YouTube clip of Machinic Unconscious podcast about Dune: A Critical Companion

Interview on Machinic Unconscious Happy Hour Podcast

Criticism

I had a great discussion with Cooper and Taylor on the Machinic Unconscious Happy Hour podcast. We covered all sorts of topics relating to Dune, from how my books came to be, our favorite books in the Dune series, and some deeper theoretical perspectives based on our academic backgrounds. And of course we had to talk about the recent film adaptations. I’ve got new angles to think about in future Dune scholarship, and hopefully listeners find something interesting to pick up on as well. Check out the episode “Kara Kennedy – Dune: A Critical Companion” on YouTube, Spotify, Soundcloud, or

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Teens and Dune

Community

A good proportion of teens seem interested in learning more about Frank Herbert’s Dune, especially younger ones in the prime demographic for encountering this science fiction classic. Oh, to be discovering and reading Dune for the first time – that experience certainly shaped my life! Following on from my recent presentations on the novel Dune to several junior high/high school classes (thanks to those who responded to my post about what to cover :), I wanted to report back on what teens had questions about and what piqued their attention the most. There were some basic questions like how long

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teen students wearing uniforms in library (generated by Firefly)

What do teens want to know about Dune

Community

I’ve been invited to give some talks on Dune to students at a local junior high and high school, so this has me wondering: what do teens want to know about Dune? I’ve done plenty of talks on this subject, but typically my audience is adults, usually at university, so I want to make sure I’m pitching my presentation at the right level. I don’t want to talk down to them, but I also want to be accessible and get them interested in reading this epic science fiction text if they haven’t already. This is a pivotal time in their

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Variety article on Dune: Part Two Middle Eastern and North African influences

Commentary in Variety article on Middle Eastern and North African Influences in Dune: Part Two

Criticism

Sharareh Drury in ‘Dune 2’ Criticized for Lack of Middle Eastern and North African Inclusion and Influences: ‘A Missed Opportunity’ addresses the Dune: Part Two film’s treatment of Middle Eastern and North African elements and Islamic culture, casting, and the missed opportunity to adapt Herbert’s novel Dune in a way that involved and represented marginalized communities. I appreciated the opportunity to provide background and commentary about the Fremen and their depiction in the source material. Great quote from writer Khaldoun Khelil in this article: “The problem for the movies [and] the director’s vision and his perspective is that he did

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Ryan Doherty's article for Inverse on Dune sequel adaptations

Commentary in Inverse article on Dune adaptations

Community

Rory Doherty in Should Denis Villeneuve Make More Dune Sequels? Dune Scholars Aren’t So Sure for Inverse interviewed me and others about potential future sequel adaptations of Dune. I find interesting that people are praising the films for supposedly changing ‘nothing characters’ into something, but also not minding the downplaying or erasure of others such as the Mentats and Guild. It’s also interesting how journalists continue to have a much broader definition of who qualifies as an expert or scholar and tend to draw from their own media pools. Academics may be harder to get a hold of but there is

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