Politics in Tolkien: What We Can Learn From Hobbits
Distinguished Guest Lecture Featuring Tom Shippey
April 15, 2015, 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
Old Main Carson Ballroom
Cost: Free and open to the public (Parking is available for a fee in the Fulton Center parking garage at 300 E. University Dr. Tempe, AZ 85281).
About The Event
Tolkien’s fictions have been seen as guides to morality, ecology, philosophy and even religion – there are at least two sects which have constructed a system of ritual and belief from Tolkien’s mythology of elves. But politics? The word does not occur even once in any of Tolkien’s major works. Do hobbits have any politics?
Maybe silent politics is the best kind to have. In this lecture Professor Shippey, a noted commentator on Tolkien, modern fantasy, and modern reflections of the medieval world, considers matters which politicians have forgotten, turned their backs on, or taken for granted. In the hobbits’ Shire, and the wider world of Middle-earth which surrounds it, he sees both wisdom and warning.
Dr. Tom Shippey is a scholar of medieval literature, including that of Anglo-Saxon England, medievalism, and modern fantasy and science fiction. He is widely considered one of the leading academic scholars on Tolkien. From 2003 to 2007, he served as the editor of the journal Studies in Medievalism. Shippey retired from the Walter J. Ong Chair of Humanities at Saint Louis University‘s College of Arts and Sciences in 2008. He serves on the editorial board of Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review, and he reviews science fiction for the Wall Street Journal.
Shippey’s public lecture is co-sponsored by the Institute for Humane Studies. Founded in 1961 by F.A. “Baldy” Harper, the Institute for Humane Studies advances a freer society by discovering and facilitating the development of talented, productive students, scholars, and other intellectuals who share an interest in liberty.
This event is co-sponsored by:
Center for Political Thought and Leadership
Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies
Liberal Arts and Sciences
Center for Political Thought and Leadership
Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies
For more information, please visit: https://clas.asu.edu/politics-tolkien-what-we-can-learn-hobbits
