TMHC7301 · Theology and Ministry
Clough School of Theology and Ministry
This course will examine the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien (author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, among others) in primarily a historical framework, but also with attention to Tolkiens Catholic worldview. Tolkien was a scholar of medieval literature as well as a fantasy author. He intended his fictional Middle Earth to represent not only a new national myth-cycle for the English people, but also a particularly Catholic worldview, potentially counter to the landscape of industrialization and World War I. This course will examine these themes and present a narrative concerned with the middle ages, medievalisms, and early 20th-century Catholicism as refracted through Tolkiens lenses. It will also consider discussions of race in Tolkiens thought, linguistics, and various adaptations of his work as well as his relationship with C.S. Lewis and the other members of the Inklings (his writers group).
Course experience
Averages use the original five-point historical evaluation scale.
Organization
4.9 / 5
How well the course was organized
Challenge
4.7 / 5
How intellectually challenging students found it
Attendance
4.8 / 5
How necessary attendance was
Assignments
4.9 / 5
How helpful assignments were
Weekly effort
~5
hours per week
Estimated from the original workload response buckets. Individual sections may differ.
Instructor options
Ratings below reflect only recovered evaluations connected to this course.
Across time
Section-level results available in the recovered archive.
Spring 2024
1 section