This module is part of the Academic Mastery program. Please apply to the AM program before enrolling in this course

This module is part of the The Hobbit in Context cluster.

In this module, we will immerse ourselves in the developing world of Tolkien’s Middle-earth, as it was at the time of writing The Hobbit. This will lead us into the beginnings of the story that will become The Hobbit, as is laid out in John Rateliff’s work The History of The Hobbit. To that end, the student experience in this module will be greatly enhanced by two guest lectures, hosted by Professor Olsen, in which he and Dr Rateliff discuss the evolution of Tolkien’s fantasy writing

This five-week module is designed for students who already have some experience in scholarly writing, preferably in the humanities, who understand how to read a literary text analytically, and who wish to challenge themselves to produce an extended piece of writing. Students are expected to have writing and grammatical fluency in English. The module may be repeated as many times as desired. Students watch recorded lectures by Dr. Corey Olsen, participate in weekly discussions with a member of our graduate faculty, and complete a final writing project.

Students are welcome to take modules individually and in any order that suits their scholarly needs, but this module builds upon ideas covered in "The Hobbit: Sources and Analogues."

Note: This module draws extensively upon lectures originally recorded for The Story of The Hobbit. Students in the MA program who have taken (or plan to take) that course may find significant overlap in the core materials.

Format: 4 weeks discussion; 1 week assessment (6 hours video; 8 hours discussion

Assessments: summative (final project)

Goals and Skills:

This course is graduate level in intensity.

Fee: 2 Signum Tokens