Set Phasers to Teach! (eBook)

Stefan ‘Steve’ Rabitsch is fixed-term assistant professor in American Studies at the University of Graz and teaches courses in American cultural history at the University of Klagenfurt. A self-declared ‘Academic Trekkie’, he is going to publish his first monograph, Star Trek’s Secret British History, with McFarland in 2018. He is co-editor of Fantastic Cities: American Urban Spaces in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror (UP Mississippi, 2018). He is also a founding editorial board member of JAAAS: Journal of the Austrian Association of American Studies. In his endeavors he focuses on American Cultural Studies and Science Fiction Studies across media. Martin Gabriel studied history at the University of Klagenfurt (Austria). He has been a member of the department of history since 2008, and a lecturer in modern history since 2012. His publications and university teaching activities focus on the history of empires (primarily Austria-Hungary, Britain, Spain, and the US), colonial warfare, and social as well as cultural history in the period from c. 1600 to 1890.  Wilfried Elmenreich is professor of Smart Grids at the Institute of Networked and Embedded Systems at the Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt, Austria. He studied computer science at the Vienna University of Technology, where he received his doctoral degree in 2002 and his venia docendi in the field of computer engineering in 2008. He is editor and author of several books and published over 150 papers in the field of networked and embedded systems. Elmenreich is senate member of Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt, Senior Member of IEEE and counselor of the Klagenfurt’s IEEE student branch. His Erdös Number is 3. John N.A. Brown has published two previous books with Springer and has lectured around the world. He is an inventor, designer, and researcher specializing in Human Factors and the User Experience. His approach to Human-Computer Interaction is based on applying mindful and informed iteration to shape tools that suit human abilities and limitations. After all, we don’t have time to wait for the cross-generational processes of evolution and adaption that naturally make tool use both effective and comfortable. Dr. Brown calls this approach Anthropology-Based Computing.

Preface: “Engage!” Science Fiction and Science Inspire Each Other and Move Society Forward 7
“With A Wondrous Leap of the Imagination”: Star Trek as Beacon and Compass 9
Works Cited 12
Contents 13
“Where Many Books Have Gone Before”: Using Star Trek to Teach Literature 17
“Strange New Worlds”: The Value of Intertextual Understanding 19
“Ahab has to Hunt his Whale!”: Star Trek as a Tool to Teach Specific Texts 20
“No more metaphors, Bones. That’s an order”: Learning Literary Concepts and Techniques Through Star Trek 23
“Something Spock was trying to tell me on my birthday”: Literary Themes in Star Trek 25
“You’ll find it in all the literature of the period”: Literature as Pleasure 26
Works Cited 27
From ‘Shalom Aleichem’ to ‘Live Long and Prosper’: Engaging with Post-war American Jewish Identity via Star Trek: The Original Series 28
The Uses of Jewish Studies and Star Trek 30
A Transitional Moment for American Jews 32
Jewish Bodies, Jewish Characters? 33
Beyond Embodiment: Jewish Stories in Star Trek 37
Boldly Going Further: Towards Future Work On Star Trek and Jewish Studies 40
Works Cited 41
Recommended Reading 42
“Wagon Wheels, Sails, and Warp Cores”: Star Trek and American Culture: Between Allegory and Worldbuilding 43
Introduction – Recognizing the Known Unknown 45
What If? – The Workings of sf 47
Allegory – Westerns, Kennedy and the New Frontier of the 1960s 49
Worldbuilding – Pax Transatlantica, or the Best of Both Worlds 51
Conclusion – Continuing Voyages 53
Works Cited 54
Recommended Reading 55
How to Name a Starship: Starfleet between Anglo-American Bias and the Ideals of Humanism 56
Works Cited 63
The Computer of the Twenty-Third Century: Real-World HCI Based on Star Trek 64
“It’s interaction, Jim, but not interaction as we know it.” 66
“The helm is not responding, Captain. Permission to turn it off and on again?” 67
“I can nae get the power, Captain. She’s configuring her updates!” 67
“Siri, where are the nuclear vessels?” “I’m sorry, I do not understand: ‘Fear art. See new, clear weasels’.” 68
“Captain, I cannot raise the incoming craft. It is using an incompatible interface and an out of date codex.” 69
“Dammit Jim, I’m a doctor not a search engine!” 70
“Sir, the ensigns are refusing to wear red shirts and threatening to dox anyone who sends them on an away mission.” 70
“Scanning the planet’s surface for Snarks, Captain, but detecting only Boojums.” 71
An Upgrade from the Technicians of Cygnet-14 72
Boldly Going Where No One Has Gone Before, in Order to Make It Accessible to Everyone 73
References 74
The Energy System in Star Trek and Its Real-Life Counterparts 75
The Use, the Need, and the History of Energy 77
Energy in Star Trek 77
Energy Production and Consumption Through the Lens of Star Trek 80
Works Cited 81
“My People once lived in Caves”: Pre-­modern Societies in Star Trek 83
Introduction – “[O]n its way to rendezvous with history” 85
Pre-modern, Modern, Postmodern – Where Do Historians Draw the Line(s)? 86
Pre-modern Societies in Star Trek – “It was my first visit to a pre-warp culture” 88
Conclusion – “I don’t know who writes your history books” 91
Works Cited 92
“Ready To Beam Up”: Star Trek and its Interactions with Science, Research and Technology 94
Science, Research and Popular Culture 96
Star Trek as a Fictional Laboratory 97
Star Trek and the Public Communication of Science and Technology 97
Star Trek as Inspiration for Innovation and Technology 98
Positive Role-Models Provided by Star Trek 99
Making Friends: Star Trek and NASA 100
Conclusion 102
Works Cited 103
“Teaching with Trek”: Star Trek, the LGBTQ+ Community, and College Composition 105
Works Cited 114
“Resistance is Futile”: Using the Borg to Teach Collective Computing Systems 116
Introducing the Borg 118
The Borg, Their Traits, and Computer Science 119
Self-Aware Systems 119
Collectives 120
Benefits of the Borg and Collectives 121
Conclusion 122
Works Cited 123
Telepathic Pathology in Star Trek 125
Introduction 127
Mass Effects 128
Single Effects 129
Conclusions 130
Works Cited 132
Playing Captain Kirk: Designing a Video Game Based on Star Trek 133
Introduction 135
Why Is That? 135
What Would It Take to Get There? 136
Star Trek & Successful Games
Cornerstones of Good Games 138
Meaningful Choices 138
Immersion and Identification 138
Challenging Resource Management 139
Progression and Achievement 139
Pros and Cons for a Game Set in the Star Trek Universe 140
Boldly Going 141
A Proposal: Seeking Out New Life and New Civilizations 142
Conclusion 143
Works Cited 143
To Seek Out New Forms of Knowledge: Viewing Star Trek as an Introduction to Cognitive Science and Ways of Thinking About Narrative, Theory of Mind, and Difference 144
Introduction 146
Theory of Mind and Empathy 147
Look, a Mirror Mechanism 147
Star Trek + POP CULTURE = POWER/POLITICS 148
Star Trek and Empathy 149
Empathy, Metaphor, and Star Trek 151
An Emerging Lesson Plan, a Possible Assignment 152
Works Cited 153
La Forge’s VISOR and the Pictures in Our Heads: Understanding Media Studies Through Star Trek 155
Introduction 157
“A Fly on the Wall” 158
“What’s normal?” 160
“Special Insight” 162
Conclusion 164
Works Cited 165
Recommended Reading 166
“Logic is the beginning of wisdom … not the end”: Using Star Trek to Teach Scientific Thinking 167
Works Cited 177
Appendices 179
Appendix 1 179
Appendix 2 184
Appendix 3 185
Appendix 4 201
Appendix 5 215
Appendix 6 231
Appendix 7 239
Appendix 8 240