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Science fiction takes up a special place in art and media. It has the ability to critizise society but it also shows the ideas of the culture it was created in. This book takes the iconic series of Star Trek The Original Series and The Next Generation and puts it in a historical perspective. In particular it looks at how they deal with race, gender and aliens in perspective of their own time and culture of the 1960s and the 1980s. This book therefore looks at both science fiction and Star Trek in particular, but also at American culture of the 1960s and the 1980s. It uses the comparative method to reach a conclusion about the series within their time frame. With a fresh look at the series the book is both interesting for fans and lovers of Star Trek as it is for people with an interest in media culture and american culture of the 1960s and the 1980s.

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M.A. Studied Comparative History at Utrecht University. Now works in education.

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