MnPALS Spring Gathering 2025, Friday April 11
UAP Studies: The (re)Emergence of Academic Interest in a Once-Taboo Subject - Pete McDonnell, Systems & Circulation Librarian, A. C. Clark Library, Bemidji State University
In 2017, a groundbreaking front page New York Times article on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP, aka UFOs) catapulted the UFO topic back into the mainstream and popular imagination, challenging longstanding taboos and skepticism. This shift, reinforced by subsequent governmental admissions, high-profile whistleblower hearings and recent legislative measures in Congress, has opened the door for academic engagement with the UAP phenomenon.
As the cultural stigma lessens, UAP Studies are being reconsidered in light of multi- and interdisciplinary perspectives, and library archival collections that house UAP materials are also opening their doors, offering unprecedented access to scholars and the public alike.
My talk will illuminate how the study of UAP has come out from the cultural “fringe”, and will pose such questions as:
- Should UAPs/UFOs be studied in academia? How are they currently being studied?
- Should the knowledge surrounding UAP be archived in libraries, and if so, how?
- Is the study of UAPs considered fringe/pseudoscientific? If so, why?
Come learn about the unique challenges of archiving, studying, and legitimizing such “spurned” knowledge in the academic space. Drawing from my professional and personal experience, I will briefly discuss the process of creating an online finding aid for UAP-related archives and materials. We'll also briefly examine how emerging fields like UAP Studies may potentially impact knowledge creation in academia and expose institutional bias.