English: Tolkien:Gender/Race, the Other

Introductory courses addressing the representation and construction of race in literature and/or the contributions of ethnically diverse writers to the American culture. May repeat for credit with different content. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Cross-listed with: CRES 1821.

Open to degree and PACE students; Cross listed with CRES 1821; Total combined enrollment = 40

J. R. R. Tolkien was born in South Africa to British parents of English and German descent. The family servants were people of color. His family moved back to England before he was four, though his father stayed behind. Though he was a privileged male child of the Victorian British Empire, he was also orphaned by the time he was twelve years old. But this was not the only experience that marginalized him. He was a Catholic in a largely Protestant country, and later a historical philologist in a more modern-leaning college. Tolkien understood marginalization and feelings of difference. And he was very sympathetic to the plight of others. He denied the Nazi government of Germany the rights to have his work translated. In his work we clearly see his sympathies towards women’s challenges and towards the plight of indigenous peoples. That said, Tolkien could not step completely outside of the systemic problems of his culture. At times he falls back on culturally recognized tropes and images that certainly do not dismantle racial nor gender stereotypes. Alongside the text itself there are the modern adaptations. Adam Serwer’s 2022 article in The Atlantic “Fear of a Black Hobbit” examines reactions to the casting of non-White actors in The Rings of Power series by Amazon. Some complained that this decision inserted liberal identity politics into the process to the detriment of telling a good story. Others took this defensive position as proof of the necessity for diversity within the casting system. Within the U. S. and throughout the globe, fans are having heated debates in which they engage with issues such as affirmative action and cultural representation. The Lord of the Rings has also become a flashpoint within American politics. On 21st January 2021, a pro-trump lawsuit filed in the Western district of Texas refers to the exiled King of Gondor, Aragorn, in its argument that “stewards” from the previous Trump administration should govern the States during the exile of their true leader (and king?). One section of the lawsuit reads “Since only the rightful king could sit on the throne of Gondor, a steward was appointed to manage Gondor until the return of the King, known as ‘Aragorn’, occurred at the end of the story.” This lawsuit of course follows the pro-trump attempted insurrection on 6 January 2021 organized by known white supremacist and domestic terrorist groups. Interestingly, the lawsuit was filed on behalf of organizations such as Latinos for Trump and Blacks for Trump. Robert Gehl’s “Something is Stirring in the East: Racial Identity, Confronting the ‘other,’ and Miscegenation in Othello and The Lord of the Rings,” speaks to the disturbing attraction some white supremacists feel towards nostalgia-centered fantasy literature, especially that which speaks of racial purity. This course explores the intersectional issues of race, sexuality, and gender in the mythological legendarium of J.R.R. Tolkien as well as within the English and American cultural contexts in which it was composed and read. Discussions and assignments will be directed at how The Lord of the Rings has become a contested ideological apparatus and an incendiary device for both liberal and ultra-conservative movements in the United States.