This book explores the modern history of teaching science through science fiction. In the 1950s, British scientist and novelist C. P. Snow argued that the growing divide between the “two cultures”, science and the humanities, was a major obstacle to solving global challenges. Despite his warnings, most education systems continued to keep scientific and literary subjects separate. Even so, many interdisciplinary educators worked to bridge this gap. They used science fiction stories, films and games to teach subjects across the natural and social sciences. Professors produced books such as Introductory Psychology Through Science Fiction and The Physics of Star Trek. Planetarium educators adapted Isaac Asimov’s “The Last Question” to teach astronomy. Museum teams displayed models of fictional spacecraft and even hosted Halo “deathmatches” to engage visitors through interactive gaming. These efforts sometimes drew criticism. Detractors accused educators of favouring entertainment over substance and lowering cultural standards. Yet these pioneering instructors opened new paths for interdisciplinary learning and reached students who were not well served by traditional approaches to education.

Jörg Matthias Determann is a Professor in the Department of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. He serves as Associate Editor of the Review of Middle East Studies and as Book Review Editor of the Journal of Arabian Studies. He holds a doctorate from the University of London and two master’s degrees from the University of Vienna. Determann is the author of five books, including Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Astronomy: A Modern History (Springer, 2023); Islam, Science Fiction and Extraterrestrial Life: The Culture of Astrobiology in the Muslim World (I.B. Tauris, 2021); and Space Science and the Arab World: Astronauts, Observatories and Nationalism in the Middle East (I.B. Tauris, 2018).