The second Tolkien Society Seminar of 2021 will be held online on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th July 2021 on Zoom. We will additionally be live-streaming the event on our YouTube channel.
About the Seminar
The Tolkien Society Seminar is a short academic conference of both researcher-led and non-academic presentations on a specific theme pertaining to Tolkien scholarship. The online setting of the 2020 seminar saw an increased interest with over 400 attendees from 37 countries. We are delighted to be running another online seminar that will be free for all.
Summer Seminar: Tolkien and Diversity Call for Papers
While interest in the topic of diversity has steadily grown within Tolkien research, it is now receiving more critical attention than ever before. Spurred by recent interpretations of Tolkien’s creations and the cast list of the upcoming Amazon show The Lord of the Rings, it is crucial we discuss the theme of diversity in relation to Tolkien. How do adaptations of Tolkien’s works (from film and art to music) open a discourse on diversity within Tolkien’s works and his place within modern society? Beyond his secondary-world, diversity further encompasses Tolkien’s readership and how his texts exist within the primary world. Who is reading Tolkien? How is he understood around the globe? How may these new readings enrich current perspectives on Tolkien?
Representation is now more important than ever and Tolkien’s efforts to represent (or ignore) particular characteristics requires further examination. Additionally, how a character’s identity shapes and influences its place within Tolkien’s secondary-world still requires greater attention. This seminar aims to explore the many possible applications of “diversity” within Tolkien’s works, his adaptations, and his readership.
Papers may consider, but are not limited to:
- Representation in Tolkien’s works (race, gender, sexuality, disability, class, religion, age etc.)
- Tolkien’s approach to colonialism and post-colonialism
- Adaptations of Tolkien’s works
- Diversity and representation in Tolkien academia and readership
- Identity within Tolkien’s works
- Alterity in Tolkien’s works
Please ensure that abstracts are a maximum of 300 words and biographies are a maximum of 100 words. Submissions can be made below. The deadline for the call for papers is end of day, Friday 23rd April.
Programme
Please log in at 14:45 (GMT) to ensure a prompt start at 15:00 (GMT) on both days.
Saturday 3rd July
Time | Speaker | Paper | ||
(BST) | (CEST) | (EDT) | ||
15:00 | 16:00 | 10:00 | Cordeliah Logsdon | Gondor in Transition: A Brief Introduction to Transgender Realities in The Lord of the Rings |
15:30 | 16:30 | 10:30 | Clare Moore | The Problem of Pain: Portraying Physical Disability in the Fantasy of J. R. R. Tolkien |
16:00 | 17:00 | 11:00 | V. Elizabeth King | “The Burnt Hand Teaches Most About Fire”: Applying Traumatic Stress and Ecological Frameworks to Narratives of Displacement and Resettlement Across Cultures in Tolkien’s Middle-earth |
16:30 | 17:30 | 11:30 | Sara Brown | The Invisible Other: Tolkien’s Dwarf-Women and the ‘Feminine Lack’ |
17:00 | 18:00 | 12:00 | BREAK | |
17:30 | 18:30 | 12:30 | Sultana Raza | Projecting Indian Myths, Culture and History onto Tolkien’s Worlds |
18:00 | 19:00 | 13:00 | Nicholas Birns | The Lossoth: Indigeneity, Identity, and Antiracism |
18:30 | 19:30 | 13:30 | Kristine Larsen | The Problematic Perimeters of Elrond Half-elven and Ronald English-Catholic |
19:00 | 20:00 | 14:00 | Cami Agan | Hearkening to the Other: Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth |
19:30 | 20:30 | 14:30 | CLOSING COMMENTS |
Sunday 4th July
Time | Speaker | Paper | ||
(BST) | (CEST) | (EDT) | ||
15:00 | 16:00 | 10:00 | Christopher Vaccaro | Pardoning Saruman?: The Queer in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings |
15:30 | 16:30 | 10:30 | Sonali Chunodkar | Desire of the Ring: An Indian Academic’s Adventures in her Quest for the Perilous Realm |
16:00 | 17:00 | 11:00 | Robin Reid | Queer Atheists, Agnostics, and Animists, Oh, My! |
16:30 | 17:30 | 11:30 | Joel Merriner | Hidden Visions: Iconographies of Alterity in Soviet Bloc Illustrations for The Lord of the Rings |
17:00 | 18:00 | 12:00 | BREAK | |
17:30 | 18:30 | 12:30 | Eric Reinders | Questions of Caste in The Lord of the Rings and its Multiple Chinese Translations |
18:00 | 19:00 | 13:00 | Dawn Walls-Thumma | Stars Less Strange: An Analysis of Fanfiction and Representation within the Tolkien Fan Community |
18:30 | 19:30 | 13:30 | Danna Petersen-Deeprose | “Something Mighty Queer”: Destabilizing Cishetero Amatonormativity in the Works of Tolkien |
19:00 | 20:00 | 14:00 | Martha Celis-Menzoda | Translation as a means of representation and diversity in Tolkien’s scholarship and fandom |
19:30 | 20:30 | 14:30 | CLOSING COMMENTS |
Who to Contact
If you have any questions or need any further information, please email Will Sherwood at education@tolkiensociety.org
Paper submission
The call for papers is now closed.
Registration
Please register whether you are or are not a member of the Tolkien Society.