At Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023, Star Warsologies presented the panel “Andor, the Empire, and a History of Resistance.” We talked about the why and how of rebellion and resistance in Star Wars, primarily focusing on the Andor series and bringing in real world history and politics. Unfortunately, the panel audio was accidentally not recorded, so we have the next best thing. We brought back our panelists to re-create the panel just for Star Warsologies. We covered many of the same points discussed in the panel, as well as recorded a few new thoughts, in light of more recent events, so even if you were at the panel, you’ll hear some new discussion. The YouTube version of the episode has the slides from the presentation, so check it out if you’d like!

Panel description:

Star Wars is full of conflict between good and evil, and the stories of the galaxy far, far away center on that fight against oppression. Using real world history of resistance and rebellions, we will examine the entire saga and the Andor series in particular to see how and why our heroes seek to stand against the Galactic Empire in their own ways. Join us in exploring the freedom fighters that helped topple the Empire.

Featuring panelists:

Chris Kempshall (author, The History and Politics of Star Wars: Death Stars and Democracy; co-author, Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy) – @chriskempshall on Twitter
Rebecca Harrison (author, BFI Classics: The Empire Strikes Back) – @BeccaEHarrison on Twitter
Oli Mould (human geography lecturer, University of London – @olimould on Twitter
Jake Rowlett (geography and film, PhD student, San Diego State University) – @jakerowlett on Twitter
Manuel Barcia (history of resistance, Chair of Global History, University of Leeds) – @mbarcia24 on Twitter – Unfortunately, Professor Barcia was unable to make our panel re-creation due to scheduling conflict.

Moderated by James Floyd, this panel examined the nature of dissent, resistance, and rebellions. We looked at individual character motivations, as well as key speeches given by characters. Finally we put the show into a larger context of our world. Thanks to everyone who came to the panel at the Fan Stage and especially those who asked such great questions and shared online how much they enjoyed the panel discussion!

In Star Warsologies, hosts James Floyd and Melissa Miller combine their love of Star Wars with their keen interest in all things academic by asking experts about how their field is represented in a galaxy far, far away. It’s a monthly podcast about science and other fields of knowledge and Star Wars!