J.R.R.
Tolkien and Political Philosophy
Spring 2004
OFFICE HOURS
Office: 420 Saint Augustine Center
Phone: (610) 519-7300
Email: Thomas.W.Smith@Villanova.edu
Homepage: http://www45.homepage.villanova.edu/Thomas.W.Smith/
Office Hours: By appointment. Please contact my secretary at 96165 or Susan.Stefanski@Villanova.edu to set up a time.
I always enjoy meeting with and talking to students. If you would like to get together for lunch or coffee, please consider this an open invitation.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The current interest in J.R.R. Tolkien might lead us to overlook the fact that the author was a serious scholar whose fiction was informed by his intellectual interests and deep Catholic faith. Examining his fiction is a way of interrogating questions that lie at the heart of human life including: the desire for power and its effects, the nature of good and evil, myth, the meaning of wisdom, the problems and opportunities of being mortal, the meaning of choice and its effects on character, the relationship between chance, choice, and grace, and the redemptive power of sacrifice and love. This course will inquire into such themes using Tolkien’s fiction as a vehicle, emphasizing the specifically political dimensions of these questions.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Carpenter, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography
Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle Earth
Shippey, Tolkien: Author of the Century
Tolkien
- The Hobbit
- Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien
- Lord of the Rings
- Silmarillion,
Several texts will also be assigned on-line.
*Please note: This doesn’t exhaust the reading requirements for the course. In order to successfully complete the course requirements for Political Science senior seminar, you must write a research paper that will require you to investigate the large secondary literature on Tolkien.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
* 50% Class Participation.
*This means careful reading and reflection on the readings, coming to class with questions and issues to talk about, and intelligent, critical reflections on the readings and issues of the class.
* 50% Writing
*This includes not only the paper, but also the portfolio you will hand in, which includes your question, your preliminary list of sources, your preliminary outline, and final outline, and whatever early drafts you choose to hand in early.
COURSE OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION
Week 1: January 12, 2004
- Organization and Introduction to Course
Week 2: January 19: Martin Luther King Day (No Classes)
WHO WAS TOLKIEN? WHY DID HE WRITE?
Week 3: January 26
Readings:
Carpenter, J.R.R.
Tolkien: A Biography, 17-175; 263-65
Tolkien, On Fairy Stories
Preface to
Silmarillion (same as Letters, 131)
Letters, numbers 142; 18; 213
Shippey, J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century, Forward. Chapter 6 is also recommended.
THE SILMARILLION
Week 4: February 2
Silmarillion, Ainulindale (15 – 22); Valaquenta (25 – 32); Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter 1
*Read the Babylonian and Norse Creation stories at http://www.magictails.com/creationlinks.html
*Read Genesis 1-2.
*What are you saying about ultimate reality when you come up with a creation narrative? What are these various creation stories saying about ultimate reality? The nature of evil?
Letters, 200
Recommended: Shippey, Chapter 5; Fonstad, The First Age (pp. 1-36).
Week 5: February 9
Readings:
Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapters 2-3; 6-13; 17-18; 20; 22-24.
Silmarillion, Akallabeth; Rings of Power and the Third Age
Letters, 203 (dislike of allegory); 310 (Tolkien on the purpose of life)
Shippey, Chapter 5
Recommended: Fonstad, pages 1-50.
RULES, PROPERTY, AND THE VIRTUES OF A HOBBIT
Week 6: February 16
Readings:
The Hobbit, about 1/2
Letters, 214 (on Hobbits generally)
Carpenter, 179-86
Shippey, Chapter 1
Recommended: Fonstad, 69-82 and 97-115
Week 7: February 23
Readings:
The Hobbit, second half
Shippey, Chapter 1; Fonstad, 69-82
Spring Break: March 1 – 5
LORD OF THE RINGS
Week 8: March 8
QUESTION DUE TODAY
Readings:
Lord of the Rings, Book I
Letters: 208 (death is theme of LotR); 211 (whole letter, but see page 279ff, on the meaning of the ring and on Sauron);
Shippey, Chapter 2
Carpenter, 187-208
Recommended: Fonstad, 51-64;
Week 9: March 15
Readings:
Lord of the Rings, Book II
Letters: 89; 250 (to his son, Christopher, giving a glimpse of Tolkien’s faith); and 267; 306 (to Michael, same theme).
Shippey, Chapter 3
Carpenter, 187-208
Recommended: Fonstad, appropriate sections
Week 10: March 29
LIST OF SECONDARY SOURCES DUE TODAY
Readings:
Lord of the Rings, Book III
Letters 328
Shippey, Chapter 4
Recommended: Fonstad, appropriate sections
Week 11: April 5
ROUGH OUTLINES DUE TODAY
Readings:
Lord of the Rings, Book IV
Letters: 153 (general statement about LotR, but important); 156 (on the death of Gandalf, and on men)
Shippey, Chapter
Recommended: Fonstad, appropriate sections
Week 12: April 19
Readings:
Lord of the Rings, Book V
Letters 144 (general info about LotR)
Recommended: Fonstad, appropriate sections
Week 13: April 26
FINAL OUTLINES DUE TODAY
Readings:
Lord of the Rings, Book VI
Letters 183 (Comments on Auden’s review; on politics in the LotR); 181; 192; 246 (Frodo and destruction of the ring)
Shippey, Afterword
Recommended: Fonstad, appropriate sections
CONCLUSION
Week 14: April 28 (follows a Monday schedule)
Readings:
Carpenter, 259-60
Leaf by Niggle (provided)