We are pleased to announce that the Mythgard Institute has agreed to a partnership with UWIC, the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff! We still have some paperwork to complete, but when it is done, our Mythgard courses will be fully accredited in the UK higher-education system. We’ll explain all the details when everything is finalized.
Meanwhile, Dr. Dimitra Fimi will again be teaching her online Tolkien course at UWIC this October 2011.
The course is entitled J.R.R. Tolkien: Myth and Middle-earth in Context, and is taught entirely online in 10 week units that explore Tolkien’s medieval sources and cultural context. Enrollment for this UWIC course is now open.
Good news! The course is fully accredited and carries 20 British/European credits at the Masters level.
Even better news! Dr. Fimi’s course (20 European credits = an American 3-credit course) will be accepted here at the Mythgard Institute as counting towards our M.A. program.
My good friend and fellow Middle-earth Network cohort, Ian Speck, had a chance to chat Tolkien lore with non other than "The Tolkien Professor". I found his Q&A with the Professor refreshing and fun and pass it along for you to enjoy. Not only is Ian one of the most knowledgeable Tolkien fans I know, he is also a producer here at Middle-earth Network and currently working on a top secret project for Middle-earth Network Radio (TBA). After reading, feel free to continue the debate on our comment section below.
Ian- On the night of June 24th, 2011, I was able to get a hold of Dr. Corey Olsen, more famously know as The Tolkien Professor, who graciously set aside some time for a this discussion at My Middle-earth.com, a [fantasy-based] social network that we have built at the Middle-earth Network. Dr. Olsen also runs a website of his own containing free-to-listen-to lectures on all things Tolkien, and he is ranked as one of the top most-downloaded educational lectures on the internet. The discussion pertains to a comic Youtube short, "How Lord of the Rings Should Have Ended" approximately two minutes in length.
Now I enjoy the short, but what bothers me is that there are those who seriously wonder why the Fellowship simply didn't fly on Great Eagles to Mount Doom, and see the whole story as being undone by this one thing. And you know what? It's an interesting question, but it's one myth we can bust, if you pardon the expression. I have my own arguments, but I was interested in what Dr. Olsen himself had to say. (For those unfamiliar with Tolkien a reference is made to The Song--the Ainulindalë--which, according to Tolkien's mythology epic, The Silmarillion, is the creation myth of the world in which Iluvatar (God) created the Ainur (angels) and taught them a Great Music which created the world, and also was the history of the world, as it were, from Creation to the Last Day, according to the will and designs of Iluvatar. Anonther reference is to the Eucatastrophe, a term Tolkien coined, which you can look at here.
So without further a due, My "Mini-interview" with the Tolkien Professor:
Ian- Hello sir, I was wondering if you had a moment?
TolkienProf: Sure!
Ian- I was wondering if you were familiar with "How LotR Should Have Ended"? It's a goofy cartoon short where the Fellowship fly on eagles to Mt Doom.
TolkienProf- The YouTube video? Yes
Ian- I believe it's intent is comic, but there are some who believe this to be a genuine plot hole within the framework of The Lord of the Rings. I suppose I was wondering what your thoughts were as to that.
TolkienProf- Well, there are several ways in which that could be answered. On its own level, I simply don't think it would have worked.
Ian- Agreed.
TolkienProf- I can't imagine that Sauron and the Nazgul wouldn't have noticed the eagles flying in, but that's not really the ultimate answer to the question. The problem comes with making "alternative stories" at all. A story that includes a desperate dash in on an eagle might, perhaps, work as a story, but that isn't the story that Tolkien was interested in telling (obviously).
Ian- Yes, I have made this case to friends before--that is, the problem with alternate stories
TolkienProf- When people start saying "why didn't this other thing happen?" they are basically writing new stories and that's fine, potentially, but what sense is there in asking why T didn't write a different story than he wrote?
Ian- I just know someone who wonders why they didn't "take the simpler approach".
Ian- Right.
TolkienProf- And there's a third level on which to address this: the "plot hole" angle.
Ian- I thought of a couple counters, but I'm curious as to your thoughts.
TolkienProf- That is, is this genuinely a problem for T's story as he chose to tell it? Is it an inconsistency (which the "hole" argument suggests)? My answer hinges on the nature and purpose of the eagles. They are very important, and they are not simply transportation.
Ian- Yes, I agree, they are not a taxi service.
TolkienProf- They act, in almost every case, as a traveling eucatastrophe, the instruments of the Valar and even of Iluvatar himself in the events of Middle-Earth. If the Valar wanted to help in the destruction of the Ring, heck, they wouldn't even need the eagles. They could have just vaporized the Ring, or whatever.
Ian- A good point.
TolkienProf- But they don't, and Elrond talks about how and why he knows they won't. What people who want the eagles to fly to Mordor are asking for is for the entire story to be short-circuited by a huge Deus ex Machina. That's really what people want? And THAT would be massively inconsistent with how [Tolkien] has depicted the Valar and Iluvatar throughout his mythology.
Ian- One thing I would say is that it was not ordained in the Song that it should end in such a way.
TolkienProf- Yes, sure. That ending would be wildly inconsistent with the whole, larger story that Tolkien was telling and developing throughout his lifetime, not only in the LOTR, but in the Silmarillion material.
Ian- Right.
TolkienProf- When people are thinking only "what would be easiest?" they are not really thinking of the story at all and as I said, that isn't easiest anyway. "God unmakes the Ring, destroys Sauron, and undoes all evil everywhere in the blink of an eye" is really much easier still, and simpler. But that isn't the world that we live in or that Tolkien wrote about or that anyone would actually want to read about, either. :)
Ian- No indeed. I would also add, for the sake of argument, that if such a path were taken, there would be several problems. You've named a couple, one being that how would Sauron NOT notice the approach?
TolkienProf- Oh, yes.
Ian- I also have feeling that they wouldn't make it past the Mountains of Shadow.
TolkienProf- And the movie shots of the eagles beating off the Nazgul in the last battle are very unrealistic, I think.
Ian- But I thought they did engage the Nazgul, or does memory fail me? If they could stand up to dragons then why not fell beasts, or does the Deadly Fear come into play?
TolkienProf- Yes, and Gwaihir is not Thorondor, either
Ian- (A quick rewind, Dad said with regards to the original question: "asking why the fellowship couldn't fly on eagles is like asking why does God let babies die?" So I thought it was interesting he said that when he has no clue as to the contents of this discussion.)
TolkienProf- Yep. He's thinking in exactly the same direction I am, there.
Ian- But getting back on track, let's assume they pull off this crazy task, there would still be several problems (again this is for argument's sake). One is Boromir, I don't think he would be free of his desire for the Ring. He would never have died redeemed.
TolkienProf- Yes, that's a good illustration. It would be a very different, and infinitely poorer story.
Ian- Indeed.
TolkienProf- Okay, I've got to go, unfortunately.
Ian- Hey, that's fine, thanks for your time, this was great!
TolkienProf- No problem! I enjoyed it. Good night!
Ian- Good night!
Ian- You can tell in places where the conversation overlaps a little, but the whole thing was a blast. Another thing that was cool (as mentioned in the discussion) was that [my] Dad happened to walk by and throw in his two cents, and it was amazing how well it matched the discussion we were already having. We finally wrapped up around midnight.
Starting this Tuesday Tolkien fans will have a chance to brush up on their Hobbit lore. Middle-earth Network Radio will be broadcasting "The Tolkien Professor's" popular Hobbit Lecture Series every week for the next eight weeks, beginning with Lecture 1, "Took and Baggins". For those of you familiar with Corey Olsen's Hobbit lectures, you know this is exciting news, as the series had stalled half way through lecture 5 for over a year now. In the Professor's own words, "People should tune in from the start for a refresher course, and then they can go right through to the long-awaited end of the series, week by week."
The lectures are airing at 8 AM & PM EST on Tuesdays, starting this Tuesday, June 28th.
Last December, Corey Olsen, the Tolkien Professor, started up the Silmarillion Seminar, a weekly discussion that has been proceeding chapter by chapter through Tolkien's stories from the First Age of Middle Earth. Recordings of the proceedings are being made available through the Tolkien Professor podcast feed. Now, listeners are invited to tune into Middle-earth Network Radio at 9:30 PM EST every Wednesday to listen LIVE as Professor Olsen and his seminar group engage in their weekly discussions. Silmarillion enthusiasts can even contribute to the ongoing discussion. During the broadcast, those who might have a question or an observation to offer to the discussion can go to the Silmarillion Seminar group page in My Middle-earth and post their thoughts on the wall. As many as possible of those comments will be relayed live to the seminar group in real time. This week at 9:30 PM EST on the Silmarillion Seminar we will discuss Akallabeth, the Downfall of Numenor. We'll be looking at the actual sinking of the island and its aftermath. After this, there will only be 2-3 more weeks, on "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age." Recordings will still be available later on for those who miss the live broadcast.
In an exclusive interview,The Tolkien Professor (Corey Olsen), revealed toMiddle-earth Network’s radio listeners his next bold project. With the blessing of theTolkien Estate backing his work, he will be writing a book called Exploring The Hobbit. It’s being published byHoughton Mifflin, and is due to grace bookstores September 22, 2012. That date holds special meaning for Tolkien fans, as it’s the 75th anniversary of the publication of The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien.
The Tolkien Professor is widely known for his freepodcast lectures, detailing Tolkien and his novels and gaining over a million downloads on iTunes. Just this week, he has moved all of his content over to My Middle-earth, a rapidly growing fantasy-based social network. Now you can not only listen to his podcasts, but chat with him in the Tolkien Professor Chat Room, and join in on his group discussions.
With Middle-earth Network’s addition of Corey Olsen and manyother prominent figures in the Tolkien word, it’s clear they’re giving fantasy fans what they’ve needed: access to music, videos, news, authors, artists, scholars, gamers, chat rooms, blogs, and 24 hour radio -all in one place. Quite an amazing network, and as their site says, “It’s only the beginning!”.
Corey Olsen, dubbed the ‘Tolkien Professor’, has been getting a lot of press lately. And why shouldn't he? In 2007 the tenured English professor, with a PhD in medieval literature from Washington College, created a podcast on iTunes called “How to read Tolkien and Why” and it has since had over a million downloads. His unusual approach, reaching out publicly vs. publishing his own scholarly works, might be called unconventional by some, but it seems to be working. In an article written for The Washington Post, the author, Daniel De Vise calls Olsen “..one of the most popular medievalists in America” In the same article, Olsen spoke about his unique public approach saying, "Instead of spending all my time doing scholarly publishing, which we're told to do - which most people will never read - I basically decided to put myself out to the public."
Olsen’s love for Tolkien began when he first read The Hobbit at age eight, and by seventh grade he professed himself to be an expert on The Lord of the Rings. After studying at Williams College in Massachusetts as an undergraduate, he went on to Columbia and received a doctorate in Medieval literature. From there, he went on to teach at Washington College in Chestertown, MD and in 2007 won their top teaching award. But it wasn’t until 2009, when he uploaded an introductory lecture onto iTunes that his website began to get noticed . It took only two months for his site to gain over 5,000 subscribers.
With millions of fans eagerly seeking Olsen’s views on Tolkien and his books, the Professor is kept busy. During a live interview conducted by The Washington Post, Olsen was asked what he thought of The Lord of the Rings films. “I like [them] a lot.” he answered. “The film adaptations are, of course, adaptations -- that means they are different stories, and we shouldn't even expect them to be the same. … I'm very glad the films were made, and were done so well. … For me, the greatest triumph of the films is visual -- the landscapes, costuming, and scenery are often simply perfect.” When asked which of Tolkien’s characters was his favorite, Olsen replied, “Sam Gamgee, hands down. Sam is the real hero of the Lord of Rings (in my opinion) -- the exemplar of all of the virtues that matter most in Tolkien's books. I'm a huge Sam fan.”
Olsen is currently working his way through The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien, and you can download the lectures here. You may also find him online via Twitter, Facebook and www.tolkienprofessor.com.
And now, Dunedain Radio have announced that the ‘Tolkien Professor’ will be joining them live on their Bird and Baby show, hosted by Mark aka Maerech, John from the Lonely Mountain Band and Candace from the Green Dragon Inn, so stay tuned for a set date!
