This announcement is not directly related to the blog — but some of you may be interested.  My long-time colleague (of nearly 30 years!) Carl Ernst, one of the leading experts on Islam in North America, will be holding a remote webinar for my Department of Religious Studies, along with another expert (a PhD from our program) on how Islam influenced “Dune” — both the book (which I *loved* in college!) and the movie (which does look amazing).
It will be Saturday November 13.  Interested?  You don’t have to have read the book or seen the movie for the discussion to be extremely enlightening.  Here’s the info!
Webinar on Dune and Islam: How To Understand the Movie

 

Frank Herbert’s Dune is inspired by themes from the history of Islam that are both direct and subtle. Carl Ernst and Michael Muhammad Knight will discuss the new film and the book it is based on and explore how Islam is part of its foundation on November 13, 2021 on Zoom and YouTube Live.

Register here. The webinar is free. $10 suggested donation: https://go.unc.edu/PeckFundDonation

Carl Ernst is a leading scholar of Islamic Studies and Sufism and William R. Kenan, Jr., Distinguished Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at UNC Chapel Hill. Michael Muhammad Knight is Assistant Professor of Religion and Cultural Studies at the University of Central Florida and the author of several books, most recently Muhammad’s Body: Baraka Networks and the Prophetic Assemblage.

The live webinar is a fundraiser to benefit the Peck Fund for Teaching Excellence, which is devoted to supporting and recognizing teaching among graduate students in the Department of Religious Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill.