Running again this year from the 14th July; this MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) hosted by Vanderbilt University provides a most enlightening experience of Tolkien, romance and myth. It takes these narratives and presents them as experienced in contemporary media. It also includes on-line activities utilising ‘Lord of the Rings Online‘ (LOTRO).
https://www.coursera.org/course/onlinegames.
The content of the course is both engaging and informative, even for those who do not take part in the game based activities. It covers aspects of romance literature in both prose and poetry, in thier original form and combining this with thier presentation in the new media. The course serves as a good introduction to this area of study and has value when considering the impact of new media formats.
