Dune Fanatics discussion

Hi, All!

I teach college freshman English (I just got my masters, and the school kept me as an adjunct), and this week my English 102 classes are reading Dune.

English 102 is "Rhetoric and Composition," so I thought Dune would fit perfectly for rhetorical analysis, especially since so many academics seem to disregard science fiction, or, at least, do not view it as serious literature. On the first day, my classes (I'm teaching two sections) had a very good discussion about science fiction as a genre and this issue with the canon.

The reactions from the students have been really interesting. One kid had read over 300 pages for Monday, and he only needed to read the first half of book one! Another girl told me she stayed up until 3am reading it because she could not put it down. :) A few students have complained about the book being too hard for them, but I told them to just keep reading. So far, they seem to be grasping the novel better.

I'm really excited that these kids are enjoying the book. None of them had heard of it at the beginning of the semester, but now several have told me how much they love the novel. One student, however, had read the entire Dune chronicles (Brian Herbert's stuff not withstanding) and said he was really excited to read the book for school.

I can't wait to see what they do with their writing assignments. They will have to write a short screenplay of one scene from the book and, in a short paper, explain their rhetorical choices. In two weeks, we're going to watch the movie (1984 version) together, and I'm interested to hear their reactions.

So far, this has been a very fun and rewarding experience! I am SO teaching this one again!!!

(Sorry this was so long - I'm so excited that I just had to gush somewhere.) :)

Congratulations! I wish I had this book assigned for my classes. I read The Hobbit, The Gunslinger and the His Dark Materials series for a class. but Dune is one of my Favorites of all time, quite philosophical. but my question is Why Watch the movie? and why the Lynch (1984) version?

*Kashi* wrote: "Congratulations! I wish I had this book assigned for my classes. I read The Hobbit, The Gunslinger and the His Dark Materials series for a class. but Dune is one of my Favorites of all time, quite..."

Thanks! We're watching the movie because the class focuses on rhetoric, which can manifest in visual and written texts. This way, they can compare the film to the novel and grasp how a story changes in different mediums and rhetorical situations. Also, their assignment is to write a screenplay, so they kind of need to see a visual interpretation of it.

We're watching the 1984 version because we just don't have time to watch the miniseries. Moreover, although I know most fans don't like the David Lynch version, I'm a fan. It's not perfect, but I think they did the best they could to squeeze a novel as dense and complex as Dune into about 2 hours.

I love Dune, too, which is one reason why I assigned it. Plus, I teach the 100 level classes, which are meant for every student who comes to the school, not English majors. As a result, most of the students I get major in science or business - rarely do I get a humanities student. So, I just thought they would like to read something different.

Thanks for the question!

My daughter is in the 12th grade. She was required to chose from a list of approved books for her thesis, and Dune (the original) was one of the choices (she didn't pick it, though).

@ Lara

Enjoy! So nice to teach with a novel that you are particularly keen on :)

Melissa wrote: "@ Lara

Enjoy! So nice to teach with a novel that you are particularly keen on :)"

Thanks! Oh, it is definitely more fun to teach this! We finished the novel today, and the kids all loved it. Several of them said they want to read the rest of the series now, which makes me excited.

I working on getting a degree in English now and want to teach literature at the college level. Dune is on my short list of books I want to use in my classes.