Welcome to SPACE, our adult continuing education program which offers interactive monthly courses for personal enrichment! Learn more here.
British Literature
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Comparative Mythology
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Epic Fantasy
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Fantasy
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Invented Languages
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JRR Tolkien
Discussion-based
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Medium intensity
This course examines how J.R.R. Tolkien constructed his secondary world with the deliberate craft of a mythmaker and the precision of a master architect. Designed for participants already familiar with Tolkien's major works, the course delves into the rich philosophical, linguistic, and cultural foundations of Middle-earth.
Each discussion session analyses the building blocks of Tolkien's mythological framework: his theory of subcreation, cosmological blueprints, linguistic foundations, character archetypes, moral frameworks, environmental design, and how these elements combine to create an enduring fictional universe.
Participants will engage with primary texts alongside Tolkien's essays, letters, and posthumously published materials to gain deeper appreciation of how his scholarly background in philology and medieval literature informed his creative vision—illuminating how Tolkien constructed one of literature's most enduring secondary worlds.
The module will follow an 8-session structure as shown below:
Each discussion session analyses the building blocks of Tolkien's mythological framework: his theory of subcreation, cosmological blueprints, linguistic foundations, character archetypes, moral frameworks, environmental design, and how these elements combine to create an enduring fictional universe.
Participants will engage with primary texts alongside Tolkien's essays, letters, and posthumously published materials to gain deeper appreciation of how his scholarly background in philology and medieval literature informed his creative vision—illuminating how Tolkien constructed one of literature's most enduring secondary worlds.
The module will follow an 8-session structure as shown below:
Outline | 8-Session Structure and Reading List by Session | Readings List |
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Week 1 | Session 1: The Mythmaker’s Vision | Session 1 Reading list:
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Session 2: Creation Myths and Cosmology | Session 2 Reading List:
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Week 2 | Session 3: Languages as Cultural Foundation | Session 3 Reading List:
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Session 4: The Hero’s Journey Through Ages | Session 4 Reading List:
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Week 3 | Session 5: Power and Corruption | Session 5 Reading List:
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Session 6: Death, Immortality and Time | Session 6 Reading List:
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Week 4 | Session 7: Nature, Technology and Modernity | Session 7 Reading List:
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Session 8: Legacy and Influence | Session 8 Reading List:
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Required Texts
Copies of The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and The Hobbit are required. Copies of Leaf By Niggle and On Fairy-stories would be useful but not required. All other texts will be provided as a pdf.
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