COURSE DESCRIPTION and OBJECTIVES


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Vastly popular, immensely learned, and profoundly spiritual, J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic trilogy The Lord of Rings has outgrown its 1970s cult status to become not only a literary classic, but even what many consider to be the foundation of the genre of modern fantasy. In recent years, national and international surveys even identified Tolkien as the most popular or influential writer of the 20th century. Yet, while millions of readers have enjoyed and treasured The Lord of Rings and its precursor The Hobbit, few readers seriously study the myth, meaning, historical sources, and literary background of Tolkien’s work. In this course, we will endeavor a careful survey not only of Tolkien’s literary and scholarly work, but also of other medieval works that influenced Tolkien’s writing and the mythic constructs that underlie his epic vision. In addition, we will examine some of the languages, drama, and visual art Tolkien created in his career.

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