A philologist and medieval scholar, J. R. R. Tolkien never intended to write immensely popular literature that would challenge traditional ideas about the nature of great literature and that was worthy of study in colleges across the world. He set out only to write a good story, the kind of story he and his friends would enjoy reading. In The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien created an entire world informed by his vast knowledge of mythology, languages, and medieval literature. In the 1960s, his books unexpectedly gained cult status with a new generation of young, countercultural readers. Today, the readership for Tolkien's absorbing secondary world--filled with monsters, magic, adventure, sacrifice, and heroism--continues to grow. Part 1 of this volume, "Materials," introduces instructors to the rich array of resources available for teaching Tolkien, including editions and criticism of his fiction and scholarship, historical material on his life and times, audiovisual materials, and film adaptations of his fiction. The essays in part 2, "Approaches," help instructors introduce students to critical debates around Tolkien's work, its sources, its influence, and its connection to ecology, religion, and science. Contributors draw on interdisciplinary approaches to outline strategies for teaching Tolkien in a wide variety of classroom contexts.

An insightful companion volume to the original classic designed to bring a thorough and unique new reading of "The Hobbit" to a general audience written by the host of the popular podcast "The Tolkien Professor.O

This exciting collection of essays explores the role of the Other in Tolkien’s fiction, his life, and the pertinent criticism. It critically examines issues of gender, sexuality, race and ethnicity, language, and identity in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and lesser-known works by Tolkien. The chapters consider characters such as Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, Saruman, Éowyn, and the Orcs as well as discussions of how language and identity function in the source texts. The analysis of Tolkien’s work is set against an examination of his life, personal writing, and beliefs. Each essay takes as its central position the idea that how Tolkien responds to that which is different, to that which is “Other,” serves as a register of his ethics and moral philosophy. In the aggregate, they provide evidence of Tolkien’s acceptance of alterity.

Higher education, further education, vocational education and continuing education all refer to progression to a third educational step. That is, a step beyond secondary education, which itself is a step beyond elementary or primary education. While optional, continuing beyond secondary education most often suggests some form of need ‘to acquire advanced knowledge’. But advanced in what way? Advanced in focus? Advanced in depth? Advanced in application? Advanced in the range of knowledge of those who teach in it? Advanced in expectation? Honors education, which is present globally and is highlighted in the United States through a distinctive 100-year history, has reflected on, and continues to reflect on what ‘advanced’ higher education might entail. Consequently, here in Advancing Honors Education for Today and Tomorrow contributors consider some of the interests that strike them as significant in the present and future of advanced learning.

Dr. David K. Naugle is widely regarded as a leading thinker in the area of Christian worldview formation. As Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at Dallas Baptist University, he has drawn accolades and admiration. This collection in his honor demonstrates that intellectual pursuits are inherently spiritual, that no area of life is separate from the lordship of Christ, and that true Christian faith is in fact the deep fulfillment of the human experience. On topics ranging from linguistics to gardening and everything in between, these essays represent the depth and breadth of the idea that all goodness is God’s goodness, all truth is God’s truth, and all beauty is God’s beauty.

"Fandom as Classroom Practice is an indispensable resource for teachers seeking to integrate fan works into their classroom experiences. This multivocal, interdisciplinary collection offers thoughtful, self-reflexive pieces from student and faculty perspectives. Together, the essays in this collection paint a dynamic picture of the value and challenges of teaching (with) fan works within a variety of classroom contexts."--Louisa Ellen Stein, author, Millennial Fandom: Television Audiences in the Transmedia Age "This collection demonstrates that integrating fandom opens up new ways of thinking for students in a variety of disciplines. Syllabi and assignments provide hands-on guidance to teaching fandom and creating a participatory, decentered classroom. The inclusion of student respondents is a unique and important feature of this book."-Melanie E.S. Kohnen, Lewis & Clark College Providing ways to engage students through their popular culture interests, this collection brings together several essays, across disciplines, to show how fan practices such as writing fan fiction, creating vids, communicating via Tumblr, and participating in film tourism can invite students to invest more of themselves into their education. Both scholarship and fandom encourage passionate engagement with texts-rather than passive consumption in isolation-and editor Katherine Anderson Howell and her contributors find that when students are encouraged to partake in a remix classroom that encourages their fan interests, they participate more in their education, are more critical of experts and authorities, and actively shape the discourse themselves. Creating this remix classroom requires thoughtfulness on the instructor's part, and so the chapters in this volume come from teachers who have carefully constructed such courses, including several.

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal, established by the Arizona C. S. Lewis Society in 2007, is the only peer-reviewed journal devoted to the study of C. S. Lewis and his writings published anywhere in the world. It exists to promote literary, theological, historical, biographical, philosophical, bibliographical and cultural interest (broadly defined) in Lewis and his writings. The journal includes articles, review essays, book reviews, film reviews and play reviews, bibliographical material, poetry, interviews, editorials, and announcements of Lewis-related conferences, events and publications. Its readership is aimed at academic scholars from a wide variety of disciplines, as well as learned non-scholars and Lewis enthusiasts. At this time, Sehnsucht is published once a year.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy sheds light on issues of real-world international relations

This book takes a fresh look at Tolkien’s literary artistry from the points of view of both linguistics and literary history, with the aim of shedding light on the literary techniques used in The Lord of the Rings. The authors study Tolkien’s use of words, style, narrative techniques, rhetoric and symbolism to highlight his status as literary artist. Dirk Siepmann uses a corpus stylistic approach to analyse Tolkien’s vocabulary and syntax, while Thomas Kullmann uses discourse theory, literary history and concepts of intertextuality to explore Tolkien’s literary techniques, relating them to the history of English fiction and poetry. Issues discussed include point of view, speeches, story-telling, landscape descriptions, the poems inserted into the body of the narrative, and the role of language in the characterization of the novel’s protagonists. This book will be of particular interest to students and scholars of literature, corpus linguistics and stylistics, as well as Tolkien fans and specialists.