Profs and Pints Metro Baltimore

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “Dune and Messiahs,” on word of saviors in religion and science fiction, with Peter Herman, former lecturer in theology and religious studies at Marymount University and scholar of religious and social themes in sci fi.

[Doors open at 3. The talk starts at 4:30. The room is open seating. Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/baltimore-dune-messiahs ]

Dune: Part Three is scheduled for release in December, and trailers for the epic space opera film have fans of the Dune franchise longing for it like visitors to its desert planet Arrakis long for water. Based on the second volume of renowned science fiction novelist Frank Herbert's Dune saga, the movie depicts the internal and external conflicts of protagonist Paul Atreides, an emperor treated by others as a messiah while being depicted as an antihero.

The film will raise intriguing questions related to the presence of redeeming figures, or messiahs, throughout both science fiction and religious texts. Among them: What exactly do we mean by the term “messiah”? Why have many religious traditions looked for a redeemer to emerge? What happens if the messiah gets it all wrong?

Explore such questions—and prepare yourself to enjoy the upcoming Dune film at a much deeper level—with Dr. Peter Herman, who has given several excellent, thought-provoking Profs and Pints talks on the Dune franchise.

To center Dune in the discussion, we’ll look at the character of Paul Atriedes as a ruler who has launched a jihad across known space to reconquer it. His prescient visions show him that although the spread of religious war is not optimal, neither is it the worst potential future for humanity, and he allows excess and violence to continue in his name out of a conviction that it’s for the greater good. Throughout the book on which the upcoming film is based, Atriedes struggles with his followers' desire to view him as a divine figure.

Dr. Herman, a trained theologian, will set such themes in the broader context of religious studies by discussing messianic figures across various religious traditions. Among them, Christianity names Jesus of Nazareth as the messiah, but he is hardly the first person in the canonical Bible given that title. Mainstream Judaism does not anticipate any similar, deified figure descending from heaven, but messianic strains of Judaism have looked for the arrival of a political liberator. Islam, from which Frank Herbert borrowed terms applied to Paul Atriedes, contains reference to someone serving not as a redeemer but as a heavenly guide. All branches of Buddhism situate within each new age of their cyclical cosmology a Buddha-yet-to-come.

We’ll look at the human tendency in confusing times to seek out direct, uncomplicated answers and to embrace messianism as part of apocalypticism, which foretells a straightforward sorting process in which believers, as good people, see reward while their enemies, as bad people, see punishment.

Dune fans will feel rewarded for coming to this talk. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)

Image by Canva.

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “Owl Wisdom,” an introduction to the biology, habits, and conservation of various owl species in Maryland and beyond, with Steve Sheffield, professor of biology at Bowie State University, curator of mammals and birds for the Natural History Society of Maryland, and president of the Maryland Ornithological Society.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/baltimore-owls .]

Who wants to learn about owls?

If you are fascinated by these hunters of the night, you’ll love spending an evening with Steve Sheffield, a biologist who extensively studies owls and works to conserve them.

He’ll start by covering the different types of owls in our region and elsewhere, and the ways in which their bodies and their sizes represent physical adaptations to their environment. He’ll especially focus on the owl species of the United States and Canada, describing their biology, ranges, preferred habitat and prey, behavior, and vocalizations.

You’ll learn how and why field biologists study owls and how owl researchers from around the world assemble periodically to discuss their work. We’ll consider owls' value to ecosystems and, especially, humans and human-dominated landscapes where they serve as especially efficient killers of rodents and other crop-harming pests.

Dr. Sheffield will talk about the many years he has spent researching owls, with much of his work focused on their exposure to environmental contaminants and how they’re affected.

Being top predators, owls serve as sensitive bioindicators of contamination throughout the food chain. Much like canaries in coal mines, they function as an early warning system alerting us to potentially dangerous levels of toxicity. We don’t just study them for their own good, but ours as well. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Bar doors open at 5 pm. The talk starts at 6:30.)

Image: Burrowing owls in Florida (Photo by travelingwayoflife / Creative Commons) .

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “The Webb Telescope and NASA's Next Really Big Thing,” with Ori Fox, deputy project scientist for the Roman Space Telescope at the Space Telescope Science Institute.

[Doors open at 5. The talk starts at 6:30. The room is open seating. Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/baltimore-nasa-big-thing ]

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is now a household name, having produced spectacular images of the most distant objects in our universe and revolutionized our understanding of what exists beyond our planet. Yet NASA is already far along in thinking about its next really big telescope, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is expected to launch as early as Fall 2026. With Roman and Webb in the sky at the same time, astrophysics is expected to undergo another revolution.

Learn about the latest developments in both scientific undertakings from Ori Fox, who previously gave an excellent Profs and Pints talk on the Webb telescope, for which he served as an instrument scientist, and now plays a key role in the planning of the Roman telescope at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), the Roman’s science and operations center.

He’ll discuss how the Roman space telescope will be able to survey the sky 1,000 times faster than Hubble, as well as how it will collect near-infrared imaging and spectroscopic data with Hubble-quality resolution and sensitivity over fields of view 200 times greater than the Hubble’s. The Roman’s data will enrich all areas of astrophysics by enabling studies of nearly every class of astronomical object, phenomenon, and environment across the observable universe. The Roman’s scientific goals will include discovering thousands of new planets and pinpointing the source of a mysterious force called Dark Energy that permeates our Universe.

Dr. Fox also will give us a detailed update on tantalizing new images and scientific results from the Webb. They include the discovery of the most distant galaxies ever observed, high-resolution images of extraordinary explosions, and details about far-away exoplanets beyond our wildest imagination.

Listening to him will be a stellar experience.(Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID.)

Image: A rendering of the planned Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “The Happiness Workshop,” a look at what recent research and centuries of wisdom tell us about bringing more joy and contentment to our lives, with Eric Zillmer, professor of psychology and the director of the Happiness Lab at Drexel University.

[Doors open at 3. The talk starts at 4:30. The room is open seating. Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/baltimore-happiness-workshop ]

Are you happy? If not, how do you get there?

Gain insights into happiness with Eric Zillmer, an award-winning teacher who leads a creative think tank that investigates the ingredients for happiness among individual people and communities.

You’ll learn how the study of happiness is a growing, evidence-based field known as positive psychology, which aims to find solutions to happiness challenges that can bring positive change to our lives and environments.

Dr. Zillmer will discuss the meaning of happiness and its place in our lives and society. He’ll draw from recent science and great thinkers in discussing how we can increase our own happiness and well-being, throwing out a few practical tips as well.

He’ll talk about whether happiness can be measured and where in our brain happiness is located. We’ll look at the influence of socializing and social media on our happiness and about the roles that music, humor, adversity, and regret have in happiness research.

Dr. Zillmer will discuss what we learn about happiness from competitive sports, and he’ll suggest ten actions that you can engage in that will make you happier.

Among the questions he’ll tackle: What is the happiest day of the week? Can a specific place make you happy? What can we learn about happiness from travelling the world? (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID.)

Image: Happiness in the face of a Tibetan Buddhist monk. (Photo by Wonderlane / Wikimedia Commons.)