This page hasn’t been updated in years. It may never be updated again.
About This Page
The works of J.R.R. Tolkien have gained widespread recognition throughout academia for their literary innovation and value. It is helpful to review the comments and requirements associated with the course descriptions. Academic Tolkien Studies are found in a variety of disciplines, including Modern Literature, Medieval Literature, Classical Studies, Religious Studies, and more.
Classes will be added to the list as we find them. If you know of a course that should be listed here, please Contact Michael Martinez.
Some institutions offer Tolkien-related courses through their Special Studies or upper level seminar classes. If there is specific information about a course, and only if it seems to be offered periodically, we’ll list it here but otherwise one-time special classes will probably not be included.
About This Table
I don’t remember exactly when I started this list, but it was probably somewhere in the years 2005-2006. At the time I had more time to work on these projects. Now it’s 2017 and I have updated the list but I have to be honest with you: a lot of these classes probably no longer exist. I haven’t had time to update the information nearly as often as I have been contacted by the faculty teaching these classes. Some of these folks have retired; some have almost certainly moved on to other positions. I don’t know if the institutions still offer all these classes.
I should have included a year for when I received the information, and when it was last updated. I didn’t think to do that. I’m sorry. The most recent listing as I write this is for the Aquinas College course, which was added in April 2017. I think that for the last few years I have added new course information to the top of the listings.
Tolkien Course Web Sites |
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Aquinas College – CA200 Tolkien, Narnia, and the Catholic Imagination with Dr. Stephan Davis | LEARN MORE |
Rhode Island College – English 350: Tolkien and Language | LEARN MORE |
Rice University – English 318 with Dr. Jane Chance | LEARN MORE |
Purdue University – Classical Studies 337: The Ancient Epic with Dr. John T. Kirby | LEARN MORE |
Manhattanville College – English 2004: Fantasy Worlds with Dr. Marion D. Perret | LEARN MORE |
Villanova University – J.R.R. Tolkien with Dr. Thomas W. Smith | LEARN MORE |
Bucknell University – English 101: Tolkien and Fantasy with Alfred K. Siewers, Assistant Professor of Medieval Literature | LEARN MORE |
Florida Southern College – English 397: The Literatures of J.R.R. Tolkien with Dr. Alex Bruce | LEARN MORE |
Marshall University – Honors 295: Tolkien and Film with Drs. Timothy Burbery and Bob Edmunds | LEARN MORE |
Southern Methodist University – Tolkien: Middle Earth (sic), Middle Ages: A Dallas Medieval Consortium Course with Professors Dennis Kratz, Stephen Maddox, and Bonnie Wheeler Syllabus is in .PDF format |
LEARN MORE |
The University of Chicago – Tolkien: Medieval and Modern with Professors Rachel Fulton and Lucy Pick | LEARN MORE |
California State University, Northridge – English 493: Senior Honors Tutorial on J.R.R. Tolkien with Dr. Scott Kleinman | LEARN MORE |
California State University, Northridge – English 495: Senior Seminar on The Lord of the Rings with Dr. Scott Kleinman | LEARN MORE |
St. Louis University – English 316.01: J.R.R. Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings and Its Literary Context with John Walter, Ph.D. candidate | LEARN MORE |
Washington University in St. Louis – Middle-earth and Bharata Varsha with Dr. Jerome Bauer | LEARN MORE |
California State University, Chico – Religious Studies 265: Religious Dimensions of Literature, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien with Dr. Jed Wyrick. The syllabus is a .PDF file. |
LEARN MORE |
University of Maryland – English Department Courses: 428A/0101 Seminar in Language and Literature: Tolkien: Author of the Twentieth Century with Dr. Verlyn Flieger | LEARN MORE |
University of South Carolina – ENGL 283-501 Themes in British Writing | LEARN MORE |
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – Classics 30 and Classics 30A: The Heroic Journey with Dr. Kenneth J. Reckford | LEARN MORE |
University of New Mexico – Tolkien Studies for Advanced Readers with Dr. Leslie Donovan | LEARN MORE |
University of Washington – English 349: Fantasy with Dr. Malcolm Griffith | LEARN MORE |
Anderson College – Honors Colloquium X02: Theology and Literature with Dr. Edgar V. McKnight | LEARN MORE |
University of Delaware – Honors English 110: Speculative Fiction and the Medieval with Dr. Brian Gastle | LEARN MORE |
University of Dayton – English 490-P3: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien Seminar with Brother Tom Wendorf, S.M., Ph.D. | LEARN MORE |
University of Baltimore – English 358: Tolkien: Master of Fantasy | LEARN MORE |
University of Texas, Austin – Philosophy 361K: Tolkien and Mythopeia with Dr. Robert Koons | LEARN MORE |
University of Northern Colorado – English 497: Modern Medieval Fantasy with Tom Bredehoft | LEARN MORE |
Weber State University – English 3270: Modern American Fantasy and Its Origins with Dr. M. Diane F. Krantz | LEARN MORE |
Schedules mentioning courses
- Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (Office of Continuing Education) – Pastoral Theology and Evangelism 640: Issues in Contemporary Culture: The Works of J.R.R. Tolkien
Syllabus is available as a .PDF file - Missouri State University – English 533: Studies in Children’s Literature (Tolkien & Rowling)
Syllabus is available as a .PDF file