Asian studies professor speaks on Hindu themes in the galaxy far, far away
Jeffery Long, Elizabethtown College professor of religion and Asian studies, will present a lecture on Hindu influences on the “Star Wars” universe. The professor will discuss the religious and philosophical themes of George Lucas’ science fiction series on Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. Long, a three-time author (and counting!), plans to speak at Elizabethtown College’s High Library, by the fireplace on level two.
Long is a life-long “Star Wars” fan and a converted Hindu practitioner. He feels the former interest opened his eyes to the latter. The mythos and messages of the space opera movies are based on religious traditions from our own planet. In particular, the “Star Wars” saga borrowed from scholar, Joseph Campbell’s theory of the monomyth. This is the idea that heroic stories are linked by similar characters and plot points, despite being written hundreds of years apart or thousands of miles away from each other. Beyond coincidence, there is something about this structure which is innate to human nature. Long believes “Star Wars” aided his journey to connect to a deeper spiritual reality during a difficult time in his life. Anyone interested in seeing some of those connections for themselves (or just taking part in some nerd talk) should stop by for Long’s anything-but-stuffy speech.
Long sums up his motivations for the coming speech, “Am I using pop culture to introduce people to Hindu concepts, or am I promoting ‘Star Wars’ by pointing out its universal spiritual relevance? I suppose I am doing both.”
The lecture is free and open to the public.