Arda Measured: The Geocosmology of Tolkien's Legendarium
Jackson Mitchell-Bolton
Presentations Hall
Just how big is Arda? Comparing Tolkien’s maps of Middle-earth and Arda, Jackson Mitchell-Bolton estimates the size of Tolkien’s world and qua...
Eowyn and Dernhelm
Dr. Sara Brown
Presentations Hall
A fascinating paper viewing Tolkien’s characterization of Éowyn through a queer lens. Dr. Sarah Brown proposes that when Éowyn rides as Dernhe...
Master of Horror: H.P. Lovecraft
Robbie Park
Presentations Hall
Why is H.P. Lovecraft often called the master of horror? This presentation by Robbie Park surveys Lovecraft’s life and writing career. Explori...
"She Was Not Conquered: Morwen and Motherhood"
Ilana Mushin
Presentations Hall
Ilana Mushin gives a fantastic deep dive on the concept of motherhood in Tolkien's works but also focuses on Morwen's intricacies and motivati...
The Khazad-dum Igneous Complex: A Potential Geologic Model for a Mithril Deposit
Alec Martin
Presentations Hall
What is the geology of the Mithril deposit of Khazad-dûm? Alec Martin’s paper explores the physical properties of Mithril and where it could e...
The Nature of the Rings of Power
Tony Meade
Presentations Hall
Using the vocabulary of real-world alchemy and ancient elemental lore, this presentation dives into the deep end of Tolkien’s world-building t...
To Enter the Perilous Realm or Not to Enter? That is the Question
Trudy Shannon
Presentations Hall
The Unknown is calling – will you heed it? Trudy Shannon compares Smith from Smith of Wootton-Major with the tale of Aldarion and Erendis from...
Tolkien and Textiles: Feminine Agency and Power
Jackie Sheppard
Presentations Hall
How does Tolkien’s construction of textile arts relate to feminine agency and power? Jackie Sheppard examines Tolkien’s attitudes toward texti...
Tolkien and the Legacy of World War I
Robbie Park
Presentations Hall
‘An author cannot of course remain wholly unaffected by his experience…’ – J.R.R. Tolkien
How did Tolkien’s wartime experiences affect his wri...
Tolkien and the Tasks of Grief
Karen Pollock
Presentations Hall
How does Tolkien depict the tasks of grief? Karen Pollock discusses the processes of acceptance, processing, adjusting and finding connection ...
Tolkien and the Use of Words
Ruth Barratt
Presentations Hall
Fool, smile, torture and torment: where and why does Tolkien use these words? In this fascinating paper, Ruth Baratt presents a quantitative a...
Tolkien's Modernist 1920s Poems
Lorena Farias
Presentations Hall
What makes a “Modernist” and how did Tolkien use this framework in his poetry? Lorena Farias explores the poems Progress in Bimble Town, The C...
"Untangling the Pentangle: The Knighting of Sir Gawain"
Elizabeth Lyon
Presentations Hall
How did traditional elements of the knighting ritual appear in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight? Gawin is already a worthy knight, so why does ...