Post by Andorinha on Jan 10, 2007 1:11:25 GMT -6
Cardiff University is offering an online, 10 week, or 10 unit course titled "Exploring Tolkien: There and Back Again"
www.cardiff.ac.uk/learn/english/exploring_tolkien.php
It is a bit pricy (Fee £121.50 Reduced Fee £109.50) but the list of topics covered really drew my interest, especially as there is a full module devoted to the controversial aspect of "racism" as used by JRRT.
"This course will examine how Tolkien the scholar has affected Tolkien the author, by examining the links of his Middle-earth fiction with his academic and broader scientific knowledge, mainly concentrating on The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.
Tolkien as a philologist was familiar with a number of languages, and he admits to have been deeply affected by the experience of learning Welsh and Finnish. He was well acquainted with Northern European medieval literature, which would embrace such texts as the Prose and Poetic Edda, the "Mabinogion", the Finnish epic Kalevala, as well as Beowulf and many other Old and Middle English texts. On top of the scholarship linked with Northern European medieval languages and literature, Tolkien's work and correspondence reveal other scientific interests that trigger further questions.
He was not unaffected of the changing concepts of the anthropological thought of his period, especially what is today described as the decline of the science of race, and his interest in Anglo-Saxon culture also led him to an awareness of Anglo-Saxon archaeology. The course aims not only at a wider appreciation of Tolkien's literary achievement but also at explaining the underlying ideological forces that led to the formation of his fantasy literature."
Exploring Tolkien: There and Back Again - Units Outline
Unit 1: Introduction
Introduction to the aims and goals of the course. An overview of Tolkien’s life and times, placing his work in the historical context of the era it was produced. Outline of the history of his literary writings and their publication during his lifetime and after.
Unit 2: The Image of the Elves
Introduction to Tolkien’s sources in northern European mythology and folklore, using the image of his Elves as a case-study. Their complex portrayal seems to spring from different mythological traditions and their development in Tolkien’s thought went through various successive stages before concluding in their standard depiction in The Lord of the Rings.
Unit 3: ‘A Mythology for England’
An exploration of Tolkien’s conscious endeavour to create ‘a mythology for England’ as a motive for starting his writing career, and how this evolved from ‘The Book of Lost Tales’, to The Silmarillion. Tolkien’s ‘mythological project’ will be examined within the framework of the nineteenth-century revival of northern European mythologies as well as the search of national identity in pre-World War I England, the latter being often associated with England’s Anglo-Saxon past. The influence of major texts of Anglo-Saxon literature, such as Beowulf, will also be examined.
Unit 4: The Acknowledged Sources: The Germanic and Scandinavian Branch
Tolkien’s acclaimed sources have included the texts that will be discussed in this Unit, which will examine the ‘northern’ spirit of Middle-earth as exemplified by the creatures, attitudes, motifs and cultures inspired by such works as the Old Norse Eddas and the Finnish Kalevala.
Unit 5: The Despised Sources - The Celtic Tradition
The next two Units will concentrate on Tolkien’s sources which he vigorously refuted or declared to have despised: in this Unit the influence of Celtic material on his work will be examined, including some of his shorter and unfinished works.
Unit 6: The Despised Sources – The Classical and Literary Tradition
Following from the previous Unit, this one will look at Tolkien’s Classical sources, including Plato and Latin texts, as well as the Shakespearean tradition and legacy, despite Tolkien’s strong feelings against it.
Unit 7: Tolkien’s Invented Languages: ‘A Secret Vice’
This Unit will focus on language creation, and its importance in Tolkien’s mythology. The influence of philology on the linguistic world of Middle-earth will be discussed in detail, and the co-existence of languages and dialects in Tolkien’s world will be examined in the light of sociolinguistics. The Unit also includes a part on the alphabets of Middle-earth.
Unit 8: Middle-earth and Contemporary Racial Anthropology
A discussion of Tolkien’s awareness of the developments in the science of anthropology of his time, and how this is depicted in the Middle-Earth world when it comes to issues of ‘race’. The hierarchical structure of the Middle-Earth races is explored, as well as issues of racial mixture and purity, and Tolkien’s views on the subject in some of his academic works are drawn upon and compared to the Middle-earth anthropological reality.
Unit 9: The Archaeology of Middle-earth
This Unit will discuss the role of material culture and archaeology in Tolkien’s work, focusing on the cultures of Men, including the hobbits. The Unit will seek to explain Tolkien’s specific choices in ‘inventing’ the materiality of the cultures of Rohan and Gondor, and it will also reveal the associations of the material culture of the Shire with modern Industrial Archaeology.
Unit 10: The ‘Tolkien Phenomenon’
The last Unit will examine the aftermath of Tolkien’s literature: fan-activity and publications, artistic creation inspired by his work, cinematic adaptations of his literature. The Unit also includes an extended presentation of Tolkien scholarship as well as some reflections on Tolkien and his place in the literary canon. This Unit seeks to explain the popularity of Tolkien’s work and insists on the value of researching his literature.
www.cardiff.ac.uk/learn/english/exploring_tolkien.php
It is a bit pricy (Fee £121.50 Reduced Fee £109.50) but the list of topics covered really drew my interest, especially as there is a full module devoted to the controversial aspect of "racism" as used by JRRT.
"This course will examine how Tolkien the scholar has affected Tolkien the author, by examining the links of his Middle-earth fiction with his academic and broader scientific knowledge, mainly concentrating on The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.
Tolkien as a philologist was familiar with a number of languages, and he admits to have been deeply affected by the experience of learning Welsh and Finnish. He was well acquainted with Northern European medieval literature, which would embrace such texts as the Prose and Poetic Edda, the "Mabinogion", the Finnish epic Kalevala, as well as Beowulf and many other Old and Middle English texts. On top of the scholarship linked with Northern European medieval languages and literature, Tolkien's work and correspondence reveal other scientific interests that trigger further questions.
He was not unaffected of the changing concepts of the anthropological thought of his period, especially what is today described as the decline of the science of race, and his interest in Anglo-Saxon culture also led him to an awareness of Anglo-Saxon archaeology. The course aims not only at a wider appreciation of Tolkien's literary achievement but also at explaining the underlying ideological forces that led to the formation of his fantasy literature."
Exploring Tolkien: There and Back Again - Units Outline
Unit 1: Introduction
Introduction to the aims and goals of the course. An overview of Tolkien’s life and times, placing his work in the historical context of the era it was produced. Outline of the history of his literary writings and their publication during his lifetime and after.
Unit 2: The Image of the Elves
Introduction to Tolkien’s sources in northern European mythology and folklore, using the image of his Elves as a case-study. Their complex portrayal seems to spring from different mythological traditions and their development in Tolkien’s thought went through various successive stages before concluding in their standard depiction in The Lord of the Rings.
Unit 3: ‘A Mythology for England’
An exploration of Tolkien’s conscious endeavour to create ‘a mythology for England’ as a motive for starting his writing career, and how this evolved from ‘The Book of Lost Tales’, to The Silmarillion. Tolkien’s ‘mythological project’ will be examined within the framework of the nineteenth-century revival of northern European mythologies as well as the search of national identity in pre-World War I England, the latter being often associated with England’s Anglo-Saxon past. The influence of major texts of Anglo-Saxon literature, such as Beowulf, will also be examined.
Unit 4: The Acknowledged Sources: The Germanic and Scandinavian Branch
Tolkien’s acclaimed sources have included the texts that will be discussed in this Unit, which will examine the ‘northern’ spirit of Middle-earth as exemplified by the creatures, attitudes, motifs and cultures inspired by such works as the Old Norse Eddas and the Finnish Kalevala.
Unit 5: The Despised Sources - The Celtic Tradition
The next two Units will concentrate on Tolkien’s sources which he vigorously refuted or declared to have despised: in this Unit the influence of Celtic material on his work will be examined, including some of his shorter and unfinished works.
Unit 6: The Despised Sources – The Classical and Literary Tradition
Following from the previous Unit, this one will look at Tolkien’s Classical sources, including Plato and Latin texts, as well as the Shakespearean tradition and legacy, despite Tolkien’s strong feelings against it.
Unit 7: Tolkien’s Invented Languages: ‘A Secret Vice’
This Unit will focus on language creation, and its importance in Tolkien’s mythology. The influence of philology on the linguistic world of Middle-earth will be discussed in detail, and the co-existence of languages and dialects in Tolkien’s world will be examined in the light of sociolinguistics. The Unit also includes a part on the alphabets of Middle-earth.
Unit 8: Middle-earth and Contemporary Racial Anthropology
A discussion of Tolkien’s awareness of the developments in the science of anthropology of his time, and how this is depicted in the Middle-Earth world when it comes to issues of ‘race’. The hierarchical structure of the Middle-Earth races is explored, as well as issues of racial mixture and purity, and Tolkien’s views on the subject in some of his academic works are drawn upon and compared to the Middle-earth anthropological reality.
Unit 9: The Archaeology of Middle-earth
This Unit will discuss the role of material culture and archaeology in Tolkien’s work, focusing on the cultures of Men, including the hobbits. The Unit will seek to explain Tolkien’s specific choices in ‘inventing’ the materiality of the cultures of Rohan and Gondor, and it will also reveal the associations of the material culture of the Shire with modern Industrial Archaeology.
Unit 10: The ‘Tolkien Phenomenon’
The last Unit will examine the aftermath of Tolkien’s literature: fan-activity and publications, artistic creation inspired by his work, cinematic adaptations of his literature. The Unit also includes an extended presentation of Tolkien scholarship as well as some reflections on Tolkien and his place in the literary canon. This Unit seeks to explain the popularity of Tolkien’s work and insists on the value of researching his literature.
