J.R.R. Tolkien: Mythopoeia, Middle-Earth, and Modernity
Registration is now open for a remote course for undergraduates beginning January 18
You are invited to take...
an accredited course on the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, which is taught once a week on Mondays from 10:10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST. It is open to remote students enrolled in other Colleges or Universities, space permitting.
Registration is now open and will close by January 10. Qualified applicants will be accepted to the class on a first-come, first-served basis. Maximum course enrollment is capped at 20 students. Students enrolled in an accredited college or university are eligible to apply. Exceptions may be made.
Please complete the Course Inquiry Form on this page to receive more information and the link to the application.
Course Questions include:
What role can fantasy literature play in a demythologized, secular world? Is there a spiritual basis for creativity? How did Tolkien understand technology, magic, and power? Can fiction somehow speak truth? How can the past provide models of life and community for the present? How are language and imagination connected?Course Description
This course will focus on writings by J.R.R. Tolkien, exploring a number of themes: truth and fiction, the middle ages and modernity, mythology and theology. Tolkien himself was multifaceted: a soldier, a friend, a linguist, a translator, a professor, a husband, a father, and, of course, a writer, nurturing in all these roles a profound Christian faith. His writings possess an internal consistency and depth rooted in philology and ancient cosmology unmatched in the traditions of fantasy literature. This course will explore Tolkien’s dynamic perspectives on the arts, ecology, work, virtue, war, anarchy, monarchy, local culture, and dragons.
Course Details
Registration is now open.
Admission Requirements
- Complete the Course Application that collects contact information (e.g. name, contact information, current religious affiliation or Orthodox Christian parish, etc.
- A recommendation letter from a parish priest, parish lay leader, or professor.
- A current college transcript (unofficial). See below regarding Eligibility.
Thematic Units
Tolkien as a...
- Soldier, Friend, and Father
- Linguist, Translator, and Medievalist
- World-Maker and Mytho-poet
- Modernist or Anti-Modernist?
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Artist
Tolkien and...
- Christianity
- Politics, Economy, and Ecology
The Texts
- Roverandom
- Tree and Leaf (“On Fairy-Stories” and “Leaf by Niggle”)
- Mythopoeia
- The Lord of the Rings
- The Silmarillion (selections)
- Letters (selections)
- “A Secret Vice”
- Beowulf
- “Beowulf: The Monster and the Critics”
- The Fall of Arthur
Course Details
- Course Delivery: Remote, synchronous delivery through Canvas and Zoom
- Time of Class: Mondays, 10:10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST.
Dates of the Semester: Tuesday, January 18th through the end of final exams on Friday, May 13, 2022. Here is the link to the academic calendar. - Course Size: To preserve the unique character of education at Hellenic College, maximum course enrollment is capped at 20 students.
Eligibility
Any undergraduate student currently enrolled in an accredited college or university is eligible to enroll. Exceptions may be possible. The course is not open to auditors.
Course Prerequisites: English Composition I & II or the equivalent.