We are inviting proposals for essays to be included in an edited collection, Star Trek and History, which will be published by Wiley & Sons in 2012 as part of its Pop Culture and History series. We're looking for essays that historicize the Star Trek television series and movies: examining individual characters or aspects of the series against a historical backdrop, analyzing how popular historical understandings inform the series, or discussing the use of historical contexts or events within Star Trek. The primary focus of the collection is on the characters and stories of the first Star Trek series (and its movies), but essays that discuss the use of history in the later Star Trek series (Next Generation, DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise) are also welcome.
The collection is aimed at a broader audience than is the case for many scholarly collections. We will ask authors to write essays that are engaging to read and which push readers to think about the ways that history is used in popular culture. Essays should avoid focusing on a close reading of one single episode, but instead should examine a particular theme across a number of episodes, movies, or even across several Star Trek series, analyzing how the use of history in the series has changed since the 1960s.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:- The Cold War in Star Trek
- Star Trek and the Vietnam War
- Race and gender in Star Trek, discussed against the backdrop of the period when the series was first made (and how the depiction of race, gender, and sexuality developed over the various series and movies)
- Star Trek's depictions of earlier historical periods (e.g., the American Old West, Nazi Germany, etc.)
- How is history imagined, researched, and taught in the Star Trek universe?
- Making sure that history comes out "right": the repeated attempts of characters to safeguard, or intervene in, the "right" timeline
- Star Trek's understanding of the history of science and technology
- The UFP vs. the United Nations: Star Trek's understanding of governance and legal systems
Wiley & Sons will pay contributors an honorarium of $400.
Please email a 500-word proposal, a one-page c.v., and contact information to Nancy Reagin at nreagin@pace.edu by Oct. 1, 2010.
Notification of accepted proposals will be made by Oct. 15, 2010. Chapter drafts of approximately 5,000 words will be due by June 1, 2011.
Contact Information:
Email inquiries are preferred, especially over the summer.
Nancy Reagin, Ph.D.
Professor of History and Women's & Gender Studies
Pace University
New York, NY 10038
(212) 346-1723
nreagin@pace.edu