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Abstract

There are relatively few media products that can compete with Star Trek in terms of longevity and cultural saturation . First introduced to audiences in 1966, the franchise now encompasses more than fifty years, six television series, thirteen films, countless spin-off novels and ancillary books, multiple annual international fan conventions and an enduring place in the popular culture lexicon of the English language—a remarkable feat for a television show that almost never made it to the screen and, even when it did, was canceled for poor ratings after just three seasons . San Francisco served as both the site of the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers and the fictional headquarters and charter site of Star Trek’s United Federation of Planets and Starfleet Headquarters . During the 2016 AAG meeting, geographers continued to expand the Society’s exploration of the integration of popular culture and geographical understanding . Star Trek can and has been utilized in many instances as a reflection of broader geographical problems, concepts, and trends, but there are also geographical implications of Star Trek and the spatial and philosophical impacts of the franchise’s broad reach . This special issue originated from a panel session which delved into these geographical concerns; the papers contained here reflect the breadth of knowledge of the contributors . The authors not only have an intimate knowledge of Star Trek, but apply that knowledge to their expertise in historical, cultural, political, and environmental geographies and an even wider breadth of theoretical perspectives . T his special issue presents the possibilities of popular culture to be studied geographically and how popular culture, and Star Trek in particular, has itself had a significant impact upon geographical processes

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