Well, Plato and Sun Tzu have had stood the test of time for something like 24 centuries, why not two or three more?Mikey wrote:But why should there be any slightest intimation that a 23rd/24th century valuation of class or classicism is remotely similar to our own?
But more than that it seems to be institutionalized within Starfleet. There were references to required classical reading that are cannon, and, checking memory beta however much you consider that, the studies of ancient and/or classical materials shows strongly.
I'd expect some works of the sort that could make their way into a novels class would make their way into the "classics" syllabus after a sufficient length of time (as, Ian reminds us, it seems "Valley of the Dolls" managed).
In world, I also note that the time period from the twentieth century to First Contact is always considered to be a dark mark on at least human history. Some pontification to that effect is common to most if not all time travel episodes to that period, the Eugenics wars come up now and then, and Q enjoyed rubbing our noses in the nature of those times. So perhaps Starfleet avoids discussing those times the way Klingons avoid talking about their Augments.
Or perhaps for a large chunk of that time the cultural greats were all genetically modified, and their works are actively suppressed and devalued for that reason.
