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A Module in Tolkien and the RomanticsNon-Sequential Series
Discussion-based • Low intensity
J.R.R. Tolkien's revolutionary depictions of nature have inspired many to respect and cherish the environment. However, if we journeyed back two hundred years, we would discover that radical British Romantic authors were also challenging how readers perceived their surroundings! In this module, we will use ecology to explore the many parallels and contrasts between Tolkien's Arda and the Romantic's portrayals of nature big and small: mountains and meadows, woods and wildernesses, daffodils and dead marshes. This will include examining how characters react to the environment, nature's existence as separate from our own, and the broader concern of the Industrial Revolution's destructive potential.

The module will follow an 8-session structure as shown below:
Outline 8-Session Structure
Week 1 Lecture 1: Visions of Nature
Discussion 1: What do your Elf-eyes see?
Week 2 Lecture 2: All things Sublime and Beautiful
Discussion 2: Sublime, Beautiful, or both at once?!
Week 3 Lecture 3: I want to see mountains!
Discussion 3: One with our environment
Week 4 Lecture 4: Ecology without Humanity
Discussion 4: What is actually out there beyond the Human sphere?

Required Texts

There is no pre-reading required for this module and no secondary material required. All extracts from texts used throughout this Tolkien and the Romantics' module will appear on the presentations and class workbooks.
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Iterations

August 2025  Candidate  Hybrid

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