[Commlist] Call for book chapters: The Final Frontier: Race, Ecology & Colonialism in Space Opera

Call for book chapters: The Final Frontier: Race, Ecology & Colonialism 
in Space Opera
Edited by Mikail Boz & Cenk Tan

Space opera, with its metanarratives of interstellar conflict, 
exploration, and empire, has long been a vehicle for both reflecting and 
interrogating the social and political concerns of its time. From the 
optimistic multiculturalism of Star Trek to the neo-feudal dystopias of 
Dune, the subgenre grapples with fundamental questions of power, 
identity, and resistance. Yet, despite its popularity and cultural 
influence, space opera remains an under-examined field for critical 
discourse on Race, Ecology, and colonialism.
This edited volume, The Final Frontier: Race, Ecology & Colonialism in 
Space Opera, seeks to bridge that gap by offering a sustained scholarly 
interrogation of how these themes manifest in space opera film and 
television. How do these metanarratives reproduce, challenge, or subvert 
real-world hierarchies? What do they reveal about the enduring legacies 
of imperialism, the anthropocene, and racial capitalism—even in imagined 
futures? By bringing together critical race theory, ecocriticism, and 
postcolonial perspectives, this collection will illuminate the ways in 
which space opera both reinforces and resists dominant ideologies.

We invite contributions that engage deeply with the subgenre’s political 
and cultural dimensions, including:
•    Race & Representation: How do Star Trek: The Original Series, 
Foundation, Babylon 5, and Andor negotiate racial politics in ostensibly 
post-racial futures? Whose stories are centered, and whose are marginalized?
•    Environment & Ecocriticism: How do Star Trek: Discovery, The 
Expanse, Voyager, and The Orville represent ecological crisis, 
environmental ethics, and humanity’s relationship with nonhuman worlds? 
Where do these narratives succeed—or fail—in challenging 
anthropocentrism and envisioning sustainable futures?
•    (Post)Colonialism & Empire: What do Battlestar Galactica, Star 
Trek: The Next Generation, Picard, and Stargate Universe reveal about 
the persistence of colonial logics, even in interstellar settings? How 
do they depict resistance, rebellion, and decolonization?
•    Cinematic Space Opera: How do films like Star Wars, The Fifth 
Element, Jupiter Ascending, and Dune engage with these themes in a 
condensed, visually driven format? What unique possibilities (or 
limitations) does cinema present for critiquing power structures?
Submission Guidelines:
Abstracts (250–300 words) and a brief author bio (150 words) should be 
sent to (spaceoperabook /at/ gmail.com) by January 1, 2026. Selected 
contributors will be invited to submit full chapters (6,000 words) by 
April 30, 2026. Each chapter should strictly abide by the word limit of 
6000, including the abstract, the endnotes, and the works cited. 
Endnotes should be preferred over footnotes. The body of the work should 
be organized under section titles where appropriate (such as 
Introduction, Theoretical Background, Case Study, Conclusion, and the 
like). The chapters are required to follow the MLA 9th edition formatting.
Only contributors who hold PhD degrees and have institutional 
affiliations will be considered.
The book is under consideration by a major international publisher, 
which will be announced at a later date.
Contact Email: (spaceoperabook /at/ gmail.com)

Schedule
Deadline for abstract submission:     January 15, 2026
Notification of Acceptance:         January 30, 2026
Deadline for chapter submission:     April 30, 2026
Anticipated publication date:            Summer 2026

We seek theoretically rigorous essays that move beyond textual analysis 
to engage with critical race theory, ecocriticism, and postcolonial 
frameworks. The chapters, hence the works to be scrutinized, have been 
determined and outlined. Prospective contributors are expected to make a 
selection from the outline, but they are also welcome to propose works 
not listed, should they fall within the scope of the volume. 
Contributors are, then, expected to send an abstract of at 250-300 words 
and a short biographical note of 150 words (written in the 3rd person) 
by the submission deadline.

Outline:
Preface
Introductory Chapter
Race, Ecology, and Colonial Critique in Space Opera Film and Media
Mikail Boz & Cenk Tan
Part I – Race Theory and the Canon: Empire, Ideology, and the 
Architecture of Power
1.    Star Trek: The Original Series (1966–1969)
Colonial logic, Cold War liberalism, and race relations in the original 
utopia.
2.    Babylon 5 (1993–1998)
Multilateralism, diplomacy, and imperial memory in post-Cold War space 
opera.
3.    Foundation (2021–2025)
Recasting empire and identity through adaptation, digital spectacle, and 
post-racial aesthetics.
4.    Andor (2022–2025)
Rebellion and occupation in Star Wars: insurgency, surveillance, and 
racialized resistance.
Part II – Environment and Ecocriticism: Ecology, Crisis, and Sustainability
5.    Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001)
Ecological frontiers, survival, and environmental ethics in uncharted space.
6.    The Expanse (2015–2022)
Resource extraction, planetary degradation, and the politics of the 
Anthropocene.
7.    The Orville (2017–2022)
Environmental satire, post-scarcity utopias, and ecological imagination.
8.    Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2024)
Climate allegory, multispecies futures, and the challenge to 
anthropocentrism.
Part III – (Post)Colonial Studies: Empire, Resistance, and Legacy
9.    Battlestar Galactica (1978–1979; 2004–2009)
Genocide, hybridity, and theological colonialism.
10.    Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994)
Post-racial mythologies and the continuity of colonial power.
11.    Stargate Universe (2009–2011)
Reluctant colonizers: exploration and exploitation across wormholes.
12.    Star Trek: Picard (2020–2023)
Refugees, synthetic life, and the collapse of Federation idealism.
Part IV – Cinematic Empires: Environment and Empire in Space Opera Film
13.    Star Wars Films (1977–present)
 From Jedi mysticism to planetary stewardship: continuity and change 
across trilogies.
14.    The Fifth Element (1997)
Orientalism, ecological crisis, and cosmopolitan fantasy.
15.    Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Genomics, resource exploitation, and neoliberal aristocracies.
16.    Dune: Part I & II (2021–2024)
Whiteness, prophecy, extractive futures, and ecological crises in desert 
colonialism.
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