Kevin J. Anderson
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Living with Frank Herbert's Legacy: 50 Years of DUNE
Bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson, and coauthor of 14 Dune novels with Frank Herbert’s son Brian Herbert, talks about his lifelong relationship with Dune and the works of Frank Herbert, working with Brian and Frank’s notes, and helping to continue building the readership for science fiction’s grand masterpiece. -
The Popcorn Theory of Success
Award-winning and bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson tells of his journey from small-town fanboy to #1 international bestselling author of Star Wars, Dune, X-Files, and many original novels. It is a road map of building big success out of numerous small ones, and always being ready to see an opportunity.
Dr. Daniel M. Fernandez
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Every Last Drop - Extracting Water from FogIn this talk, California State University, Monterey Bay professor Daniel Fernandez will describe an experimental network of fog water collecting devices (known as standard fog collectors) deployed along California's central and northern coastal region. These devices, which are used internationally to measure the quantity of water obtainable from fog, are a part of a National Science Foundation study to examine the role of fog in ecosystem processes and to study trace amounts of mercury compounds that it has been found to carry.
Presented on October 10, 2015
Dr. John Bock
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The Road to Arrakis: Dune and a Sustainable FutureDr. John Bock teaches Evolutionary Anthropology at California State University, Fullerton’s Division of Anthropology. In 1995, he earned his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico. Bock is Associate Editor of Evolution and Human Nature , the official journal of the Evolutionary Anthropology Society and the Human Behavior and Evolution Society. His major focus is on the interface of biology and culture, using a theoretical perspective grounded in a branch of evolutionary ecology called life history theory. He has conducted extensive research on issues in Botswana and New Mexico.
Presented on October 20, 2015
Natural Resource Managment Panel - October 23, 2015
General Education Pathways Panel - October 27, 2015
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Ecology of Scarcity: Conflicts in ‘Dune’ Mirror Conflicts over Climate Change - Dr. Carol ChaffeeAt its core, ecology is the study of the abundance and distribution of organisms. Conservation ecology is especially focused on the factors and processes that influence these two characteristics for species that are particularly rare. In many ways, Dune illustrates key issues that are important in conservation ecology, such as complex interactions between organisms, critical habitat, human impacts on critical habitats, and competition for scarce resources. The conflicts at the heart of Dune mirror many of the conflicts that climate change presents today. The conflicts on Arrakis over scarce resources and competing priorities can therefore serve as means for starting conversations about these issues in a way that discussion of issues here on Earth cannot.
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The Politics of Dune - Dr. Matthew JarvisWhen politics is imagined, commonly we get stories like House of Cards or The West Wing. In science fiction, we see palace intrigue in Battlestar Galactica or a utopian lack of politics in Star Trek. When there is politics, as in Dune, it makes life worse for most involved. In reality, politics is like Veep or Dave: people just go to work trying to do their part, and a political office is little different from any office.
Dr. Rosanne Welch
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You Can Please Some of the People Some of the Time… None of the People All of the Time: A History of the Art of Adaptation in Movies like Dune, The Godfather, Harry Potter and More!Dr. Rosanne Welch (RTVF) will speak on the craft of history of film adaptations from the controversy of the silent film Birth of a Nation (protested by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1915) to Breakfast at Tiffany's (to which author Truman Capote famously said, “The only thing left from the book is the title”) to The Godfather . Naturally, the behemoth in adaptation - Harry Potter (which depended on the relationship created by adapter Steve Kloves and author J.K. Rowling) will be discussed, as will the subject of this month’s celebration: Dune.
Dr. Jonathan Taylor
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The Spice Must Flow: The Short, Intense Trip of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT)In reference to the novel Dune and its depiction of the drug called "spice," the novel hallucinogenic compound DMT has been widely nicknamed "spice" by contemporary users. DMT is a component of psychoactive preparations employed historically for shamanic, spiritual, and medicinal purposes by numerous indigenous populations within the Americas. It is also a controlled substance in most countries, banned as a “drug of abuse." With its popularity on the rise in recent years, in this paper I examine how DMT moved out of the jungles of the Amazon to become increasingly well known in the West. DMT has undergone a variety of processes that have furthered its geographical diffusion, including synthesis and scientific research; its importance to the ayahuasca religions founded in Brazil; and its increasing popularization in contemporary culture through a variety of artistic mediums and movements.