First of all Happy New Year to all!
My online Tolkien course Exploring Tolkien: There and Back Again will run again for the second time this academic year, starting on 19 January 2009. There are still a few places left so if you want to enrol hurry up!
As a student on my online course you will have the opportunity to explore Tolkien’s Middle-earth from your home, in your own time. We will examine the vast mythology behind The Lord of the Rings and you will gain a thorough knowledge of Tolkien’s fiction and its creation by focusing on The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and The Children of Húrin. The course focuses on the northern European mythologies that inspired Tolkien’s Middle-earth, especially the creative uses of his sources in Old Norse mythology, Celtic myths and legends, Classical mythology, Shakespeare, and the literary tradition. You will also learn about Tolkien’s ‘invented languages’, their origins and sources, and you will be able to examine Tolkien’s work in its historical context through intellectual history, focusing on the ‘races’ and cultures of Middle-earth.
My online students will also have the opportunity to participate in a lively Discussion Board, which I will be moderating, and they will have full access to Cardiff University’s electronic resources (including such electronic journals as Tolkien Studies and Mythlore and a great number of e-book and reference collections). For those students who are already enrolled in academic programmes, there is the option of doing this course for credits to be used towards their Higher Education Qualifications.
I am also very happy to announce that the Centre for Lifelong Learning can now accept your enrolment and payment completely online!
- To find out more about my Tolkien online course please visit the main web page of the course.
- We also have a Frequently Asked Questions webpage (including details on how the course works, how to enrol, reduced fees, etc).
- See also an outline of the topics covered in the 10 Units of the course.
- I am happy to answer any questions you may have! Please contact me via the contact form here.
