Matthew Hersch

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Lecturer, Science, Technology and Society
Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania
J.D. New York University School of Law
S.B. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Contact Information
Office Address: 
335 Claudia Cohen Hall
Email Address: 
mhersch@sas.upenn.edu
Office Hours: 
Mon. 1:30-3:30pm and by appt.
Teaching Fields: 

History of science; history of technology; military history; history of computing and information.  Recent Courses:

  • Science, Technology and Warfare
  • The Information Age
  • Technology and Society
  • Cyberculture
  • The Emergence of Modern Science
Research Interests: 

History of spaceflight; science, technology, and popular culture

Selected Publications: 

"The Semiotics of Spaceflight on the Satellite of Love," in In the Peanut Gallery with Mystery Science Theater 3000: Essays on Film, Fandom, Technology and the Culture of Riffing, by Rob Weiner and Shelley Barba, Editors (Jefferson: McFarland, 2011).

"Return of the Lost Spaceman: America's Astronauts in Popular Culture, 1959-2006," The Journal of Popular Culture 44 (2011): 73-92.

"High Fashion: The Women's Undergarment Industry and the Foundations of American Spaceflight," Fashion Theory 13 (2009): 345-70.

"Checklist: The Secret Life of Apollo’s 'Fourth Crewmember,' " in Space Travel and Culture: From Apollo to Space Tourism, by Martin Parker and David Bell, Editors, Sociological Review (Monograph) 57 (2009): 6-24.

" 'Calm, But Still Alert': Marketing Stelazine to Disturbed America, 1958–1980," Pharmacy in History 51 (2009): 140–48.

"Apollo's Stepchildren: New Works on the American Lunar Program," Technology and Culture 49 (2008): 449–55.

Book Images: 
[In the Peanut Gallery]
[image of book cover]