J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in the History and Literature Classroom

FAIN: ES-50225-08

Texas A & M University, Commerce (Commerce, TX 75428-4311)
Robin Anne Reid (Project Director: March 2008 to June 2010)

A five-week institute for twenty-five high school teachers on Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, its genesis, its historicity, and its role in modern conceptualizations of the Middle Ages.

The project is a proposed Institute for school teachers which analyzes J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings from the perspective of its profound influence on the way modern people conceptualize the Middle Ages. The Institute will be team-taught by a medieval historian and a contemporary literature and critical theory professor. Fifteen experts in literature (medieval, fantasy, and children's), history, linguistics, astronomy, geography, and archeology will present the latest scholarship in their fields as it relates to Tolkien. The proposed Institute will examine "The Lord of the Rings" from a variety of scholarly perspectives designed to help not only those who will teach the novel, but also those who teach medieval history and medieval literature.