Session 1

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Video Index

  • Tolkien's academic style is not all that dissimilar to his academic style.
  • Cantor's assessment of the Narnia series.
  • Capitalism and Tolkien: Marxist school of thought in the '70s said that Tolkien phenomenon was so popular and profitable, it must be a manifestation of capitalism.
  • How do you square Bynum with the Medieval sensibility of Lewis's "Discarded Image" or Tolkien's made up world?
  • Popular exposure to Medieval culture: do modern people "get" Medieval references?
  • Modern scientific models / beliefs vs. Medieval understanding of the universe.
  • Lewis's characterization of the Medieval mindset.
  • Is Lewis inconsistent in his theory that theology is separate from the general cultural model? Modern science vs. religion.
  • Is Tolkien writing a story, or is he writing history? Is it more scholarly than a work of fiction?
  • Braudel: the impact of the German prisoner of war experience, a longing for something that was not modern (early modern), and a strong attachment to place. How is this similar to the Lord of the Rings series?
  • Why do many people believe that World War I had such an incredible cultural impact, compared with previous wars?
  • Was there anything heroic about World War I? What is the difference between a World War I hero and a Beowulf-style hero?
  • Heroism in the Lord of the Rings: who is the hero in the Lord of the Rings?
  • How are Tolkien's and Lewis's intense experiences with Christian theology reconciled in their writings?
  • Heroism and death: what happens after life? Where do Anglo-Saxon narratives fit in Tolkien's world?
  • Tolkien's world is masculinist and violent. What would Tolkien say? How do women affect peace in Beowulf?
  • Tolkien and the "Germanic Ideal": ancestry, heritage, race, and World War II. Tolkien's opinion of Hitler and his ideas. Tolkien vs. Braudel on these topics with respect to World War II as a "world gone mad."

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