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Bonus length episode! I’m psyched to bring you a conversation with Dr. Travis Langley, editor and lead contributor to Star Wars Psychology: Dark Side of the Mind, the new book that includes 20 essays and additional meditations on the characters, incidents, and mythos of the Star Wars universe.
The book is intended for a general audience – you don’t need a psychology degree to keep up with any of the discussion here. The contributors come from a broad range of disciplines in the field and the realms of Star Wars fandom and publishing. (One of my favorites: Lando’s Choice: Anatomy of a Moral Dilemma.)
The publicity folks working with Dr. Langley gave me a list of suggested questions for discussion, which I blissfully ignored, and which resulted in a wide-ranging and at times laugh-out-loud conversation with a professional and Star Wars fan who’s spoken on numerous panels at comic conventions throughout the country. Langley has said that this is a book he’s wanted to do for a very long time, and the passion comes through – not just in his contributions, but also across the board in the many other essays that make up the book.
Even if psychology isn’t your “thing,” per se, there’s a good chance that you like checking out the work of people who have been doing some deep thinking about the Star Wars universe and sharing their unique opinions and observations. Star Wars Psychology is filled with this, and is as entertaining as it is insightful.
Check out it here at Amazon, and check out Dr. Langley on Twitter, Facebook, and his “Beyond Heroes and Villains” blog at Psychology Today.
(Image of Dr. Langley via @Superherologist on Twitter)