SoSe 22: PS-Surveying English Literatures: J. R. R. Tolkien
Andrew James Johnston
Comments
J. R. R. Tolkien is one of the most astonishing cultural and literary phenomena of the twentieth century. His odd and idiosyncratic works jar with the modernist temper of his age. At first glance, they appear to be devoid of anything that matters to contemporary human beings, such as psychology and sexuality. Drawing on a vast range of (primarily) medieval sources, the Oxford professor of medieval English language and literature created a fictional world all of his own, seemingly completely out of touch with the reality that surrounded him. And, not surprisingly, the guardians of high literary culture have tended to dismiss Tolkien for his supposedly escapist nostalgia and have even accused his books of downright fascist tendencies. Nevertheless, his principal work, The Lord of the Rings, invariably comes out close to the top whenever the British are asked to name their favourite novel.
This course seeks to take a closer look at these issues and aims to subject Tolkien’s fiction to critical scrutiny. These are only some of the questions we will ask: Where does Tolkien take his ideas from? Is he really that simple? Are there contemporary issues he responds to? Is there a theory behind his texts? What are the political notions that they negotiate? Does sexuality matter in his work?
Students are expected to do a lot of reading for this class. Amongst other things we will be reading The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion (in that order). Other material will be put at the students’ disposal when the semester starts.
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Additional appointments
Sat, 2022-07-16 09:00 - 12:00Regular appointments