March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010
August 2010
September 2010 October 2010
November 2010
December 2010 January 2011 February 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 August 2011 September 2011 October 2011 November 2011 December 2011 January 2012 February 2012 March 2012 April 2012 May 2012 June 2012 July 2012 August 2012 September 2012 October 2012 November 2012 December 2012 January 2013 February 2013 March 2013 April 2013 May 2013 June 2013 July 2013 August 2013 September 2013 October 2013 November 2013 December 2013 January 2014 February 2014 March 2014 April 2014 May 2014 June 2014 July 2014 August 2014 September 2014 October 2014 November 2014 December 2014 January 2015 February 2015 March 2015 April 2015 May 2015 June 2015 July 2015 August 2015 September 2015 October 2015 November 2015 December 2015 January 2016 February 2016 March 2016 April 2016 May 2016 June 2016 July 2016 August 2016 September 2016 October 2016 November 2016 December 2016 January 2017 February 2017 March 2017 April 2017 May 2017 June 2017 July 2017 August 2017 September 2017 October 2017 November 2017 December 2017 January 2018 February 2018 March 2018 April 2018 May 2018 June 2018 July 2018 August 2018 September 2018 October 2018 November 2018 December 2018 January 2019 February 2019 March 2019 April 2019 May 2019 June 2019 July 2019 August 2019 September 2019 October 2019 November 2019 December 2019 January 2020 February 2020 March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 June 2020 July 2020 August 2020 September 2020 October 2020 November 2020 December 2020 January 2021 February 2021 March 2021 April 2021 May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021 November 2021 December 2021 January 2022 February 2022 March 2022 April 2022 May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 August 2022 September 2022 October 2022 November 2022 December 2022 January 2023 February 2023 March 2023 April 2023 May 2023 June 2023 July 2023 August 2023 September 2023 October 2023 November 2023 December 2023 January 2024 February 2024 March 2024 April 2024 May 2024 June 2024 July 2024 August 2024 September 2024 October 2024 November 2024
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
News Every Day |

From the Community | What can ‘Star Trek’ teach Stanford students?

If I had a defining characteristic, it is that I am utterly “a nerd from central casting.” Central to my nerdom is a lifelong love for “Star Trek.” The show’s stunning starships and ingenious technologies motivated my studies in mechanical engineering. By depicting an evolved egalitarian society facing the complexity of interstellar diplomacy, “Star Trek” also developed my appreciation for terrestrial international relations. I am proud to share my fandom with others who have inspired me: public officials like Pete Buttigieg, Cory Booker and Stacey Abrams, professors, friends and my family, who first introduced me to Gene Roddenberry’s universe. “Star Trek’s” progressive future filled with hope, curiosity and compassion continues to be visionary as it approaches its 60th anniversary.

So, it came as a pleasant surprise when I saw a Twitter post from Cirroc Lofton, a former “Star Trek” cast member, saying he would be visiting Stanford. But, this would not be any ordinary visit. Lofton would be a special guest lecturer for Stanford’s very own class on “Star Trek.” Led by education Professor Adam Banks and Grace Toléqué, a program officer from the Institute for Diversity in the Arts, CSRE 194DS9: “Alternative Futurisms and Radical Worldbuilding” would study the story of a “Star Trek” spin-off, “Deep Space Nine.”

For a university labeled as “Nerd Nation”, having a class on “Star Trek” is perhaps less jaw-dropping. After all, we have four on Taylor Swift alone! What was intriguing was that “Deep Space Nine” (DS9) has long occupied an outsider’s status in the fandom. Seen as “darker and grittier” and set on a stationary space station, DS9 offers a different flavor than the traditional “wagon train to the stars.” Following a widower Black captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) raising his son (Cirroc Lofton) at the galaxy’s edge, DS9 carved out a unique place in science fiction by depicting “Star Trek’s” utopian universe in many shades of gray.

Of course, this was a must-take class for my senior spring. Yet, I worried that I would be an outsider in a disparate intellectual space. I had never taken a class in comparative studies in race and ethnicity (CSRE), which has a reputation for hosting activism-inclined students. On the first day, I sat next to classmates involved in the pro-Palestinian encampment that presented Stanford’s administration with much difficulty last year. Having served as the only undergraduate member of the presidential search committee for Stanford’s Board of Trustees and represented the United States at the G7 and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summits, I embodied an institutionalist view on political change. I presumed that “Alternative Futurisms and Radical Worldbuilding” would be a vast departure from my other studies that quarter: a political science class on U.S. foreign interventions and a national security discussion group at the conservative-leaning Hoover Institution.

My concerns turned out to be unfounded — I loved the class. At every turn, in the traditions of “Star Trek’s” openness, I was treated with dignity and respect even when my views differed. In exploring the themes behind Trek and science-fiction, we learned about constructing compelling stories. While the class did study and critique with a racial and decolonial lens, I found learning about these perspectives — otherwise unencountered elsewhere in my studies — unexpectedly refreshing. Challenging me to examine a show I love in novel ways, we discussed how DS9 pushed the envelope of 1990s science fiction by dramatizing discrimination and the pursuit of agency for the marginalized. 

Whether through an eerily prescient portrayal of a 2024 San Francisco where homelessness had become ingrained in society, or a lighthearted plot where DS9’s alien employees unionize and strike against the station’s profit-obsessed bartender, we learned how science fiction holds a mirror to the present. Amid a world that is increasingly insecure, the class asked hard questions about the sacrifices required to uphold institutions and values. We debated whether characters made moral decisions in episodes that tested whether the greater good could trample the rights of individuals. We disagreed agreeably on whether “Star Trek’s” optimistic approach on resolving interstellar disputes could be applied to modern-day conflicts. And above all, guided by Lofton and the teaching team, we had a galaxy’s worth of fun together.

I believe the diversity “Alternative Futurisms and Radical Worldbuilding” brought to my understanding represents Stanford’s ethos of promoting “intellectual vitality.” By choosing a complex subject for scholarly inquiry that was accessible to fans and newcomers alike, the class brought people together from across Stanford’s academic traditions and disciplines — including a libertarian veteran and several medical school students. In this way, CSRE 194DS9 modeled good faith civil discourse in pursuit of shared intellectual exploration. In a university, country and world riven by polarization and division, that is no small accomplishment.

Through this class and spending eight long months on the presidential search, I grew to appreciate that Stanford’s greatest strength is our diversity. Stanford’s unique excellence across such a range of academic disciplines, medicine and athletics — all at home on a single campus — is the special sauce that makes our university the world’s best. The flexibility to traverse the universe of scholarly inquiry, from Hoover to CSRE, helps foster an interdisciplinary mindset in Stanford faculty and students to become instinctive innovators, collaborators and change-makers. As Stanford boldly goes forward to new frontiers under President Levin’s leadership, it is critical the university promotes the scholarly freedom for faculty and students to explore all kinds of strange new worlds. Stanford can continue to build upon its uniqueness in global higher education by emphasizing how all parts of the university — from engineering to the arts and untethered from some supposed market value — contribute to our collective excellence. Through classes like “Deep Space Nine, Alternative Futurisms and Radical Worldbuilding,” Stanford can aspire to the truth and beauty central to the Vulcan philosophy of “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.”

Senkai Hsia ’24 is a member of The Daily’s Vol. 265 Editorial Board and served as the undergraduate member of the 2023-24 Stanford presidential search committee.

The post From the Community | What can ‘Star Trek’ teach Stanford students? appeared first on The Stanford Daily.

Москва

Эксперт: новая автотрасса станет важнейшей частью транспортного каркаса ТиНАО

GREG GUTFELD: We may not get this country back on its feet tomorrow, but we're well on our way

I grew my business to 7 figures after leaving Meta and Google. Here's the coffee chat formula that helped.

Killer mom Susan Smith's parole bid inspires 360 correspondences—see how many favor her freedom

Hibernian Community Foundation’s Dedication To Helping The Less Fortunate

Ria.city






Read also

Signal No. 3 up in some Isabela, Aurora towns due to Severe Tropical Storm Nika

Russell Brand Charged With Driving Offenses Amid Assault Investigation (Report)

Veterans Day 2024: America's most patriotic cities

News, articles, comments, with a minute-by-minute update, now on Today24.pro

News Every Day

Killer mom Susan Smith's parole bid inspires 360 correspondences—see how many favor her freedom

Today24.pro — latest news 24/7. You can add your news instantly now — here


News Every Day

UK will urge Trump administration not to curb free trade, Reeves says



Sports today


Новости тенниса
Анастасия Потапова

Российская теннисистка Анастасия Потапова сообщила о разводе



Спорт в России и мире
Москва

Глава ФЛГР Вяльбе заявила, что в СССР на квадроберов смотрели бы косо



All sports news today





Sports in Russia today

Москва

"Спартак" разгромил "Акрон" с Дзюбой в составе


Новости России

Game News

Darktide already has hard mode, but will add 40 extra hard, randomized difficulty levels anyway


Russian.city


Архангельск

KEY CAPITAL: Спрос на ипотеку в регионах РФ упал на 53%


Губернаторы России
Шереметьево

Росавиация объявила об ограничении работы в аэропорту Шереметьево


Московский «Спартак» объявил об уходе спортивного директора Амарала

«Дыхание»: Про героев и людей

Современный литературный критик. Литературная критика произведений.

EVITA BEAUTY STORE - интернет-магазин косметики премиум-класса!


Продвижение Поэта. Пиар Поэта. Продвижение творчества поэта. Продвижение стихов. PR Поэта.

Игорь Бутман в Хабаровске дал старт V фестивалю эстрадно-джазовой музыки "Сфера-jazz"

«Подхожу и говорю: «Я люблю тебя». Александр Ревва в «Шоу Воли» на ТНТ рассказал о знакомстве с женой

«Было весело»: Тимати раскрыл неожиданную правду о вечеринках P. Diddy


Гауфф выиграла Итоговый турнир WTA - 2024

Российская теннисистка Анастасия Потапова сообщила о разводе

Теннисистка Пегула снялась с итогового турнира WTA, ее заменит Касаткина

Медведев получил предупреждение за разбитую ракетку в матче с Фрицем на Итоговом турнире



Freedom Holding Corp. увеличил выручку на 33% и купил SilkNetCom

Современный литературный критик. Литературная критика произведений.

YANDI.ga: Революция в коммуникации и Продвижении Музыкантов с использованием WEB3

Профессор криминологии Кустов: банда «Черные вдовы» оставила мало следов


Композитор Александра Пахмутова отмечает 95-летие

Певица Светлана Савинова встретилась со школьниками из Подольска

Аэропорты Домодедово и Жуковский временно приостановили работу

Собянин сообщил о 17 сбитых на подлете к Москве БПЛА


Почему картофель в России за год подорожал на 60 процентов

Начала работу первая отечественная платформа детско-юношеского кино «КИНОСФЕРУМ.РФ»

В ДТП в Пензенской области погиб гражданин Узбекистана

Глава МИД Мавритании рассказал об участии РФ в укреплении безопасности в Африке



Путин в России и мире






Персональные новости Russian.city
Певица

Певица Светлана Савинова встретилась со школьниками из Подольска



News Every Day

GREG GUTFELD: We may not get this country back on its feet tomorrow, but we're well on our way




Friends of Today24

Музыкальные новости

Персональные новости