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Tolkien at Oxford
J. R. R. Tolkien was a students and a professor at the University of Oxford. He taught medieval literature from his arrival in 1925 at Pembroke College and Merton College until his retirement in 1959. These podcasts explore the relationship between Tolkien and Oxford, the influence of medieval literature on his fiction, and analyses of some of his most famous works - The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and .
We have created two teaching packs to support this:
- 'The Hobbit' Years 6 and up (slideset and teaching guide)
- 'The Silmarillion' Years 10 and up (slideset and teaching guide)
If you enjoy these podcasts on 'Fantasy Literature' we would love to hear your feedback. Please complete a short survey at: https://oxford.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/oxford-fantasy-podcasts.
| # | Title | Description | Contributor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mythopoeia: myth-creation and Middle-earth |
A celebration of Tolkien and his creations, with special guests Dame Marina Warner, Prof Verlyn... |
Marina Warner, Verlyn Flieger, Dimitra Fimi |
| 2 | Tolkien's turning point: Tolkien and the history of tongues |
Tom Shippey's lecture will move from the detail to the (eventual) design of Tolkien's languages... |
Tom Shippey |
| 3 | Middle English: 'The Tree of Tongues' Tolkien's Medieval languages |
This lecture is on Tolkien and middle english. Professor Carolyne Larrington, Tutorial Fellow in... |
Carolyne Larrington |
| 4 | Medieval Welsh: 'The Tree of Tongues' Tolkien's Medieval Languages |
Tolkien once termed Welsh 'the elder language of the men of Britain'; this talk explores how the... |
Mark Williams |
| 5 | Gothic: 'The Tree of Tongues' Tolkien's Medieval Languages |
Elizabeth Solopova, Lecturer in English Literature, Christ Church, Oxford. Tolkien wrote that he... |
Elizabeth Solopova |
| 6 | Old English: 'The Tree of Tongues' Tolkien's Medieval Languages: |
Mark Atherton, Senior Lecturer in English, Regent's Park College, Oxford, gives the fourth talk... |
Mark Atherton |
| 7 | Old Norse: 'The Tree of Tongues' Tolkien's Medieval Languages |
Eleanor Parker, Lecturer in Medieval English Literature, Brasenose College, Oxford, gives the... |
Eleanor Parker |
| 8 | What is the 'Silmarillion'? |
This lecture is an introduction to J.R.R. Tolkien's third major work, 'The Silmarillion' (1977... |
Grace Khuri |
| 9 | The Stories of Lewis Carroll, J.R.R. Tolkien and Philip Pullman |
Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, Stuart Lee and Margaret Kean explore the digital afterlives of these... |
Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, Stuart Lee, Margaret Kean |
| # | Title | Description | Contributor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tolkien's Favourite Tree - The Black Pine |
Short audio description of the Black Pine tree, a favourite of Tolkien which also appears at the... |
Timothy Walker |
| 2 | Tolkien Archive and Exhibition at Bodleian (Pt 2) |
Interview with Catherine McIlwaine, Tolkien Archivist at the Bodleian. This second part deals... |
Stuart Lee, Catherine McIlwaine |
| 3 | Tolkien Archive and Exhibition at Bodleian (Pt 1) |
Interview with Catherine McIlwaine, the Tolkien Archivist, by Stuart Lee on the Tolkien archive... |
Stuart Lee, Catherine McIlwaine |
| 4 | What Tolkien learnt from Beowulf: Representations of Evil |
Smaug the Golden, Sauron the Terrible, the Balrog of Moria... These are some of J. R. R. Tolkien... |
Rafael J. Pascual |
| 5 | Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary: 'The Ring of Words' |
A discussion with the authors of 'The Ring of Words', an exploration into Tolkien's work as a... |
Stuart Lee, Peter Gilliver, Jeremy Marshall, Edmund Weiner |
| 6 | Tolkien and Languages: Ancient and Invented |
Interview with Dr Elizabeth Solopova from the Bodlian Library on the influence of medieval... |
Elizabeth Solopova, Stuart Lee |
| 7 | Talking Tolkien: The influences of Medieval Literature on the Fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien |
Stuart Lee and Elizabeth Solopova discuss the influences of medieval literature on the fiction... |
Stuart Lee, Elizabeth Solopova |
| 8 | J.R.R. Tolkien: Medievalist and Mythmaker |
These lectures cover an introduction to J R R Tolkien's career, show how medieval literature... |
Stuart Lee |
| 9 | J.R.R. Tolkien 'Beyond the Shoreless Sea' |
These lectures cover an introduction to J R R Tolkien's career, show how medieval literature... |
Stuart Lee |
| 10 | Tolkien and Medieval Literature |
These lectures cover an introduction to J R R Tolkien's career, show how medieval literature... |
Elizabeth Solopova |
| 11 | Tolkien's Languages |
These lectures cover an introduction to J R R Tolkien's career, show how medieval literature... |
Elizabeth Solopova |
| 12 | The Lord of the Rings: Tolkien's Legacy |
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the publication of the final volume of Tolkien’s fantasy... |
Elleke Boehmer, Stuart Lee, Patrick Curry, Dimitra Fimi, Andy Orchard |
| 13 | The Hobbit at the Bodleian: World Book Day |
Judith Priestman, curator of the Bodleian library, discusses the World Book Day 2010 exhibition... |
Judith Priestman |