Rabitsch / Gabriel / Elmenreich Set Phasers to Teach!

Star Trek in Research and Teaching
1. Auflage 2018
ISBN: 978-3-319-73776-8
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 242 Seiten

For 50 years, Star Trek has been an inspiration to its fans around the world, helping them to dream of a better future. This inspiration has entered our culture and helped to shape much of the technology of the early 21st Century.The contributors to this volume are researchers and teachers in a wide variety of disciplines; from Astrophysics to Ethnology, from English and History to Medicine and Video Games, and from American Studies to the study of Collective Computing Systems. What the authors have in common is that some version of Star Trek has inspired them, not only in their dreams of what may be, but in the ways in which they work - and teach others to work - here in the real world.  Introduced with references to Star Trek films and television shows, and illustrated with original cartoons, each of the 15 chapters included in this volume provides insights into research and teaching in this range of academic fields.


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.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Rabitsch, Stefan

Gabriel, Martin

Elmenreich, Wilfried

Brown, John N. A.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Preface: “Engage!” Science Fiction and Science Inspire Each Other and Move Society Forward;7
2;“With A Wondrous Leap of the Imagination”: Star Trek as Beacon and Compass;9
2.1;Works Cited;12
3;Contents;13
4;“Where Many Books Have Gone Before”: Using Star Trek to Teach Literature;17
4.1;“Strange New Worlds”: The Value of Intertextual Understanding;19
4.2;“Ahab has to Hunt his Whale!”: Star Trek as a Tool to Teach Specific Texts;20
4.3;“No more metaphors, Bones. That’s an order”: Learning Literary Concepts and Techniques Through Star Trek;23
4.4;“Something Spock was trying to tell me on my birthday”: Literary Themes in Star Trek;25
4.5;“You’ll find it in all the literature of the period”: Literature as Pleasure;26
4.6;Works Cited;27
5;From ‘Shalom Aleichem’ to ‘Live Long and Prosper’: Engaging with Post-war American Jewish Identity via Star Trek: The Original Series;28
5.1;The Uses of Jewish Studies and Star Trek;30
5.2;A Transitional Moment for American Jews;32
5.3;Jewish Bodies, Jewish Characters?;33
5.4;Beyond Embodiment: Jewish Stories in Star Trek;37
5.5;Boldly Going Further: Towards Future Work On Star Trek and Jewish Studies;40
5.6;Works Cited;41
5.6.1;Recommended Reading;42
6;“Wagon Wheels, Sails, and Warp Cores”: Star Trek and American Culture: Between Allegory and Worldbuilding;43
6.1;Introduction – Recognizing the Known Unknown;45
6.2;What If? – The Workings of sf;47
6.3;Allegory – Westerns, Kennedy and the New Frontier of the 1960s;49
6.4;Worldbuilding – Pax Transatlantica, or the Best of Both Worlds;51
6.5;Conclusion – Continuing Voyages;53
6.6;Works Cited;54
6.6.1;Recommended Reading;55
7;How to Name a Starship: Starfleet between Anglo-American Bias and the Ideals of Humanism;56
7.1;Works Cited;63
8;The Computer of the Twenty-Third Century: Real-World HCI Based on Star Trek;64
8.1;“It’s interaction, Jim, but not interaction as we know it.”;66
8.2;“The helm is not responding, Captain. Permission to turn it off and on again?”;67
8.3;“I can nae get the power, Captain. She’s configuring her updates!”;67
8.4;“Siri, where are the nuclear vessels?” “I’m sorry, I do not understand: ‘Fear art. See new, clear weasels’.”;68
8.5;“Captain, I cannot raise the incoming craft. It is using an incompatible interface and an out of date codex.”;69
8.6;“Dammit Jim, I’m a doctor not a search engine!”;70
8.7;“Sir, the ensigns are refusing to wear red shirts and threatening to dox anyone who sends them on an away mission.”;70
8.8;“Scanning the planet’s surface for Snarks, Captain, but detecting only Boojums.”;71
8.9;An Upgrade from the Technicians of Cygnet-14;72
8.10;Boldly Going Where No One Has Gone Before, in Order to Make It Accessible to Everyone;73
8.11;References;74
9;The Energy System in Star Trek and Its Real-Life Counterparts;75
9.1;The Use, the Need, and the History of Energy;77
9.2;Energy in Star Trek;77
9.3;Energy Production and Consumption Through the Lens of Star Trek;80
9.4;Works Cited;81
10;“My People once lived in Caves”: Pre-­modern Societies in Star Trek;83
10.1;Introduction – “[O]n its way to rendezvous with history”;85
10.2;Pre-modern, Modern, Postmodern – Where Do Historians Draw the Line(s)?;86
10.3;Pre-modern Societies in Star Trek – “It was my first visit to a pre-warp culture”;88
10.4;Conclusion – “I don’t know who writes your history books”;91
10.5;Works Cited;92
11;“Ready To Beam Up”: Star Trek and its Interactions with Science, Research and Technology;94
11.1;Science, Research and Popular Culture;96
11.2;Star Trek as a Fictional Laboratory;97
11.3;Star Trek and the Public Communication of Science and Technology;97
11.4;Star Trek as Inspiration for Innovation and Technology;98
11.5;Positive Role-Models Provided by Star Trek;99
11.6;Making Friends: Star Trek and NASA;100
11.7;Conclusion;102
11.8;Works Cited;103
12;“Teaching with Trek”: Star Trek, the LGBTQ+ Community, and College Composition;105
12.1;Works Cited;114
13;“Resistance is Futile”: Using the Borg to Teach Collective Computing Systems;116
13.1;Introducing the Borg;118
13.2;The Borg, Their Traits, and Computer Science;119
13.2.1;Self-Aware Systems;119
13.2.2;Collectives;120
13.2.3;Benefits of the Borg and Collectives;121
13.3;Conclusion;122
13.4;Works Cited;123
14;Telepathic Pathology in Star Trek;125
14.1;Introduction;127
14.2;Mass Effects;128
14.3;Single Effects;129
14.4;Conclusions;130
14.5;Works Cited;132
15;Playing Captain Kirk: Designing a Video Game Based on Star Trek;133
15.1;Introduction;135
15.1.1;Why Is That?;135
15.1.2;What Would It Take to Get There?;136
15.2;Star Trek & Successful Games;136
15.3;Cornerstones of Good Games;138
15.3.1;Meaningful Choices;138
15.3.2;Immersion and Identification;138
15.3.3;Challenging Resource Management;139
15.3.4;Progression and Achievement;139
15.4;Pros and Cons for a Game Set in the Star Trek Universe;140
15.5;Boldly Going;141
15.6;A Proposal: Seeking Out New Life and New Civilizations;142
15.7;Conclusion;143
15.8;Works Cited;143
16;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
16.1;Introduction;146
16.2;Theory of Mind and Empathy;147
16.3;Look, a Mirror Mechanism;147
16.4;Star Trek + POP CULTURE = POWER/POLITICS;148
16.5;Star Trek and Empathy;149
16.6;Empathy, Metaphor, and Star Trek;151
16.7;An Emerging Lesson Plan, a Possible Assignment;152
16.8;Works Cited;153
17;La Forge’s VISOR and the Pictures in Our Heads: Understanding Media Studies Through Star Trek;155
17.1;Introduction;157
17.2;“A Fly on the Wall”;158
17.3;“What’s normal?”;160
17.4;“Special Insight”;162
17.5;Conclusion;164
17.6;Works Cited;165
17.6.1;Recommended Reading;166
18;“Logic is the beginning of wisdom … not the end”: Using Star Trek to Teach Scientific Thinking;167
18.1;Works Cited;177
19;Appendices;179
19.1;Appendix 1;179
19.2;Appendix 2;184
19.3;Appendix 3;185
19.4;Appendix 4;201
19.5;Appendix 5;215
19.6;Appendix 6;231
19.7;Appendix 7;239
19.8;Appendix 8;240