With the addition of the Tolkien Classes section to Tolkien Studies on the Web, it will be helpful for people to have an idea of what to look for in visiting these Web sites.
Each university designs its own content. Quite often, these classes are advocated by lone faculty members who may feel that Tolkien does not receive as much respect from their peers as he should. The academic community will always be divided in opinion over the value of many authors, including Shakespeare, Dante, and Mark Twain, but Tolkien is an increasingly popular topic in higher level education.
The people who design and teach these courses represent a variety of academic disciplines. There are religious studies classes, classical literature classes, modern literature classes, medieval literature classes, British literature classes, etc.
Each professor offers a unique perspective on Tolkien’s influences and his impact on modern literature and society. One should not assume they all address the same issues, or that they all teach the same ideas and principles. Tolkien’s literary achievement is broad and far-reaching, and many academics today have grown up reading his books and many books whose authors Tolkien influenced.
Many of the course descriptions and syllabi you find on the Web include reading lists. For your own research, these lists are the best guides to the types of books you want to seek out. You’ll find standard bibliographical information in most lists, including ISBNs, so you should be able to find the books in your library systems and/or order them through booksellers.
Some of the course syllabi are very detailed, and they offer overviews of the themes that the classwork covers. By reading these syllabi, you may find some ideas to research that had not occurred to you before. You may also find special phrases and keywords you can search on to find college-level classes in your area. Some schools offer Tolkien courses as part of both the academic curriculum and their Continuing Education classes. Rice University in Houston is one such institution.
Some of the instructors will put their students’ projects on the Web, or they will link to student projects. These projects don’t just include term papers and theses. Sometimes the students construct elaborate Web sites. Tolkien studies encourages creativity and unique expression.
We may link to some of the student projects directly from Tolkien Studies on the Web.
Think of academic Web sites as starting points for your online research journey. They can provide you guidance toward the types of literature and themes that have been studied in connection with Tolkien’s work. Some of these themes, and many of the source books mentioned in the class syllabi, are discussed briefly or in detail on non-academic research sites and in online Tolkien communities.
Finally, use the broad base of academic sites to form a better understanding of just how broadly Tolkien’s work is perceived. He is often recognized as a medievalist, but classicists and modernists study Tolkien’s works and sources just as much as the medievalists. Your understanding of Tolkien and his literature will grow as you see just how far his shadow extends across the academic landscape.