Welcome to SPACE, our adult continuing education program which offers interactive monthly courses for personal enrichment! Learn more here.
Dr. Sara Brown
Signum MA Faculty
•
Signum Tutorials Program
•
SPACE Preceptor
Totally Tolkien, and Fantasy fanatic
Sara Brown PhD MSc(Econ) serves Signum University as Language & Literature Department Chair and Thesis Coordinator for the MA Program. She is a Lecturer and Preceptor within the Language and Literature faculty and has served as an Elected Faculty Member on the Board. Sara also teaches on the Signum Path Program.
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Current and Upcoming Modules
November 2025
Tolkien & Inklings Studies Tutorials
[ST]
(2 Sections)
January 2026
The Poetic Corpus of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Later Poems 3
(Volume 3: The Years 1931-1967)
(3 Sections)
Lecture Preceptor
Hybrid
February 2026
Exploring Tolkien's Letter to Milton Waldman
(2 Sections)
March 2026
Signum Classics: Dracula
Guest
June 2026
Are You Tolkien To Me?
Hybrid
August 2026
September 2026
November 2026
December 2026
Highlighted Modules
All Modules
'The Rings of Power' Discussion Group
Discussion-based Low intensity
The wait is over and the second season of Amazon's Tolkien-inspired series is upon us! Already, this series has stimulated much heated discussion across various social media, with the images and trailers dividing opinion among Tolkien fans. In this discussion group, we will watch the show and discus...
Are You Tolkien To Me?
Discussion-based Low intensity
Why are the works of J.R.R. Tolkien still so relevant to us in the 21st century? In this course, we will look at some of the central themes of his novels, including Family, Home, Good vs. Evil, and Loss, exploring how Tolkien is still speaking to us almost fifty years after his death.
There are no ...
Continuing the Journey: Exploring Alan Garner’s The Moon of Gomrath
Discussion-based
Building upon our exploration of Garner's foundational fantasy The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, this follow-up course delves into its darker, more complex sequel, The Moon of Gomrath. Where our first course examined Garner's introduction to the magical world of Alderley Edge, this second...
Discovering Terry Pratchett's Discworld Non-Sequential Series
Discussion-based High intensity
This is the Landing Page for Dr. Sara Brown's Discovering the Discworld series. Using the links on this page, you can explore each member of this series by going to its associated module page for more details.
- Discovering the Discworld: Which Witch is Which?
- Discovering the Discworld: Quis Custodiet Custard?
- Discovering the Discworld: The Existential Angst of Death
- Discovering the Discworld: Aching and Growing
- Discovering the Discworld: Discworld and Modernity
- Discovering the Discworld: The Adventures of Rincewind
Exploring Alan Garner’s The Weirdstone of Brisingamen
Discussion-based Low intensity
Dive into the enchanting world of Alan Garner's The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, a foundational work of British fantasy by an author described by Philip Pullman as "the most important British writer of fantasy since Tolkien." This course examines Garner's masterful integration of ancient Britis...
Exploring Tolkien's "Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth"
Discussion-based Medium intensity
Immerse yourself in the profound dialogues of J.R.R. Tolkien's "Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth", a philosophical and metaphysical exploration of love, mortality, and hope within the legendarium of Middle-earth. This class invites you to delve into the intricate conversations between Finrod, an Elven ki...
Exploring Tolkien's Letter to Milton Waldman
Discussion-based Medium intensity
So, we’ve had a FIRST Tolkien’s Letters SPACE course – but what about SECOND Tolkien’s Letters SPACE course? And this time, we just focus on ONE letter?
In 2023, we were presented with a Revised and Expanded edition of The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, which gave us the opportunity for an even ...
J.R.R. Tolkien: A Life in Letters Non-Sequential Series
Mixed Lecture/Discussion Medium intensity
How do you pick up the threads of an old life? Come and take a deep dive, attempting to do just that, as we look into the life of the maker of Middle-earth! This series will go on an adventure through the life of Tolkien over three months through the lens of the newly revised and expanded Letters of...
Modern British Poetry
Discussion-based Low intensity
In this module we will read and discuss a collection of some of the best British poetry of the 21st century, considering the ways in which each poet addresses the anxieties of our time.
The Andre Norton Nebula Award
Mixed Lecture/Discussion Medium intensity
Join Dr. Sara Brown and Sparrow Alden as they read their way through the winners and nominees of the Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction. How do these books speak to their special audience? What do they reflect about changing society? How do they build or break down th...
The Dark is Rising Sequence Non-Sequential Series
Discussion-based Medium intensity
This is the landing page for Dr. Sara Brown's series on The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper. Using the links on this page, you can explore each member of this series by going to its associated module page for more details. Note that students can jump in at any month/part of the series...
The History, People, and Culture of Tolkien's Númenor
Discussion-based Medium intensity
With the publication of The Fall of Númenor (November 2022) we finally have much of Tolkien’s writing on this period in the history Middle-earth drawn together in one place. This offers a unique opportunity, at a moment when the island of Númenor has come to greater public awareness via Amazo...
The Poetic Corpus of J.R.R. Tolkien: Tolkien's Collected Poems (The Years 1910-1967 in Three Volumes) Non-Sequential Series
Mixed Lecture/Discussion Medium intensity
JRR Tolkien is one of those rare authors whose poetry is as accomplished as his prose writing. Up to this point, though, those who wished to focus primarily on Tolkien’s poetry had to access a significant number of books and online resources to do so, as they were scattered far and wide. Now, a Most...
- The Poetic Corpus of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Early Poems 1 (Volume 1: The Years 1910-1919)
- The Poetic Corpus of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Early Poems 2 (Volume 1: The Years 1910-1919)
- The Poetic Corpus of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Early Poems 3 (Volume 1: The Years 1910-1919)
- The Poetic Corpus of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Mature Years 1 (Volume 2: The Years 1919-1931)
- The Poetic Corpus of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Mature Years 2 (Volume 2: The Years 1919-1931)
- The Poetic Corpus of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Mature Years 3 (Volume 2: The Years 1919-1931)
- The Poetic Corpus of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Later Poems 1 (Volume 3: The Years 1931-1967)
- The Poetic Corpus of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Later Poems 2 (Volume 3: The Years 1931-1967)
- The Poetic Corpus of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Later Poems 3 (Volume 3: The Years 1931-1967) January 2026 (1) January 2026 (2) January 2026 (3)
Tolkien and Alchemy
Discussion-based Low intensity
Transformation and the process of transformation, either physical or of the self, is a significant theme in Tolkien’s writing and appears throughout the Middle-earth legendarium. In this SPACE course, we will explore how the practice, philosophy and symbolism of alchemy resonate in the texts and pro...
Tolkien as Mythmaker: The Architecture of Middle-earth
Discussion-based 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 fou...
Tolkien's Great Tales Non-Sequential Series
Discussion-based Medium intensity
Although they were never completed in his lifetime, JRR Tolkien wrote what he considered his three "Great Tales" of the Elder Days and intended them to be a significant part of his wider Silmarillion. This series each of his Great Tales in turn, namely, The Tale of Beren and Lúthien, The C...
Tolkien's Unfinished Tales
Discussion-based Medium intensity
The Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth is a collection of stories and essays by J.R.R. Tolkien which are filled with all the wonderful elements of story-telling that are to be found in The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and yet, for some reas...
Vampires, Werewolves and Wights – Oh My! Uncanny Creatures in Middle-earth
Discussion-based Low intensity
There are dragons in Tolkien’s works, of course, as well as Ents, Trolls, and Orcs, all enabling Tolkien to give shape and dimension to his world of Middle-earth. Less discussed amongst readers of the legendarium are the weird creatures that sit in the shadows – the ones designed to really make the ...
Victorian Gothic: Exploring Dracula
Mixed Lecture/Discussion Medium intensity
When we think of Gothic Horror, Bram Stoker’s Dracula immediately comes to mind. In this Module, we will explore the reasons why we are drawn to this compelling yet terrifying character, and how Stoker was connecting with Victorian anxiety towards the Supernatural and the Other.