Thread: The Tolkien Professor
I've been enjoying his podcasts for a while now. (First brought to my attention in this thread: http://www.planet-tolkien.com/board/3/3932/0/tolkien-professor
Did you know that he's starting an online Institute offering courses for credit - eventually with the goal of becoming fully accredited for graduate study and handing out Master's degrees in Tolkien Studies? Check it out: http://www.mythgard.org/
I'm thinking about signing up to take the course offered next Spring on Tolkien & Lewis.
I LOVE Professor Olsen!! I have listened to his lectures and find them INCREDIBLY fascinating! I stumbled upon him quite by accident and since then, I cannot read the Silmarillion, the Hobbit, or The Lord of the Rings the same anymore. He is really good!
I wonder if he has done any more on his "The Hobbit" lectures...he had a series going where he was doing an in-depth study of the book - sans the classroom experience. It does my heart good to know that colleges out there offer classes on the man who redefined the fantasy genre.
He's got 5 in-depth Hobbit lectures posted so far (up to "Bilbo builds his resume" - which is where it's been for a while. If you've been listening to his other lectures (the ones he posts from his current classes, and the occasional "skype-in" call-in podcasts, he keeps on SAYING that he's coming back to the in-depth Hobbit lecture series. He's just trying to do a lot of other things too!
Ah, sorry for posting in another thread, but I did try searching for it first.
Anyway, I've really been enjoying listening to Prof Olsen analyze the books from a more academic perspective than I generally view things. Specifically, I found the discussion on Tolkien and philology to be quite interesting. I also enjoy listening to the chats with his students, though I get the urge to want to debate some of the points they make.
I'm glad people do know about this, and I've learned that I should check this fantastic website out more often.