Admission requirements
Similar to admission requirements for MA Literary Studies.
Description
While J.R.R. Tolkien is best known as the author of The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955), he was also a noted medievalist who for most of his career taught Old English and related subjects at the University of Oxford. Middle-earth, the world Tolkien created in his fictional work, was heavily influenced by his academic interests and shows the great debt that Tolkien owed to the language and literature of medieval Europe, especially early medieval England. In this course, we will study both Tolkien’s fiction and his academic publications and discover the close relationships between them.
Tolkien’s scholarship, like his fiction, has been hugely influential; his lecture ‘Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics’ (1936) is possibly one of the most-cited studies in his field, and helped shape a new literary-critical approach to the Old English epic poem Beowulf. His translations and retellings of medieval texts such as Beowulf, The Fall of Arthur and The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún have also brought these stories to many new readers.
Reading Tolkien’s academic work will first of all provide students with a better insight into the culture, language and literature of the medieval period, as well as the methodology of philological research. At the same time, it will also illuminate their reading of Tolkien’s fantasy fiction.
Course objectives
Upon successful completion of the course, students will have:
encountered a variety of important works of medieval literature and improved their ability to interpret them
gained a thorough understanding of Tolkien’s development of his mythology and how studying an author’s sources can enhance our reading of his fictional work.
further developed their ability to analyse works of literature, to understand these works as belonging to their historical and cultural moments as well as specific textual traditions, and to make interesting and meaningful claims about these works in both written or oral form.
further developed their independent research skills.
produced a final research paper that represents the very best writing they were able to produce at that moment.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar (2 hours)
Assessment method
Assessment
- Essay of c. 1500 words after Block I
- Research paper of 2500-3000 words after Block II
- Oral presentation of 15-20 minutes
- Participation and preparation of weekly readings
Weighing
Element 1) 25%
Element 2) 40%
Element 3) 25%
Element 4) 10%
The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average. To pass the course, the weighted average of the partial grades must be 5.5 or higher.
Resit
If the average grade is a 5,49 or lower, one or two of the research papers will need to be retaken. There is no resit for the presentation, participation and preparation (elements 3 and 4).
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays (HarperCollins, 2000 or later)
J.R.R. Tolkien, Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary, ed. C. Tolkien (HarperCollins, 2014 or later)
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Battle of Maldon: Together with the Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, ed. P. Grybauskas (HarperCollins, 2023)
J.R.R. Tolkien, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl and Sir Orfeo (any edition)
Tom Shippey, The Road to Middle-Earth. 3rd revised and expanded edition (HarperCollins, 2003 or later)
It is assumed that students will already have access to copies of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Registration Exchange
For the registration of exchange students contact Humanities International Office.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Arsenaal
Remarks
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