Are Scotty, Spock and the Starship Enterprise the new Classics?
Media Release, Monday 28 August 2006 A thesis which boldly goes where no thesis has gone before has won one of the University of Melbourne’s top academic prizes. The dissertation Broadcast Space: TV Culture, Myth and Star Trek by Dr Djoymi Baker, a scholar from the School of Art History, Cinema, Classics and Archaeology, is one of four theses selected for a University of Melbourne’s Chancellor’s Prize for Excellence in the PhD. The awards, granted in four areas – Humanities and Creative Arts; Social Sciences; Science and Engineering;and Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences – were chosen from more than 480 doctorates successfully completed in 2005. Dr Baker watched over 700 episodes – or more than 624 hours – of Star Trek and traveled to the United States to do archival research on TV programs from the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Her research investigated how Star Trek drew on ancient mythology – such as Homer’s Odyssey – in its characterisations and storylines, and how during its 40-year hi
