Star Trek and the British Age of Sail: The Maritime Influence Throughout the Series and Films - Paperback

by Stefan Rabitsch (Author)

Clear all moorings, one-half impulse power and set course for a mare incognitum...

A popular culture artifact of the New Frontier/Space Race era, Star Trek is often mistakenly viewed as a Space Western. However, the Western format is not what governs the worldbuilding of Star Trek, which was, after all, also pitched as "Hornblower in space." Star Trek is modeled on the world of the "British Golden Age of Sail" as it is commonly found in the genre of sea fiction. This book re-historicizes and remaps the origins of the franchise and subsequently the entirety of its fictional world--the Star Trek continuum--on an as yet uncharted transatlantic bearing.

Front Jacket

Clear all moorings, one-half impulse power and set course for a mare incognitum...

A popular culture artifact of the New Frontier/Space Race era, Star Trek is often mistakenly viewed as a Space Western. However, the Western format is not what governs the worldbuilding of Star Trek, which was, after all, also pitched as "Hornblower in space." Star Trek is modeled on the world of the "British Golden Age of Sail" as it is commonly found in the genre of sea fiction. This book re-historicizes and remaps the origins of the franchise and subsequently the entirety of its fictional world--the Star Trek continuum--on an as yet uncharted transatlantic bearing.

Author Biography

Stefan Rabitsch is an assistant professor of American Studies at the University of Graz and also teaches at the University of Klagenfurt. His research and teaching are predominantly in American cultural history, together with a focus on science fiction studies across media. He lives in Graz, Austria.