Office Hours: a. Monday through Friday. This Signature Seminar takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of Gothic art and architecture as a cultural phenomenon. In the over fifty years since it first aired, through syndication and the constant creation of new content, the show has become a cultural touchstone not just in the US, but throughout much of the rest of the world.
Since , the franchise has gone boldly into the geography of an imaginary frontier, exploring new worlds, contacting new civilizations, and expanding the reach of the United Federation of Planets. In this class we will examine Star Trek as a source of entertainment, but also as a reflection of our contemporary world, a world that was created by the Enlightenment, 19th century British imperialism and the expansion of the American Empire in the 20th century.
The geography of the Federation is the geography of planets, solar systems, and fictional political entities; empires, hegemonies, coalitions, republics and alliances, each of which reflects the geopolitics and political units of a world in which the United States was, and continues to be, a dominant power.
Over the course of the semester, we will use excerpts from all the TV shows and films, with readings from academic work on the importance of Star Trek as a cultural and political text to examine the political and social geography of the messages that are embedded in the text and subtext of the show. Whether deliberately, or through their own unconscious, and conscious, biases, the creators, writers, showrunners, and performers have used Star Trek to both support and subvert the cultural and political norms of the late 20th century and early 21st century.
In learning how to critically examine Star Trek, the class will not only gain a greater understanding of contemporary worlds society and politics, but also a greater understanding of how that world is influenced by the media that saturates our lives.
