Fall Syllabus #1: J.R.R. Tolkien! (UPDATED!)

I’m really excited about this one. Here’s the day-by-day schedule…

Big thanks to Ben Robertson, Robert Tally, and Tim McMahon for sharing their Tolkien syllabus, and to Brian Kenna for talking a few things through with me when I needed it. (UPDATE: Thanks also to Robin Reid, who had some great ideas for additions.)

GENERAL COURSE PLAN

WEEKS 1-2: TOLKIEN’S CREATIVE PROJECT

WEEKS 3-4: THE HOBBIT

WEEKS 5-7: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING

WEEKS 8-10: THE TWO TOWERS

WEEKS 11-13: THE RETURN OF THE KING

WEEKS 14-15: THE SILMARILLION 

DAY-BY-DAY SCHEDULE

M	Aug. 31	FIRST DAY OF CLASS
W	Sep. 2	“On Fairy Stories” [D2L]
F	Sep. 4	“Leaf by Niggle” [D2L]
M	Sep. 7	LABOR DAY HOLIDAY—NO CLASS
W	Sep. 9	Brian Attebery, “Is Fantasy Literature? Tolkien and the Theorists”
F	Sep. 11	Guest lecturer Brian Kenna on Tolkien’s biography and war service
M	Sep. 14	The Hobbit, chapters 1-4
W	Sep. 16	The Hobbit, chapters 5-6 original “Riddles in the Dark” chapter (D2L)
F	Sep. 18	The Hobbit, chapters 7-9
M	Sep. 21	The Hobbit, chapters 10-14
W	Sep. 23	The Hobbit, chapters 15-19
F	Sep. 25	The Hobbit (whole book, plus film adaptations) J.R.R. Tolkien, “The Quest for Erebor” John D. Rateliff, “The 1960 Hobbit”
M	Sep. 28	The Fellowship of the Ring, Book One, foreword, prologue, and chapters 1-3
W	Sep. 30	The Fellowship of the Ring, Book One, chapters 4-7
F	Oct. 2	Tom Bombadil The Encyclopedia of Arda: “Tom Bombadil” [Web] Lord of the Rings Wiki: “Theories about Tom Bombadil” and linked pages [Web]
M	Oct. 5	The Fellowship of the Ring, Book One, chapters 8-12 FINAL PAPER GUIDELINES DISTRIBUTED
W	Oct. 7	Library Day #1—Meet at Raynor Library
F	Oct. 9	The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, chapters 1-5
M	Oct. 12	The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, chapters 6-8
W	Oct. 14	Galadriel Unfinished Tales: “The History of Galadriel and Celeborn” [D2L] Robert Tally, “Galadriel, Witch-Queen of Lórien” [Web]
F	Oct. 16	The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, chapters 9-10
M	Oct. 19	The Two Towers, Book Three, chapters 1-4
W	Oct. 21	The Two Towers, Book Three, chapters 5-7
F	Oct. 24	MIDTERM BREAK
M	Oct. 26	CONFERENCES—NO CLASS
W	Oct. 28	The Two Towers, Book Three, chapters 8-11 Robert Tally, “Song of Saruman” [Web]
F	Oct. 30	The Two Towers, Book Four, chapters 1-4
M	Nov. 2	The Two Towers, Book Four, chapters 5-10
W	Nov. 4	Orcs Robert Tally, “Let Us Now Praise Famous Orcs” [D2L] Richard K. Morgan, “The Real Fantastic Stuff” [Web] N.K. Jemisin, “The Unbearable Baggage of Orcing” [Web]
F	Nov. 6	Library Day #2—Meet at Raynor Library
M	Nov. 9	The Return of the King, Book Five, chapters 1-6
W	Nov. 11	The Return of the King, Book Five, chapters 7-10 Robin Reid, “Light (noun, 1) or Light (adjective, 14b)? Female Bodies and Femininities in The Lord of the Rings”
F	Nov. 13	CONFERENCES—NO CLASS POST FINAL PAPER PROSPECTUS ON D2L AND COMMENT ON AT LEAST TWO OTHER STUDENTS’ PROSPECTUSES
M	Nov. 16	The Return of the King, Book Six, chapters 1-3 Sean Crist, “Could the Eagles Have Flown Frodo into Mordor?” and responses
W	Nov. 18	The Return of the King, Book Six, chapters 4-7
F	Nov. 20	The Return of the King, Book Six, chapters 8-9 David M. Craig, “ ‘Queer Lodgings’: Gender and Sexuality in Lord of the Rings.”
M	Nov. 23	The Return of the King, appendices J.R.R. Tolkien, “The Epilogue” [D2L] J.R.R. Tolkien, “The New Shadow” [D2L]
W	Nov. 25	THANKSGIVING—NO CLASS
F	Nov. 27	THANKSGIVING—NO CLASS
M	Nov. 30	The Silmarillion: “Ainulindalë,” “Valaquenta,” and Quenta Silmarillion, chapters 1-5
W	Dec. 2	The Silmarillion: Quenta Silmarillion, chapters 6-12
F	Dec. 4	The Silmarillion: Quenta Silmarillion, chapters 13-19
M	Dec. 7	The Silmarillion: Quenta Silmarillion, chapters 20-24 J.R.R. Tolkien, “Notes on Motives in The Silmarillion” [Web]
W	Dec. 9	The Silmarillion: “Akallabêth” and “On the Rings of Power and the Third Age”
F	Dec. 11	Michael Saler, “The Middle Positions of Middle Earth” LAST DAY OF CLASS
F	Dec. 18	FINAL PAPERS DUE BY 1 PM