AJ14068 J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2013
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 2 credit(s) (plus 2 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Janka Kaščáková, Ph.D. (lecturer), prof. Mgr. Milada Franková, CSc., M.A. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites
It is necessary to have read the unabridged Lord of the Rings (ideally in English) prior to the beginning of the course. A knowledge of The Hobbit is also welcome.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 12 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/12, only registered: 0/12
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This course aims at discussing a selected number of topics from The Lord of the Rings, covering both some well-known issues underlying Tolkien’s masterpiece as well as introducing some elements which are usually overlooked or neglected. During the course the primary focus will be on the novel, but small parts of the movies, those in which Tolkien’s and Jackson’s texts most significantly diverge, will be shown to illustrate some of the issues important for Tolkien and the philosophy of his world. The course will further enhance the students' skills of critical thinking and literary analysis. Students will employ and apply the acquired knowledge and skills of analysis and interpretation in writing their end-of-term essay.
Syllabus
  • The Peoples of Middle-earth
  • Allegory vs. Applicability
  • Heroism, Victory and Moral Responsibility
  • Hobbits’ Ennoblement
  • Great Battles of Middle-earth: Tolkien and Violence
  • Gollum and the Questions of Mercy and Pity
  • Beren and Lúthien vs. Aragorn and Arwen
  • Éowyn, Aragorn and Faramir
  • Magic, Might and Deceit
  • Treebeard, Tom Bombadil and Environmental Issues
Literature
  • Jane Chance, ed. Tolkien and the Invention of Myth. The University Press of Kentucky, 2004
  • J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings
  • Matthew Dickerson. A Hobbit Journey. Brazos Press, 2012.
  • Dimitra Fimi. Tolkien, Race and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits. Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
  • J.R.R. Tolkien. “On Fairy Stories” at
  • J.R.R. Tolkien. The Silmarillion.
  • J.R.R. Tolkien. The Hobbit.
  • Humphrey Carpenter, ed. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. HarperCollinsPublishers, 2006.
  • Verlyn Flieger. Interrupted Music: The Making of Tolkien’s Mythology. The Kent State University Press, 2005
  • Tom Shippey. The Road to Middle-earth. HarperCollinsPublishers, 2005 [1982]
Teaching methods
Close reading and analyses of extracts from the primary source assisted by selected secondary texts, group discussion, homework
Assessment methods
The students will be expected to prepare for every class by reading assigned extracts from the Lord of the Rings and selected secondary literature. The final assessment will consist of an end-of-term essay of approximately 3000 words on a topic chosen by the student and approved by the teacher.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught: in blocks.
Note related to how often the course is taught: Intensive course run on September 9th to September 13th.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2016, Autumn 2018.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2013, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2013/AJ14068