Students will examine Star Trek from a historical aspect and connect how the series' served as an inspiration for developing today's technology, diversity, and tolerance. 

The Original Series
* A look at the American culture, stereotypes, and grassroot movements of 1950s and 1960s as reflected in the diversity of the crew.

* World War II as related to cast background (Japanese interment camps; German concentration camps; combat; Hiroshima)
* Civil Right Movement (Brown v. Board of Education; Montgomery Bus Boycott; interracial relationships) 
* Cold War (definition; dominion effect; Vietnam War in relation to the 1960s draft and Tet Offensive; combat)
* Second Wave of Feminism (National Women's Organization; perceptions of masculine and feminine at time)

Star Trek Technology: Inspiration to Invention
* Peek into the movies and television shows to see the inspiration for many of today's most commonly used devices.

* Innovations (computers; communications; entertainment devices)
* NASA (exploration; inventions and ideas from the show; LIGO Observatory) 
* Theoretical Physics and Inventions (Einstein; warp drive; matter-antimatter; tractor beams; artificial intelligence; replicators; cloaking devices; other)
* Medical Advancements (noninvasive surgeries; tricorders; cybernetics)
 

Hidden Messages and Allegorical Meanings
* An examination of selected episodes and the cultural context for which they were written for themes and allegorical tales including but not limited to:
 
* “Chain of Command Parts 1 & 2” (1992), The Next Generation (Iraq-Iran War; The Gulf War)
* “Terra Prime” / “Demons” (2005), Enterprise (xenophobia; 9/11; Second Gulf War; Abu Ghraib scandal) 
* “Duet” (1993), Deep Space Nine (Israeli–Palestinian conflict)
* “Workforce Part 1 & 2” (2001), Voyager (negative working conditions; modern-day slavery and human trafficking) 
* “The Burn” (2020), Discovery (climate change)
* “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” (1969), The Original Series (tensions leading up to Martin Luther King's assassination and the Holy Week Uprising riots in its aftermath)
* "Absolute Candor” (2020), Picard (displacement; refugee situations and conditions; second-class citizenship)

Please note that a portion of the class will be spent reviewing the following information as influential events as they relate to Star Trek: World War II as related to cast background; Civil Right Movement; Cold War; Second Wave of Feminism. For complete description, please refer to the Learning Goals. 


Episode References:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060028/episodes/

General Websites: 
biography.com; britannica.com; forgottentrek.com; history.com

- 15 Star Trek Gadgets That Exist In Real Life. https://screenrant.com/star-trek-real-life-gadgets/

- How Martin Luther King Jr. convinced ‘Star Trek’s’ Lt. Uhura to stay on the show. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2015/07/31/how-martin-luther-king-jr-convinced-star-treks-uhura-to-stay-on-the-show/

- How the Original ‘Star Trek’ Addressed the War in Vietnam. https://www.history.com/news/star-trek-series-episodes-vietnam-war

- Masculinity, Gender Roles, and T.V. Shows from the 1950s. https://the-artifice.com/masculinity-gender-roles-tv-1950s/


Books:

- Black, White, and in Color: Television and Black Civil Rights by Sasha Torres (Princeton University Press, 2003) 

- Physics of Star Trek by Lawrence M. Krauss (Basic Books, 1995)