Dr. Chris Vaccaro

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 Tolkien's Middle-earth in Context cluster and is recommended as the first course in the series.

This five-week module provides students with the information needed to articulate for themselves the context behind Tolkien’s master work, his The Lord of the Rings, through an in-depth analysis of his two most important essays. Students watch recorded lectures by Dr. Verlyn Flieger, participate in weekly discussions with a member of our graduate faculty, and complete a final writing project. The module may be repeated as many times as desired. Students are welcome to take modules individually and in any order that suits their scholarly needs, but this module provides the foundational concepts for the course.

Note: This module draws extensively upon lectures originally recorded for Tolkien's World of Middle-earth. 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 (9 hours video; 8 hours discussion

Assessments: summative (final project)

Goals and Skills:

Students who complete the module will be able to clearly articulate an understanding of the ideas that inspired Tolkien’s imagination.

Students who master the material will be able to produce a well-organized, structurally coherent project, synthesizing two or more ideas, that explores significant connections between the tragic epic of Beowulf, the building blocks of faërie, and Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

This course is graduate level in intensity.

Fee: 2 Signum Tokens

This course is a fun exploration of Shakespeare's As You Like It. The lecturer will lead students through the sources, plot, character development and major themes. Class time will be spent in lectures and brief discussions.

This course is a fun exploration of Shakespeare's Hamlet. The lecturer will lead students through the sources, plot, character development and major themes. Class time will be spent in lectures and brief discussions.

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 Tolkien's Middle-earth in Context cluster and is recommended to be taken after "Concerning Monsters and Fairies".

This five-week module provides students with the information needed to articulate for themselves the context behind Tolkien’s master work, his The Lord of the Rings, through an in-depth analysis of Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. The Silmarillion acts as a source text, which consistently fueled Tolkien’s imagination as he wrote The Lord of the Rings. Students watch recorded lectures by Dr. Verlyn Flieger, participate in weekly discussions with a member of our graduate faculty, and complete a final writing project. The module may be repeated as many times as desired. Students are welcome to take modules individually and in any order that suits their scholarly needs, but this module builds upon ideas covered in "Concerning Monsters and Fairies."

Note: This module draws extensively upon lectures originally recorded for Tolkien's World of Middle-earth. 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 (9 hours video; 8 hours discussion

Assessments: summative (final project)

Goals and Skills:

Students who complete the module will be able to clearly articulate an understanding of the ideas that inspired Tolkien’s imagination.

Students who complete the module will be able to articulate the impact of Tolkien’s writing of The Silmarillion material on his imagination.

Students who master the material will be able to produce a well-organized, structurally coherent project, synthesizing two or more ideas, that explores significant connections between The Silmarillion and Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

This course is graduate level in intensity.

Fee: 2 Signum Tokens

This module will focus on bodies in Middle-earth from a multitude of directions and fields of enquiry. We will address fascinating subjects such as Sauron's body, the physical differences between Gandalf the Grey and Gandalf the White and the age old question "Do Balrogs have wings?" [No, the case is not settled on this.] We will explore how Tolkien writes about gendered and racialized bodies and how he uses slap-stick carnivalesque bodily humor in The Hobbit. We will explore the artwork and film images too. The point will be that bodies very much mattered in the narratives that make up Tolkien's Cauldron of Story, and they matter in his Legendarium!

The module will follow an 8-session structure as shown below:

Outline	8-Session Structure
Week 1	Lecture 1: Introductions. Strategies of Reading Theories of the Body Topics: Feminism, Gender, Sexuality, Race, Religion, Science, Art Do Bodies Matter in Middle-earth? Reading spirituality: Evil and Angelic Bodies, Wraiths, Elves, Istari, Sauron’s Bodies
	Discussion 1: Discussion about Lecture 1 topics
Week 2	Lecture 2: Reading gendered bodies Trans bodies? Women’s and Men’s Bodies Masculine and Feminine Bodies Bodies and Metaphors of Light or Foliage
	Discussion 2: Discussion about Lecture 2 topics
Week 3	Lecture 3: Reading race and the body Hobbits, Orcs, Elves, Races of men Hybridized Bodies: The White Rider Intersectionality: Dwarf Women
	Discussion 3: Discussion about Lecture 3 topics
Week 4	Lecture 4: Wars, wounds, suffering bodies Bodies Out of Faerie: on stage and on screen
	Discussion 4: Discussion about Lecture 4 topics

Yes, there are indeed women in Beowulf. Vital and potent women in fact. From the valkyrie-esque figures to the weeping peace-weavers, a broad spectrum of women characters exists as both historical representation and imaginative mythology. Grendel's Mother is ferocious and masculine. Hildeburh laments the death of her brother and son before being carried off. Modthryth behaves like a sadistic queen. Wealhtheow is mindful of so much in her husband's hall. Freawaru seems destined for tragedy. And could the dragon be a female too? Maria Headley seems to think so. This module will explore this topic using dual-language editions of texts so we can see the original language alongside translations by J.R.R. Tolkien, Roy Liuzza, and Maria Headley.

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 Tolkien's Middle-earth in Context cluster and is recommended to be taken after the other three modules in this cluster.

This five-week module provides students with the information needed to articulate for themselves the context behind Tolkien’s master work, his The Lord of the Rings, through an in-depth analysis of his most important essays. The module may be repeated as many times as desired. Students listen to recorded lectures, participate in weekly discussions, 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 other modules in this cluster, particularly "Tolkien's Masterwork, Part I."

Note: This module draws extensively upon lectures originally recorded for Tolkien's World of Middle-earth. 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 (12 hours video; 8 hours discussion

Assessments: summative (final project)

Goals and Skills:

Students who complete the module will be able to clearly articulate an understanding of the ideas that inspired Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

Students who master the material will be able to produce a well-organized, structurally coherent project, synthesizing two or more ideas, that explores the significant connections between Tolkien’s earlier work and his The Lord of the Rings.

This course is graduate level in intensity.

Fee: 2 Signum Tokens

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 Tolkien's Middle-earth in Context cluster and is recommended to be taken after "Concerning Monsters and Fairies".

This five-week module provides students with the information needed to articulate for themselves the context behind Tolkien’s master work, his The Lord of the Rings, through an in-depth analysis of his most important essays. The module may be repeated as many times as desired. Students are welcome to take modules individually and in any order that suits their scholarly needs, but this module builds upon ideas in "Concerning Monsters and Fairies" and "The Silmarillion in Context". Students listen to recorded lectures, participate in weekly discussions, and complete a final writing project.

Note: This module draws extensively upon lectures originally recorded for Tolkien's World of Middle-earth. 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 (9 hours video; 8 hours discussion

Assessments: summative (final project)

Goals and Skills:

Students who complete the module will be able to clearly articulate an understanding of the ideas that inspired Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

Students who master the material will be able to produce a well-organized, structurally coherent project, synthesizing two or more ideas, that explores significant connections between Tolkien’s earlier work, The Hobbit, and his The Lord of the Rings.

This course is graduate level in intensity.

Fee: 2 Signum Tokens