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Desert Enlightenment: Prophets and Prophecy in American Science Fiction

Hagan, Justice M.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1366729757

Abstract Details

2013, Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, English.
In the narratives of Dune, The Rise of Apocalypse, and Star Wars, the desert plays a pivotal role in the development of the central characters. As prophets or heralds of their respective sources, Paul Muad’Dib, En Sabah Nur, and Anakin and Luke Skywalker enter the desert – either directly after their births or early in their formative years – and emerge as changed figures. Various elements and manifestations of the desert, such as the sandworms and the spice in Dune, affect each of these figures in unique ways. While the desert does have appreciable artistic value as an environment, the argument that its value is limited to that quality is flawed, especially as it is viewed by some of the characters in these stories as a too-harsh world. That unforgiving nature is central to the development of the prophets, as it forces them into a barrenness from which enlightenment originates.
Andrew Slade, Ph.D (Committee Chair)
Albino Carrillo, M.F.A (Committee Member)
James Boehnlein, Ph.D (Committee Member)
54 p.
American Literature; Film Studies; Literature; Religious History; Spirituality
Desert; Dune; Apocalypse; Star Wars; Prophet; Prophecy

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hagan, J. M. (2013). Desert Enlightenment: Prophets and Prophecy in American Science Fiction [Master's thesis, University of Dayton]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1366729757

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hagan, Justice. Desert Enlightenment: Prophets and Prophecy in American Science Fiction. 2013. University of Dayton, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1366729757.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hagan, Justice. "Desert Enlightenment: Prophets and Prophecy in American Science Fiction." Master's thesis, University of Dayton, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1366729757

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

dayton1366729757
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© 2013, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Dayton and OhioLINK.