Star Trek: Essays Exploring the Final Frontier (Cinema and Culture)

After more than 55 years of transmedia storytelling, 'Star Trek' is a global phenomenon that has never been more successful than it is today. 'Star Trek' fandom is worldwide, time tested, and growing, and academic interest in the franchise, both inside and outside of the classroom, is high; at the moment, more 'Star Trek' works are underway or in development simultaneously than at any other moment in history.

Unlike works that focus on a limited number of stories/media in this franchise or only offer one expert's or discipline's insights, this accessible and multidisciplinary anthology includes analyses from a wide range of scholars and explores 'Star Trek' from its debut in 1966 to its current incarnations, considers its implications for and collaborations with fandom, and trace its ideas and meanings across series, media, and time. 'Star Trek: Essays Exploring the Final Frontier' will undoubtedly speak to academics in the field, students in the classroom, and informed lay readers and fans.

Amy H. Sturgis holds a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University and focuses on intellectual history, speculative fiction, and the Gothic. Sturgis, who teaches at Lenoir-Rhyne University and Signum University, has authored four books, edited/co-edited ten others, and published more than sixty essays, many on topics related to the intersection of science fiction and history. She has been interviewed as a genre expert by 'LIFE Magazine', The Huffington Post, and NPR's "Talk of the Nation," among other media outlets. Sturgis also contributes the "Looking Back on Genre History" segment to the Hugo Award-winning podcast 'StarShipSofa'.

Emily Strand, M.A. (Theology, University of Dayton, 2005) has taught religion at the collegiate level for more than 15 years. She has authored two books on Catholic sacraments and several academic essays on religious and literary themes in popular culture. Emily co-edits three forthcoming scholarly volumes and co-hosts the podcasts 'Potterversity' and 'Meet Father Rivers'. In 2021, she was a featured scholar of Christian Science Fiction in the Canadian documentary, 'The Science Fiction Makers'. She also writes about pastoral liturgy and popular culture at the blog LiturgyandLife.com and is a member of the Rebel Legion, a professional 'Star Wars' costuming association.