Vol. 64 No. 2 (2016)
Article

Epic World-Building: Names and Cultures in Dune

PDF
  • Kara Kennedy
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00277738.2016.1159450

Published 2016-04-02

Keywords

  • dystopia,
  • individualism,
  • speculative fiction,
  • anthroponyms,
  • literary onomastics,
  • Ayn Rand
    • ...More
    Less

Copyright (c) 2016 American Name Society

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Names play a significant role in the development of the characters and cultures of the imaginary worlds envisioned by science fiction and fantasy authors. Rather than creating new languages, as J. R. R. Tolkien does in The Lord of the Rings, Frank Herbert accomplishes his world-building in Dune by choosing existing names that evoke a recognizable medieval, feudal setting and depict a desert planet inhabited by a quasi-Arabic and Islamic tribal people. Although names serve to juxtapose the Fremen as an exotic Other with the Western Atreides family, they also gesture towards a possible re-envisioning of this polarized relationship.

PDF

References

  1. Amin, Samir, and Ali El Kenz. 2005. Europe and the Arab World: Patterns and Prospects for the New Relationship. London: Zed Books.
  2. Brockopp, Jonathan E. 2004. “Shari’a.” In Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, Vol. 2. Ed. Richard C. Martin, 618–619. New York, NY: Macmillan Reference USA.
  3. Carter, Lin. 1973. Imaginary Worlds: The Art of Fantasy. New York, NY: Ballantine Books.
  4. Csicsery-Ronay Jr, Istvan. 2008. The Seven Beauties of Science Fiction. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.
  5. Delany, Samuel L. 2005. “Science Fiction and ‘Literature’ — or, The Conscience of the King.” In Speculations on Speculation: Theories of Science Fiction. Ed. James Gunn and Matthew Candelaria, 95–118. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.
  6. Esposito, John L., ed. 2003. The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford University Press, <http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195125580.001.0001/acref-9780195125580> (Accessed December 10, 2015).
  7. Ghazālī, Abū Hāmid al-. 1995. The Ninety-Nine Beautiful Names of God. Trans. David B. Burrell and Nazih Daher. Cambridge: The Islamic Texts Society.
  8. Gleave, Robert. 2004. “Sayyid.” In Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, Vol. 2. Ed. Richard C. Martin, 611. New York, NY: Macmillan Reference USA.
  9. Gunn, James. 2009. “Reading Science Fiction as Science Fiction.” In Reading Science Fiction. Ed. James Gunn, Marleen S. Barr, and Matthew Candelaria, 159–167. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
  10. Hanks, Patrick, Kate Hardcastle, and Flavia Hodges. 2006. “Jessica.” In A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press, <http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198610601.001.0001/acref-9780198610601> (Accessed December 10, 2015).
  11. Herbert, Frank. 1984 [1965]. Dune. New York, NY: Berkley Books.
  12. Hermansen, Marcia. 2004. “Madhi.” In Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, Vol. 2. Ed. Richard C. Martin, 421. New York, NY: Macmillan Reference USA.
  13. Higgins, David M. 2013. “Psychic Decolonization in 1960s Science Fiction.” Science Fiction Studies 40(2): 228–245.
  14. Jaques, R. Kevin. 2004. “Ibn Khaldun.” In Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, Vol. 2. Ed. Richard C. Martin, 335–336. New York, NY: Macmillan Reference USA.
  15. Johnston, David L. 2004. “Ikhwan al-Muslimin.” In Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, Vol. 1. Ed. Richard C. Martin, 345–348. New York, NY: Macmillan Reference USA.
  16. Jones, Gwyneth. 2003. “The Icons of Science Fiction.” In The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction. Ed. Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn, 163–173. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  17. Keough, Leyla. 2010. “Bedouin.” In Encyclopedia of Africa. Ed. Henry Louis Gates Jr and Kwame Anthony Appiah. Oxford University Press, <http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195337709.001.0001/acref-9780195337709> (Accessed December 10, 2015).
  18. Knowles, Elizabeth, ed. 2005. Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press, <http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198609810.001.0001/acref-9780198609810> (Accessed December 10, 2015).
  19. Kueny, Kathryn. 2004. “Hajj.” In Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, Vol. 1. Ed. Richard C. Martin, 529–533. New York, NY: Macmillan Reference USA.
  20. Mandala, Susan. 2010. The Language in Science Fiction and Fantasy: The Question of Style. New York, NY: Continuum International Publishing Group.
  21. Maryks, Robert A. 2013. “Jesuits.” In Oxford Bibliographies in Renaissance and Reformation. Ed. Margaret King, <http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195399301/obo-9780195399301-0098.xml> (Accessed December 10, 2015).
  22. Miller, David. 1980. Frank Herbert. Mercer Island, WA: Starmont House.
  23. Morwood, James, ed. 2012. Pocket Oxford Latin Dictionary: Latin-English. Oxford University Press, <http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191739583.001.0001/acref-9780191739583> (Accessed December 10, 2015).
  24. Net Bible. 2006. “Yickah,” <http://classic.net.bible.org/strong.php?id=03252> (Accessed December 10, 2015).
  25. Netton, Ian Richard. 1992. A Popular Dictionary of Islam. London: Curzon Press.
  26. Ogilvie, Sheilagh. 2011. Institutions and European Trade: Merchant Guilds, 1000–1800. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  27. O’Reilly, Timothy. 1981. Frank Herbert. New York, NY: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co.
  28. Ower, John. 1974. “Idea and Imagery in Herbert’s Dune.” Extrapolation 15(2): 129–139.
  29. Pierce, John J. 1987. Foundations of Science Fiction: A Study in Imagination and Evolution. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
  30. Roberts, Adam. 2000. Science Fiction. New York, NY: Routledge.
  31. Roberts, Adam. 2006. The History of Science Fiction. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
  32. Roberts, John, ed. 2007. Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World. Oxford University Press, <http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780192801463.001.0001/acref-9780192801463> (Accessed December 10, 2015).
  33. Ryan, Marie-Laure. 2001. Narrative as Virtual Reality: Immersion and Interactivity in Literature and Electronic Media. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
  34. Said, Edward W. 1983. The World, the Text, and the Critic. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  35. Said, Edward W. 2003 [1978]. Orientalism. New York, NY: Vintage.
  36. Sheard, K. M. 2011. Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Names. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications.
  37. Stevenson, Angus, ed. 2010. Oxford Dictionary of English. Oxford University Press, <http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199571123.001.0001/acref-9780199571123> (Accessed December 10, 2015).
  38. Tolkien, J. R. R. 1975 [1964]. “On Fairy-Stories.” In Tree and Leaf, 11–79. London: Unwin Books.
  39. Touponce, William F. 1988. Frank Herbert. Boston, MA: Twayne Publishers.
  40. Wehr, Hans. 1979. A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic. 4th edn. Ed. J. Milton Cowan. Wiesbaden, Germany: Otto Harrassowitz.
  41. Wolf, Mark J. P. 2012. Building Imaginary Worlds: The Theory and History of Subcreation. New York, NY: Routledge.
  42. Zaki, Hoda M. 1994. “Orientalism in Science Fiction.” In Food for Our Grandmothers: Writings by Arab-American and Arab-Canadian Feminists. Ed. Joanna Kadi, 181–187. Boston, MA: South End Press.