MARC Record from Library of Congress

LEADER: 04568cam a2200433 i 4500
001 2014035083
003 DLC
005 20151223082505.0
008 150126s2015 mdu b 001 0 eng
010 $a 2014035083
020 $a9781421417165 (paperback)
020 $a1421417162 (paperback)
020 $z9781421417172 (electronic)
020 $z1421417170 (electronic)
040 $aDLC$beng$cDLC$erda$dDLC
042 $apcc
050 00 $aJZ1305$b.D98 2015
082 00 $a327$223
084 $aPOL011000$aPOL000000$aSOC022000$aPOL028000$2bisacsh
100 1 $aDyson, Stephen Benedict.
245 10 $aOtherworldly politics :$bthe international relations of Star trek, Game of thrones, and Battlestar Galactica /$cStephen Benedict Dyson.
264 1 $aBaltimore :$bJohns Hopkins University Press ,$c2015.
300 $ax, 163 pages ;$c23 cm
336 $atext$2rdacontent
337 $aunmediated$2rdamedia
338 $avolume$2rdacarrier
520 $a"To help students think critically about international relations and politics, Stephen Benedict Dyson examines the fictional but deeply political realities of three television shows: Star Trek, Game of Thrones, and Battlestar Galactica. Deeply familiar with the events, themes, characters, and plot lines of these popular shows, students can easily draw parallels from fictive worlds to contemporary international relations and political scenarios. In Dyson's experience, this engagement is frequently powerful enough to push classroom conversations out into the hallways and onto online discussion boards.In Otherworldly Politics, Dyson explains how these shows are plotted to offer alternative histories and future possibilities for humanity. Fascinated by politics and history, science fiction and fantasy screenwriters and showrunners suffuse their scripts with real-world ideas of empire, war, civilization, and culture, lending episodes a compelling intricacy and contemporary resonance. Dyson argues that science fiction and fantasy television creators share a fundamental kinship with great minds in international relations. Creators like Gene Roddenberry, George R. R. Martin, and Ronald D. Moore are world-builders of no lesser creativity, Dyson argues, than theorists such as Woodrow Wilson, Kenneth Waltz, and Alexander Wendt. Each of these thinkers imagines a realm, specifies the rules of its operation, and by so doing seeks to teach us something about ourselves and how we interact with one another. A vital spur to creative thinking for scholars and an accessible introduction for students, this book will also appeal to fans of these three influential shows"--$cProvided by publisher.
520 $a"To the extent that politics involves decision-making amidst an array of competing values, most of human interaction may be understood as political. For students of international relations and political science, it can be a daunting task to evaluate value propositions in debate and discussion of issues with equally compelling opposing sides. Fictions found in storybooks, on the stage, and on the silver screen, however, offer scenarios in which value propositions may be sorted out as low-stakes case studies. To help his students think critically about international relations and politics, Stephen Benedict Dyson has found that using the fictional realities of three different television and cable programs, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and Game of Thrones, so thoroughly engages his students in the classrooms that conversations frequently spill out into the hallways after class and onto Blackboard discussion groups. Students' strong grasp of these shows' events, themes, characters, and plot lines allow them to more easily understand the theory of international relations and politics and then translate that theory into contemporary political scenarios"--$cProvided by publisher.
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references (pages 147-158) and index.
650 0 $aInternational relations$xPhilosophy.
650 0 $aInternational relations on television.
650 0 $aStar trek television programs$xHistory and criticism.
630 00 $aGame of thrones (Television program)
650 0 $aBattlestar Galactica television programs$xHistory and criticism.
650 7 $aPOLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / General.$2bisacsh
650 7 $aPOLITICAL SCIENCE / General.$2bisacsh
650 7 $aSOCIAL SCIENCE / Popular Culture.$2bisacsh
650 7 $aPOLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / General.$2bisacsh
856 42 $3Cover image$u9781421417165.jpg