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Being Scheduled
A Module in Exploring The Hobbit
• Non-Sequential Series
Mixed Lecture/Discussion
Medium intensity
(September)
Next Iteration →
Days and Times
As soon as we obtain enough interest in this class we will be in touch to work out a meeting time that works for the group. Thank you for keeping your July 2027 availability up to date!
This class needs more pre-enrollment by June 1 to get confirmed.
This module is a standing candidate which means it will be ready to launch as soon as it gets enough interest. Token holders can set aside a Token to reserve their seat for class and help it get confirmed.
In this module, we will look at the literary precursors to The Hobbit: works that helped establish the genre in which Tolkien was writing, or which influenced Tolkien’s own thinking. We will examine the themes and ideas of nineteenth-century children’s fantasy that may have inspired Tolkien, and consider how we may see them at work within the text of The Hobbit. Tolkien’s essay "On Fairy-stories" will provide the essential context to the whole module, as it is here that Tolkien lays out his full concept of what constitutes ‘fantasy’.
By reading a number of literary precursors to The Hobbit, each week will reveal more about The Hobbit itself. Lectures will focus on four texts in order:
By reading a number of literary precursors to The Hobbit, each week will reveal more about The Hobbit itself. Lectures will focus on four texts in order:
- Through the Looking Glass – Lewis Carroll
- Winnie-the-Pooh – A. A. Milne (pdf)
- The Princess and the Goblin - George MacDonald
- The Marvellous Land of Snergs - E. A. Wyke-Smith
Required Texts
*Please note that the preceptor will provide pdf copies of all the out of copyright texts.
- Through the Looking Glass – Lewis Carroll (pdf)
- Winnie-the-Pooh – A. A. Milne (pdf)
- The Princess and the Goblin - George MacDonald (pdf)
- The Marvellous Land of Snergs - E. A. Wyke-Smith (pdf)
- "On Fairy-stories" - J.R.R. Tolkien
- The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
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