This post has been updated on February 2, 2025.

Please click on the link below if you wish to go to a specific year’s program events!

Introduction and Background

Tolkien Studies Special Topic, 2014 PCA, Chicago, IL

Tolkien Studies Area Program, 2015 PCA, New Orleans, LA

Tolkien Studies Area Program, 2016 PCA, Seattle, WA

Tolkien Studies Area Program, 2017 PCA, San Diego, CA

Tolkien Studies Area Program, 2018 PCA, Indianapolis, IN

Tolkien Studies Area Program, 2019 PCA, Washington, D.C.

Tolkien Studies Area Program, 2020 PCA (cancelled), Philadelphia, PA

Tolkien Studies Area Program, 2021 PCA, Virtual

Tolkien Studies Area Program, 2022 PCA, Virtual

Tolkien Studies Area Program, 2023 PCA, San Antonio, TX

Tolkien Studies Area Program, 2024 PCA, Chicago, IL

Tolkien Studies Area Program, 2025, New Orleans, LA

INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND

In 2013, frustrated with decisions the organizers of the International Congress on Medieval Studies were making, I decided to stop attending the conference.1 I realized that Tolkien scholars needed a conference and organization culture that welcomed the wide-ranging, multi-disciplinary, and multi-period work that I knew was being done at a conference that would support growth rather than restricting it.

So I wrote to the Vice President for Area Chairs at the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association to ask if PCA/ACA would be interested having a Tolkien Studies Area which I would create and oversee as the Area Chair.2

I had served as the Area Chair for the PCA Science Fiction and Fantasy Area and then as Second Vice Present from 1995-2000. I gave my second academic paper ever (on Sheri Tepper’s Grass as a feminist epic) in 1993, showed up at the SFF area’s business meeting that year, did my usual “why yes I am an introvert but I will talk your ear off about what I love,” for two years and ended up as Area Chair for SFF when the incumbent decided he wanted to step down. I loved it.3

The process for establishing a new subject area is fairly simple. The VP for Area Chairs oversees a special session for a year or two, working with the person who proposed the new area. If there is sufficient interest during those years, meaning that abstracts are submitted, sessions are formed, and the to-be-area-chair follows the requirements for area chairs, lo, a new area is formed! My previous experience helped, I imagine, and the Tolkien Studies Special Topic (2014) became the Tolkien Studies Area in 2015!

While different conferences have different terms for the people who do the area chair job, the job itself is fairly similar across most conferences (or at least the ones I participated in which includes PCA/ACA, the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, and the International Congress on Medieval Studies). A content specialist is responsible for advertising the conference (Calls for Proposals), reviewing and accepting proposals, organizing the sessions, and generally serving as the primary communication link between the conference/organization leadership and the presenters.

Going through my records of the conferences in the wake of the 2021 conference (the first of the two Covid-caused virtual ones), I realized that we were coming up to the tenth anniversary of the Tolkien Studies area in 2025. While the 2020 conference was cancelled, I'm still 'counting' it, and the anniversary is based on the year the area started. I decided to combine the session information from each year to post online and make it available to my area emailing list and others who might be interested in attending the conference and presenting on some aspect of Tolkien studies. I figured that there could be no better “advertisement” for the area than the work that was presented over the years!

I posted the first nine years of Tolkien studies presentations on one of my Dreamwidth journals: Tolkien_on_the_web. Occasionally, only one or two people are listed for a paper session: that happened because presenters had to withdraw due to various emergencies that prevented them from attending. The PCA, like many academic organizations, requires three-four presenters be scheduled for each paper session.

After the 2023 conference, I decided to start move and update the schedule here on my Substack. The number of presenters dropped, compared to pre-Covid levels and the number presenting at the two virtual PCAs, but that was true across the organization as the conference went back to f2f after a years-long hiatus (2020 cancelled due to Covid, 2021 and 2022 virtual due to on-going pandemic concerns).

The 2024 annual conference, March 27-30, 2024, at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile, had an overall rise in memberships/presenters (1700+), and a superb group of Tolkien scholars (independent and academic (including graduate students). The Tolkien Studies Area is also open to undergraduates who wish to present!

The list below includes the paper sessions and roundtables. I did not list, although we usually have, some type of business meeting or other activities. When I can find published versions of the presentations, I have linked to them (in the presenters’ names). If you have presented in the Tolkien Studies Area and would like me to provide a link, or an additional link, to your work, feel free to send it to me, or add it in the comments below. Alternately, if you would prefer your name to be redacted ( as well as your presentation title) for any reason, let me know.

Thank you!

December 7, 2024: I will be stepping down as the Area Chair of the Tolkien Studies Area after the 2025 conference (April 16-19, 2025) in New Orleans. I am happy to announce that Janet Brennan Croft and Bianca Beronio will be taking over as the new Co-Chairs of the area at that time.

2014 CHICAGO, IL SPECIAL TOPIC

TOLKIEN STUDIES 1: WAR IN MIDDLE-EARTH

Noms de Guerre: The Power of Naming in War and Conflict in Middle-earth. Janet Brennan Croft

Gollum's Great Chain of Hearing: The Great War and Tolkien's Last Alliance. Peter Grybauskas

The War Wounded in the Prose Tradition of The Children of Hurin. Margaret Sinex

TOLKIEN STUDIES 2: ILLUSTRATIONS & FILMS

Illustration as Translation: Assertion of National Identity in Tove Jansson's Illustrations of Tolkien's The Hobbit. M. Lee Alexander

The Disabled Hero: The Ethics of the Wound in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings. Todd Comer

Ruins and Dreams: Environmental Visions within The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. William Korver

Tolkien and the Multimodal Text: Narrative Transformational Strategies. Janice Bogstad

TOLKIEN STUDIES 3: THE MATERIALITY OF MIDDLE-EARTH

Tolkien and Literary Cartography: Spatiality, Fantasy, Modernity. Robert T. Tally, Jr.

Constructions of Middle-earth in Tolkien's Legendarium. Robin Anne Reid

Breaking the Dragon's Gaze: Revealing Commodity Fetishism in Tolkien's Middle-earth. Steven Kelly

Darkness Amid the Day: Eclipses in the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Kristine Larsen

TOLKIEN STUDIES 4: COMPLEX HEROES & IDEALS IN TOLKIEN'S LEGENDARIUM

Frodo is Overrated: Why Samwise Gamgee is the True Hero of The Lord of the Rings. Kathryn Allen

The Making of a Hero: Success and Failure of Heroic Characters in Beowulf and The Lord of the Rings. Rachel Syens

Tolkien's Unfallen Man: Tom Bombadil as an Image of Humanity's Ideal State. Brian Kenna

Tolkien and the Buddhist Influence: Thoughts and Perspectives. Brad Eden

EDITED TO ADD 2/10/2025: Two roundtables that I apparently lost track of in the years between the conference! Anna Smol kindly reminded me of the sessions!

Click on the links to read Anna’s write-ups about the two sessions! State of Tolkien Scholarship: Anna Smol

ROUNDTABLE ON THE STATE OF TOLKIEN SCHOLARSHIP

Janet Bogstad, David Bratman, Janet Brennan Croft, Brad Eden, Chris Vaccaro

ROUNDTABLE ON THE TOLKIEN COLLECTION AT MARQUETTE

William Fliss, Amy Amendt-Raduege, Anna Smol, Richard West.

2015 NEW ORLEANS, LA

TOLKIEN STUDIES 1: LITERARY STUDIES 1

'Ore-ganisms': The Myth and Meaning of 'Living Rock' in Middle-earth. Kristine Larsen

Tolkien's Gimpy Heroes: Trench Fever, Missing Limbs, and the Crippling Long-Term Effects of Injury. Victoria Holtz-Wodzak

'Nay, not Níniel': The Wounded Psyche in the Prose Tradition of The Children of Húrin. Margaret Sinex

TOLKIEN STUDIES 2: LITERARY STUDIES 2

Middle-earth's Eddaic Hierarchy of Music. Megan Whobrey

The Man-Maiden and the Spider with Horns: Galadriel, Shelob, and the Dyamics of Loss and Gender. John Rosegrant

From Folk Tale to Fantasy: J.R.R. Tolkien, Madame D'Aulnoy, and the Evolution of a Literary Form. Rich Cooper

The Name of the Ring: Or, There and Back Again. Janet Brennan Croft

TOLKIEN STUDIES 3: FILM AND LITERARY STUDIES

Forget the Gold: Unpacking Conservative Ideology in Peter Jackson's Film Adaptations of The Hobbit. Steven Kelly

The Devil's Due: Sporting Enemies in the Legendarium. Peter Grybauskas

Smith of Wootton Major and Genre Fantasy. David Bratman

Utumno Born and Utumno Bred, Strong in t'Arm and Thick in t'Ead: Who are Tom, Bert and Bill Huggins? Michael Wodzak

TOLKIEN STUDIES 4: FILM STUDIES

The Union between The Two Towers and the Twin Towers: Contemporary Audience Reception and the Influence of War on The Lord of the Rings. Alicia Fox Lenz

Lineage, Family, and the Absent Mother: Comparing Tolkien's The Hobbit to Jackson/Walsh/Boyens. Janice Bogstad

Extraordinary Orcs: Distorted Bodies in the films of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Jennifer Spirko

Conflicting Audience Receptions of Tauriel in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit. Robin Anne Reid

TOLKIEN STUDIES 5: CULTURAL STUDIES

Narration and Description: A Marxist Analysis of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Devena Holmes

TOLKIEN STUDIES 6: NEW APPROACHES TO TOLKIEN STUDIES

Preliminary Thoughts on ohe Library of Michael H.R. Tolkien. Brad Eden

Tolkien in Context. Quinn Gervel

Storming the Ivory Tower: Tolkien's Graduate-Program Possibilities. Michael Elam

TOLKIEN STUDIES 7: FAN CULTURE AND THEORY ROUNDTABLE

'In a hole in the ground there lived a fangirl': The Complications of Tolkien, Fandom, and The Hobbit.

Cait Coker discusses the history of Tolkien fanzines, especially women's contributions, with a focus on Marion Zimmer Bradley's writing which included review/discussion, fanfiction about Arwen, and a fic with her character and Aragorn meeting.

Kristine Larsen discusses the scientific method and research possibilities that arise from writing certain types of fanfiction, focusing on Silmarillion Elves writing, and giving examples of her own work (including 600 item bibliography).

Robin Anne Reid Reid discussed the inspiration of fan fiction for original fiction as well as fan studies scholarship, and film adaptation scholarship.

Connected Event: Extended Edition of The Desolation of Smaug.

2016 SEATTLE, WA

TOLKIEN STUDIES 1: RECEPTION. THE WORLD HOBBIT PROJECT

There and Back Again: An Unexpected Journey into the Social Media World of "The Hobbit." Doria Baltruschat

The World Hobbit Project: Findings from the International Audience Study. Martin Barker

Cultural Literacy of Tolkien's The Hobbit in South Korean Audience and Readers. Aryong Choi-Hantke

How Bilbo lost his innocence – Media Audiences and the Evaluation of The Hobbit as a Children's Film. Lars Schmeink

TOLKIEN STUDIES 2: TEACHING TOLKIEN'S MIDDLE-EARTH IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Rebecca Addy, Victoria L. Holtz-Wodzak, Brian Walter, Megan Abrahamson, Robin Reid, Leslie Donovan

TOLKIEN STUDIES 3: FANS, TRANSLATIONS, AND ADAPTATIONS

Admirable and Abhorred: (or, Gandalf's hardly the only Maia in Middle-earth). Maria Alberto

Translating Tolkien into Chinese: Amateur vs. Professional. Xiqing Zheng

Glimpses of Lost Home in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and Owen Barfield. Phillip Fitzsimmons

Where Yellow is White? Lego and The Lord of the Rings. Helen Young

TOLKIEN STUDIES 4: ADAPTATION & FILM STUDIES

From Page to Screen: The Rhetoric of Tolkien and Jackson's The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Nicole Motaharj

In the Arms of the Mountain: Tolkien's Erebor on Page and Screen. Brian Walter

I Think It's the Beards: Gender Ambiguity and the Erasure of Femaleness in Middle-Earth. Amanda Wetrick

Comparing the Elves in Tolkien's Hobbit and the Hobbit Films: A Change in Centrality for Rivendell and 'Sylvan" Elves. Janice Bogstad

TOLKIEN STUDIES 5: HISTORICAL APPROACHES

Pre-Vatican II Catholicism for Tolkien Scholars 101. Michael Wodzak

Whistle While You Break the Plates. Alicia Fox-Lenz

The Enigma of Michael H.R. Tolkien (1920-1984): His Life and Character. Brad Eden

TOLKIEN STUDIES 6: EDITORS' ROUNDTABLE

Janice Bogstad, Janet Croft, Leslie Donovan, Brad Eden, Helen Young

TOLKIEN STUDIES 7: THE SILMARILLION

A Deconstructive Reading of Tolkien Criticism with Special Emphasis on The Silmarillion. Gazala Anver

The Grammar of Myth in The Silmarillion. Robin Anne Reid

"What Happened to the Kiss? Love between Men in The Children of Hurin." Margaret Sinex

TOLKIEN STUDIES 8: INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES

Therapeutic Reading of Bilbo's The Red Book of Westmarch: The Heroes' Journey Through Mental Illness. Rebecca Addy

"Above All Shadows Rides the Sun": Redemption and Resurrection in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Jaye Dozier

Rhetoric vs. Witness: Tolkien's Response to the Language of Conflict. Victoria L. Holtz-Wodzak

2017 SAN DIEGO, CA

TOLKIEN STUDIES 1: 20th CENTURY LITERATURE AND HISTORY

The Real Business of Bilbo; the Dreams of Conan: Sword and Sorcery, Epic Fantasy, and the Rhetoric of the Ordinary. Jason Ray Carney

Strange Bedfellows: Tolkien and Eddison. Peter Grybauskas

There Was a Merry Band of Men, A Gardener, an Invalid, and the Lords Who Loved Them So: The Portrayal of Soldier-Servant Relationships and Their Reflections of War. Alicia Fox-Lenz

Tolkien Underground: Reimagining World War I Bunkers and Tunnels. Victoria L Holtz-Wodzak

TOLKIEN STUDIES 2: INFLUENCES AND CONNECTIONS

The Dreamflower: Lothlorien in Middle-earth Space-Time. Brian Walter

Tolkien and Pre-Vatican II Catholicism 101. Michael Wodzak

The 'Third Spring': a Neglected Thread of Tolkien Scholarship. Brad Eden

TOLKIEN STUDIES 3: TOLKIEN AND ALTERITY

Middle-earth and Medieval Organicism. Kristine Larsen

Marginalization in Early 20th-century Britain: Catholics and Protestantism During Tolkien's Lifetime. Brad Eden

Cruising Faery: Queer Desire in Giles, Niggle, and Smith. Stephen Yandell

Race and Tolkien Studies: A Bibliographic Essay. Robin Anne Reid

TOLKIEN STUDIES 4: FAN STUDIES 1

Deconstructing Durin's Day: Science in the Service of Fan-Scholars. Kristine Larsen

The Lord of the Rings and Fans. Maggie Parke

The Hobbit Variations: Publication, Adaptation, and Fan Revision Mikhail Skoptsov

TOLKIEN STUDIES 5: CULTURAL AND FILM STUDIES

The Sacred Nature of Enchantment and Loss: Peter Jackson's The Hobbit as an Ecotheology of Transformation. Kellianne H Matthews

Wood and Water, Stock and Stone: Rediscovering English Landscapes through Walking. Christopher Cameron

Visually Monstrous: Jackson's Iconic Revisualizations of Hobbit Heroes and Villains. Janice Bogstad

TOLKIEN STUDIES 6: FAN STUDIES 2

Whispers of a Tenth Walker: Lord of the Rings Fanfiction and Feminine / Feminist Interventions in Middle-Earth. Eva Wijman

Making or Creating: Fans Transforming Orcs. Robin Anne Reid

Bagginshield: An Exploration of Portrayals of Romantic Relationships between Bilbo Baggins and Thorin Oakenshield in Fanfiction. Sarah Coates

2018 INDIANAPOLIS, IN

TOLKIEN STUDIES 1: VISUAL ADAPTATIONS

Tolkien through the Lens of Alan Lee: Beren and Luthien. Sultana Raza

A Far Green Country: Adapting the Lands of Middle-earth for Gameplay. Alicia Fox-Lenz

Kindling for the Fire: Tolkien and Fantasy Gaming. Peter Grybauskas

TOLKIEN STUDIES 2: QUEER TOLKIEN 1

"Bending Over with Naked Blade": The Threat of Male-Male Penetration and Homoeroticism in J.R.R. Tolkien's Works. Zac Clifton

Frodo, Sam, and Gollum: Jealousy between Men in a Homosocial Setting. Christopher Cameron

Among Men of War: Destabilization of Gender in The Lord of the Rings' Faramir and Éowyn. Brooke Petersen

The End is Queer! Voyeurism and Apocalyptic Anxiety in Tolkien. Stephen Yandell

TOLKIEN STUDIES 3: ELVES AND FANS

Where Did He Get All Those Wonderful Elves? Tolkien and the Elf Tradition in LotR. Mary Leech

Sansûkh and the Formation of Metafandom: Fanfiction, The Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit. Sarah Coates

TOLKIEN STUDIES 4: POLITICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND ARCHIVAL APPROACHES

No Kings No Masters: Tolkien's Anarchism and the Shire. Huntley Wayne Hughes

"Under the Wings of Shadow": Mental Health and the Price of Civilization in The Lord of the Rings. Hilary Justice

Francis Thompson (1859-1907) and Sub-creation. Brad Eden

TOLKIEN STUDIES 5: QUEER TOLKIEN 2

"From the Ashes A Fire is Woken: Queering the 'Hero's Journey'." Melissa Sloat

Contingent Meetings at Helm's Deep: Disrupting the Heroic Journey in Lord of the Rings through Arwen/Éowyn Femslash. Eva Wijman

An Incomplete Fellowship: The Exclusion of Queer Women in Tolkien Studies. Robin Anne Reid

"and stooping he raised Beleg and kissed his mouth": Architextuality and Queer Fandom Spaces. Maria Alberto

TOLKIEN STUDIES 6: ON THE FUTURE OF TOLKIEN STUDIES

The Future of Tolkien Research: Thoughts and Visions. Brad Eden.

Bringing Theory Down to Earth: Tolkien's Universe as a Point of Departure for the Analysis of Contemporary Political Realities. Huntley Hughes

Inhabiting Middle-earth: The immersive world of Tolkien-based Gaming. Alicia Fox-Lenz

Fan Studies. Maria Alberto

Paths and Errands; History and Culture: Hilary Justice

The Need for Intersectional and New Realist Theories of Identity in the 21st Century. Robin Anne Reid

TOLKIEN STUDIES 7: READING: TOLKIEN FANFICTION

[Open Mic after scheduled readers]

Arrogantemu's Splintered Light series. Maria Alberto

Sansûkh, by determamfidd. Sarah Coates

"Common Tongues," by Cupidsbow and “At About Six O'Clock," by Lobelia321. Robin Anne Reid

Late Third Age/early Fourth Age fic centred on Rohan and Gondor. Eva Wijman

2019 WASHINGTON, D. C.

TOLKIEN STUDIES 1: ADAPTATIONS OF TOLKIEN'S LEGENDARIUM

The Procedural Necessity of Thematic Reversal in Video Game Adaptations of Tolkien's Legendarium. Lindsay Meaning

A Digital Humanities Approach to Genre in Tolkien's Work. Maria Alberto

Sansûkh As a Lens for the Creation of Fanon and its Intersections with Tolkien's Canon: A Study of the Sansûkh Fandom. Sarah Coates

Fanfiction's Hidden City. Dawn Walls-Thumma

TOLKIEN STUDIES 2: ENCHANTMENT, HEALING, AND DESPAIR IN THE LORD OF THE RINGS

What Use Is Tolkien? Literary Enchantment And The Uses Of Fantasy Literature. Dennis Friedrichsen

Slowing Down with Tom Bombadil: Restoring Purpose through Reflection. Cale Baker

Denethor's Sickness Unto Death: Despair as Moral Disease. Craig A Boyd

TOLKIEN STUDIES 3: MULTIDISCIPLINARY TOLKIEN STUDIES

Crowns and Crowds: The Importance of the Bodleian's Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth exhibition in Solving an Astronomical Mystery. Kristine Larsen

The Lord of the Zines: Providing Digital Access to Tolkien Fanzines at Marquette. William Fliss

Re-forging the Ring: J. R. R. Tolkien in the Conservative Press, 1965-91. Craig N Franson

Atheists, Agnostics, and Animists, Oh, My!: Tolkien's Legendarium. Robin Anne Reid

TOLKIEN STUDIES 4: LANDSCAPES IN LEE, TOLKIEN, AND HEMINGWAY

Theories of Omission: Mountains Seen Far Away, Icebergs Right Ahead. Peter Grybauskas

Dulce et decorum: Hemingway, Tolkien, and the Landscapes of Lost Boyhood. Hilary Justice

TOLKIEN STUDIES 5: DIGITAL HUMANITIES AND TOLKIEN PRAXIS ROUNDTABLE

William Fliss, Maria Alberto, Alicia Fox-Lenz,, Sarah Coates

TOLKIEN STUDIES 6: DIGITAL HUMANITIES AND TOLKIEN THEORY ROUNDTABLE

William Fliss, Maria Alberto, Robin Anne Reid, Alicia Fox-Lenz, Sarah Coates

TOLKIEN STUDIES 7: THE FUTURE OF TOLKIEN STUDIES

Kristine Larsen, Lindsay Meaning, William Fliss, Dawn Walls-Thumma, Craig N. Franson

2020, PHILADEPHIA, PA

CANCELLED: COVID

I am listing the presentations that were accepted and scheduled for historical purposes; some ((but not all) of the 2020 presenters re-submitted for 2021 and presented in a virtual format.

TOLKIEN STUDIES 1: RACE AND TOLKIEN

"Where Shadows Lie": Middle-earth and Neo-fascist Metapolitics. Craig N. Franson

More Dangerous and Less Wise: Racial Hierarchies and Cultural Difference in Tolkien's World. Robert T. Tally, Jr.

Race in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings And in Katherine Addison's The Goblin Emperor. Robin Anne Reid

TOLKIEN STUDIES 2: THE LEGENDARIUM

Turin among the Great Tales. Peter Grybauskas

The Nimrodel and Silverlode: Lothlórien as a Secondary World. Meaghan Scott

"I am no man": Game of Thrones' Lyanna Mormont as Borrowed Tolkienian Canonicity. Kristine Larsen

TOLKIEN STUDIES 3: MULTIDISCIPLINARY TOLKIEN

"Heroes of the North": Tolkien and Finnish Fandom. M. Lee Alexander

Elf-Songs and Orc-Talk: Environmental Ethics in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, from Beowulf to Peter Jackson. Amber Lehning

Rendering Visible An Understanding Of Power In Leadership In Tolkien's Creation Mythology: Ainulindalë And Akallabêth. James Eric Siburt

TOLKIEN STUDIES 4: THE FUTURE OF TOLKIEN STUDIES

Craig N. Franson, Robert Tally, Peter Grybauskas, James Eric Siburt, Amber Lehning, Robin Anne Reid

2021, VIRTUAL (ORIG., BOSTON, MA)

TOLKIEN STUDIES 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS AND LEADERSHIP THEORY IN TOLKIEN'S LEGENDARIUM

Elf-Songs and Orc-Talk: Environmental Ethics in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, from Beowulf to Peter Jackson. Amber Lehning

Theories of Leadership in Middle-earth. Michael Joseph Urick

Rendering Visible an Understanding of Power In Leadership in Tolkien's Creation Mythology: Ainulindalë And Akallabêth. James Eric Siburt

TOLKIEN STUDIES 2: MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO TOLKIEN'S LEGENDARIUM

The Nimrodel and Silverlode: Lothlórien as a Secondary World. Meaghan Scott

Tolkien's Penchant for Alliteration: Using XML to Analyze The Lay of Leithian. Rebecca Power

Tolkien's New Old English Genre: The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth. Anna Smol

'I am no man': Game of Thrones' Lyanna Mormont as Borrowed Tolkienian Canonicity. Kristine Larsen

TOLKIEN STUDIES 3: TOLKIEN RECEPTION STUDIES

Cait Coker, Cordeliah G. Logsdon, Dawn Walls-Thumma, Maria Alberto, Robin Anne Reid

TOLKIEN STUDIES 4: RACE AND RACISMS IN TOLKIEN'S SECONDARY AND OUR PRIMARY WORLDS

More Dangerous and Less Wise: Racial Hierarchies and Cultural Difference in Tolkien's World. Robert T. Tally, Jr.

Scales Of Malice: The Banal Evil of Middle-earth's Tyrant-History. Alastair Whyte

'Where Shadows Lie': Middle-earth and Neo-fascist Metapolitics. Craig N. Franson

Race in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings And in Katherine Addison's The Goblin Emperor. Robin Anne Reid

TOLKIEN STUDIES 5: TOLKIEN'S FANDOM

'Heroes of the North': Tolkien and Finnish Fandom. M. Lee Alexander

'What care I for the hands of a king?': Tolkien, Fanfiction, and Narratives of the Self Cordeliah G. Logsdon

The Pillar and the Vastness: A Longitudinal View of the Tolkien Fanfiction Fandom. Dawn Walls-Thumma

Mathom Economies? Fan Gift Culture and A Tolkien Fic Exchange Event. Maria Alberto

TOLKIEN STUDIES 6: THE FUTURE OF TOLKIEN STUDIES

Craig N. Franson, Rebecca Power, James Siburt , Amber Lehning, Anna Smol, Kristine Larsen

2022, VIRTUAL

TOLKIEN STUDIES I: LITERARY AND CULTURAL STUDIES APPROACHES TO TOLKIEN

Tolkien, Old English, and Identity. Anna Smol

Point of View and In-Universe Authorship of the "Silmarillion." Dawn Walls-Thumma

The Deep Roots Untouchable by Frost: Romanticism in J.R.R. Tolkien. Lily Tun

From Mushrooms to Man-flesh: The Cultural Significance of Food in J.R.R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Sara Brown

TOLKIEN STUDIES II: QUEER & CRITICAL RACE APPROACHES TO TOLKIEN

"Hardly a word. . . unconsidered": Un-Closeting Queer Desire in The Lord of the Rings through (Socio)linguistic Analysis: "Mate," "My/me Dear," and "Treasure." Olivia K. Burgham

"Wondered at this change": Queer Potential and Telling Silence on The Relationship of Legolas and Gimli."Hannah Mendro

More Cannot Be Said: Using a Critical, Semi-Systematic Literature Review to Understand Academic Silence on the Queer Potential of Legolas and Gimli. Virginia Elizabeth King

Playing Back: LOTRO and Its Role in Deconstructing Tolkien. Cordeliah G. Logsdon and Gideon Cooper

TOLKIEN STUDIES III : MULTI-DISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO TOLKIEN

Tolkien, Lovecraft, and Unknowable Evil. Perry Neil Harrison

Teamwork in Middle-earth. Michael Joseph Urick

Fantasy and Foucault: Teaching Tolkien in the Age of Jordan Peterson. Christopher James Lockett

A Tolkienian Pharmakon for Our Times. Sonali Arvind Chunodkar

TOLKIEN STUDIES IV: ROUNDTABLE ON TEACHING TOLKIEN

Participants: Maria Alberto, Leslie Donovan, Tom Emanuel, Christopher James Lockett, Anna Smol

TOLKIEN STUDIES VI: RACE, RACISMS, AND TOLKIEN

Yellow, Black, and White in Chinese translations of Tolkien. Eric Reinders

Tolkien the Racialist and the Monstrous Races Tradition: Tartars, Muslims, and Jews. Anna Czarnowus

'Of lesser and alien race': Layers and Influences of Intertwined Tyranny and Racism in Middle-Earth. Alastair Whyte

Whiskered Men with Bombs: Mythology, Middle-earth, and Modern Environmental Activism. Amber Lehning

TOLKIEN STUDIES VII: A ROUNDTABLE ON THE FUTURE OF TOLKIEN STUDIES

Sara Brown, Leslie Donovan, Andrew Draper, Sonali Arvind Chunodkar, Amber Lehning, Robin Anne Reid

TOLKIEN STUDIES VIII: RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY, AND TOLKIEN

The Mythology of Middle-earth and the Theological Roots Of Whiteness. Andrew T. Draper

J.R.R. Tolkien: Liberation Theologian? Reflections on Teaching Tolkien in a Progressive Christian Context. Tom Emanuel

Out of the Frying Pan(theon): Polytheism as an Inadequate Response to the Problem of Evil. Stephen Yandell

J. R. R. Tolkien, Culture Warrior: The Alt-Right Religious Crusade against 'Tolkien and Diversity.' Robin Anne Reid

VIRTUAL GET-TOGETHERS

Area Chairs were asked to put together some informal events for evening gatherings for this year's virtual conference. Here are the four events the Tolkien Society hosted.

Tolkien Fanfiction Live Reading (Maria Alberto): Open mic: come and read from your favorite fan fiction!

Where to publish in Tolkien and Inklings Studies (Perry Harrison)

Tolkien Live Reading (Robin Anne Reid): Open mic: come and read your favorite passage(s) by Tolkien

Tolkien Trivia Game (Cait Coker): Come and test your knowledge!

2023, SAN ANTONIO, TX

TOLKIEN STUDIES I: ENGLISH NATIONALISM AND UTOPIANISM IN TOLKIEN'S LEGENDARIUM

Tolkien and English Nationalism. Ryan Syler

No More Big Bosses: Orcs and the Utopian Impulse in Tolkien's World System. Robert T. Tally, Jr.

TOLKIEN STUDIES II/ FAN CULTURE: ROUNDTABLE ON TOLKIEN FANDOM AND ADAPTATIONS

'The Book Will Kill the Building’: Thoughts on Medium and Adapted Narrative. Cameron Bourquein

Sauron: Weirdly Sexy. Robert T. Tally, Jr.

'Lots of Contemporary Fascists also Happen to Love Tolkien': So What Should Fandom Do? Robin Anne Reid

TOLKIEN STUDIES III / FAN STUDIES: SHARING THE LOVE OPEN MIC

Open mic session to share your favorite fan creations and works in any fandom, and any mode/media (art, costumes/cosplay, filk, fiction, vids!). You can share your own work, or talk about your favorite works by other artists, or both!

BONUS:4 PHILOSOPHY AND CULTURE V: PALGRAVE POP CULTURE PHILOSOPHY 3 (FANTASY AND HORROR) (INTRODUCTION BY KYLE JOHNSON) (CHRISTOPHER M. INNES)

The Lord of the Rings as Philosophy: Environmental Enchantment and Resistance in Peter Jackson and J.R.R. Tolkien. John F. Whitmire, Jr.

TOLKIEN STUDIES IV: TOLKIEN'S SECOND AGE IN THE RINGS OF POWER AND AS A MIDDLE-EARTH BORDERLAND

Sauron In Superposition: Sauron as Gestalt Entity in The Legendarium and The Rings of Power. Cameron Lynn Bourquein

Fearless and Fair: Rewriting Galadriel for The Rings of Power. Bianca L. Beronio

Second Thoughts about the Second Age: Applying Gloria Anzaldúa's Borderlands Theory to Tolkien's Legendarium. Robin Anne Reid

TOLKIEN STUDIES V/ FAN STUDIES: ROUNDTABLE ON RACISMS AND TOLKIEN

Racism in The Rings of Power Fandom. Bianca L Beronio

‘Always the poor Uruks’: Orcs, Racism, and Violence. Robert T. Tally, Jr.

Why White Supremacy No Longer Provides Cover for White Academia. Robin Anne Reid

BONUS: PHILOSOPHY AND CULTURE IX: CONTEMPORARY FANTASY SOCIAL MORALITY AND FEMINISM

Metafiction, Morality and the Miniaturist: On a Tolkien Cinematic Universe. Kevin S Decker

2024 Chicago, IL

TOLKIEN STUDIES I: RACISM, FASCISM, RELIGION & ATHEISM

“Free Orcs and Black Fingon: Disrupting the Racial Hierarchy of Middle-earth Through Revisionary Works” Bianca Beronio

“‘Gandalf Lives!’: The Italian, Neo-fascist Campaign for Middle-earth” Craig Franson

“Secondary Believers, Secondary Worlds: A Tolkienian Theory of Fandom and Religion” Tom Emanuel

"’Really I'm an atheist, but not the kind that yells at people’: Atheist Readers of J.R.R. Tolkien” Robin Anne Reid

TOLKIEN STUDIES II: “THE FALL OF ARTHUR,” THE MYSTERY OF GALADRIEL, AND TWO ANTI-WAR PLAYS

“'Mirkwood's Margin Under Mountain Shadows:' Tolkien's The Fall of Arthur and Arthurian Ecocriticism” Amber Lehning

“Galadriel: Lodestar of the Legendarium” Constance Wagner and Laura Grabowski

“’Giving Up Their Dead’: ‘The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son’ and A Sleep of Prisoners” Janet Brennan Croft

TOLKIEN STUDIES III: TEACHING TOLKIEN WITH EQUITY WORKSHOP

“Teaching Tolkien with Equity” Bianca Beronio

TOLKIEN STUDIES IV: SOCIAL HOUR

TOLKIEN STUDIES V: QUEER THEORY, DISABILITY THEORY, AND THE THEORY OF “ON FAIRY-STORIES”

“Bi Wife Energy: An Exploration of Faramir and Eowyn's Queercoded Relationship” Alicia Fox-Lenz

“Cripping Morgoth: Exploring the Possibilities of Disability in Tolkien's Arch-Villain” Clare Moore

“From Mind to Mind: the Graphical Evolution of Final Fantasy through Tolkien’s ‘On Fairy-stories’” Cameron Bourquein

“Recovery? Escape? Consolation? Tolkien in His Many Iterations as a Balm for Burnout” Carol Bernard

TOLKIEN STUDIES VI: CON-CREATION (Roundtable)

Participants: Cameron Bourquein, Cait Coker, Tom Emmanuel, Clare Moore, and Robin Anne Reid

TOLKIEN STUDIES VII: BUSINESS MEETING

Moderator: Robin Anne Reid

TOLKIEN STUDIES VIII: SOCIAL HOUR

2025 New Orleans

TOLKIEN STUDIES I: Númenóreans, Valkyries, and Fans

Moderator: Robin Anne Reid

“‘Madness and Sickness Assailed Them'”: Death and Disability in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Second Age” Clare Moore

“Tolkien’s Monstrous Valkyries–A Discussion of the Monstrous Feminine in Middle-Earth” Katherine Reed

“A ‘Tolkien’ of One’s Own: Women Making Their Own ‘Tolkiens’” Robin Anne Reid

TOLKIEN STUDIES II: Rings of Power (Roundtable) FAN STUDIES CO-SPONSOR

Moderator: Robin Anne Reid

Presenters: Bianca Beronio, Tim Lenz, Alicia Fox-Lenz, Alexander Sergeant

TOLKIEN STUDIES III: The Hobbits and Their Creator

Moderator: Robin Anne Reid

“Romanticism in Tolkien’s The Hobbit: Nature and Domestic Life as a Force for Good” James Schultz

“‘A mighty Warrior, even a Hero’: An Analysis of Non-Traditional Gendering and Heroism in The Hobbit” Chase Read

“he Fair and Perilous Realm: Tolkien’s complicated relationship with his creative drive” Alicia Fox-Lenz

TOLKIEN STUDIES IV: Moderating Online Tolkien Spaces (Workshop)

Moderators: Timothy Lenz & Alicia Fox-Lenz

“Digital Helm’s Deep: Moderation of online Tolkien spaces to maintain safety for scholarship/fandom”

TOLKIEN STUDIES V: The Lord of the Rings & Rings of Power

Moderator: Robin Anne Reid

“Justice, Civil Disobedience, and Rule Departure in The Lord of the Rings” John Whitmire

“Parallels Between OCD and the Psychological Effects of the One Ring on Frodo Baggins” Andreas Minshew

“Decolonizing Middle-earth: An Indigenous Scholar's Perspective on The Rings of Power” Bianca Beronio

TOLKIEN STUDIES VI: How to Publish Tolkien Scholarship: Journals, Anthologies, & Monographs (Roundtable)

Moderator: Janet Brennan Croft

Presenters: Yvette Kisor, Janet Brennan Croft, Leslie Donovan, Nicholas Katsiadas; Clare Moore, Robin Anne Reid

TOLKIEN STUDIES VII: BUSINESS MEETING

Moderators: Janet Brennan Croft and Bianca Beronio