1st Edition
The Routledge Handbook of Star Trek
The Routledge Handbook of Star Trek offers a synoptic overview of Star Trek, its history, its influence, and the scholarly response to the franchise, as well as possibilities for further study. This volume aims to bridge the fields of science fiction and (trans)media studies, bringing together the many ways in which Star Trek franchising, fandom, storytelling, politics, history, and society have been represented. Seeking to propel further scholarly engagement, this Handbook offers new critical insights into the vast range of Star Trek texts, narrative strategies, audience responses, and theoretical themes and issues. This compilation includes both established and emerging scholars to foster a spirit of communal, trans-generational growth in the field and to present diversity to a traditional realm of science fiction studies.
Introduction: Open Hailing Frequencies
Part I
Television Series
1 Star Trek: The Original Series
Ina Rae Hark
2 Star Trek: The Animated Series
John Andreas Fuchs
3 Star Trek: The Next Generation
Bowdoin van Riper
4 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Lisa Alexander
5 Star Trek: Voyager
Leimar Garcia-Siino
6 Star Trek: Enterprise
Zaki Hasan
7 Star Trek: Discovery
Sabrina Mittermeier
8 Star Trek: Picard
Justice Hagan
9 Star Trek: Lower Decks
Ramón Valle-Jiménez
Part II
Movies
10 Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Kevin Decker
11 Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan
Stefan Rabitsch
12 Star Trek III: Search for Spock
Janet L. McMullen
13 Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Una McCormack
14 Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Agnieszka Urbańczyk
15 Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Torsten Kathke
16 Star Trek Generations
Murray Leeder
17 Star Trek: First Contact
Ina Batzke
18 Star Trek: Insurrection
Igor Carastan
19 Star Trek: Nemesis
Katherine Bishop and Stefan Rabitsch
20 Star Trek
William Proctor
21 Star Trek Into Darkness
Nathan Jones
22 Star Trek Beyond
Peter Goggin
Part III
Transmedia and Franchising
23 Star Trek as Transmedia Storyworld
Dawn Stobbart
24 Star Trek as Franchise
Derek Johnson
25 Novels
Sean Guynes and Gerry Canavan
26 Comics
Gerry Canavan
27 Reference Works and Guides
Ria Narai
28 Games
Stefan Hall
29 Music
Veronika Keller
30 Merchandise
Victoria Godwin
Part IV
Fandom and Paratexts
31 Fandom History
Karen Hellekson
32 Star Trek Fandom around the World
Larisa Mikhaylova
33 Fan Fiction
Katie Heffner
34 Fanvids
Charlotte Stevens
35 Fan Tourism and Conventions
Lincoln Geraghty
36 Fandom and Intellectual Property Rights
Rebecca Tushnet
37 Documentaries
Allison Whitney
38 Parody and Homage
Michael G. Robinson
39 Pornography
Michael Fuchs
40 Star Trek in the Classroom
Elizabeth Baird Hardy
Part V
Social Themes
41 History and Historiography
Martin Gabriel
42 Sex and Romance
Carey Milsap-Spears
43 Environment and Ecology
Ali Sperling
44 War and Conflict
Mareike Spychala
45 Colonialism and Imperialism
E. Leigh McKagen
46 Religion and Spirituality
Douglas Cowan
47 Science and Technology
Amy Chambers and R. Lyle Skains
48 Medicine and Care
Jason T. Eberl
49 Language and Communication
Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay
Part VI
Social History
50 Race
Harvey Cormier
51 Gender
Danielle Girard
52 Queerness I: Representations of Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual People
Bruce Drushel
53 Queerness II: Transgender and Nonbinary Representation
Si Sophie Pages Whybrew
54 Disability
Olivia Riley
55 Age and Aging
Sylvia Spruck Wrigley
56 Nonhumanoid Alien Life
Will Tattersdill
57 Posthuman Life
Lisa Meinecke
58 Economic Systems
Jonathan Thornton
59 Ethics
Adam Kotsko
60 Utopia
Simon Spiegel
Biography
Leimar Garcia- Siino is an independent scholar. She is the media reviews editor of the SFRA Review and has recently co-edited the special issue Global Utopian Film and TV in the Age of Dystopia for SFFTV with Sean Guynes.
Sabrina Mittermeier is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer in British and North American History at the University of Kassel, Germany. She is the author of A Cultural History of the Disneyland Theme Parks: Middle-Class Kingdoms (2021), the editor of Fan Phenomena: Disney (2023), and, with Mareike Spychala, of Fighting for the Future: Essays on Star Trek: Discovery (2020).
Stefan Rabitsch is an Associate Professor in American Studies with the Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages at the University of Oslo, Norway. A self-declared "Academic Trekkie," he is the author of Star Trek and the British Age of Sail (2019), co-editor of Set Phasers to Teach! Star Trek in Research and Teaching (2018), and co-editor of Fantastic Cities (2022).
"This book is essential. Capturing the whole of one of the largest franchises in popular culture is an almost impossible task and the editors have brought together exactly the right people to lay the foundation for an understanding of Star Trek. The Routledge Handbook of Star Trek is useful both to scholars finding their footing and scholars working on their newest project. But, also, it is an accessible text for fans of the franchise interested in exploring further."
Matthew Wilhelm Kapell, Editor of Star Trek as Myth and Author of Exploring the Next Frontier: Vietnam, NASA, Star Trek and Utopia in 1960s and 1970s Myth and History
"Finally, a Star Trek handbook that is as big—and big-hearted—as the franchise itself! Whether you’re interested in Star Trek as a transmedia phenomenon, cultural touchstone, or IP juggernaut, this anthology has you covered. With essays that are both thought-provoking and clearly written, this anthology is a must have for scholars and fans alike."
Lisa Yaszek, Regents Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech and editor of The Future is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women from The Pulp Era to Ursula K. Le Guin
"Science, society, and media would not be what they are today without Star Trek. This collection recognizes how television’s most inexhaustible franchise has exercised the imaginations of generations of storytellers and critics. Every entry in the Handbook questions Trek’s powerful symbolism while offering vital perspective on its legacy in the real world."
André Carrington, Associate Professor of English at the University of California, Riverside, and the author of Speculative Blackness: The Future of Race in Science Fiction
