to study in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences