ENGLISH 306
Tolkien and his Worlds
Please note: this is archived course information from 2019 for ENGLISH 306.
Description
JRR Tolkien is widely regarded as the father of modern fantasy literature. This course asks why, in offering students the opportunity to examine his major, seminal fantasy fictions, The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, alongside the theories he himself developed of fantasy worldbuilding. At the same time, we discuss Tolkien’s enduring popularity and "read" some of the recent film adaptations of his texts by Peter Jackson.
The overall aim of this course is to give students an opportunity to analyse some of Tolkien’s most notable works of fantasy within an academic framework in light of his own ideas regarding fantasy worldbuilding, but also a variety of other accounts of how fantasy works as a genre. To what extent does Tolkien exemplify these accounts? Where and when are his works at odds with them? Does it matter?
In this regard, we also attend to Tolkien’s scholarly and critical writing on Celtic and Germanic myth and legend, but especially his work on early English epic and romance. In particular we compare his own fantasies with his translation of the magnificent, early English epic poem Beowulf, recently published, but composed in the same period in which Tolkien was writing of heroic hobbits, fantastic elves and dragons.
Course outcomes
Aims and outcomes:
This course aims to improve the following skills you will have learnt in other courses in English:
- Ability to think critically
- Ability to listen and form sound intellectual judgements
- Ability to write a coherent and lucid essay
and to assist you to:
- Acquire sound reading skills
- Gain a firm acquaintance with the fantasy genre and Tolkien's texts in particular
Availability 2019
Summer School
Lecturer(s)
Coordinator(s) Dr Claudia Marquis
Reading/Texts
Any edition of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit is acceptable
JRR Tolkien, Tree and Leaf
A small selection from the Beowulf text will be available under "Modules"
And, of course, Peter Jackson's films -- Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit
Assessment
Coursework + exam
Points
ENGLISH 306: 15 points
Prerequisites
60 points passed
Restrictions
ENGLISH 256
