IQ 3: Call for Proposals, First Annual Gathering, Teaching Tolkien to New Audiences
Inklings Quarterly
May 22, 2024
Call for Proposals
AY 2024-25 Inklings Project Fellowship Application Now Open
The Inklings Project requests fellowship applications from faculty at universities and colleges to encourage the teaching of the works of the Inklings, especially but not limited to C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. Grants in the amount of $1,500 are awarded to Fellows for creating and teaching Inklings-related courses.
The Inklings Project welcomes a variety of courses that delve into the works of the Inklings and engage students (e.g., a freshman writing seminar, a course engaging STEM students, in-person or online/hybrid venues). These courses may focus on fiction and/or nonfiction and may also include the writings of related authors (e.g., G. K. Chesterton, Dorothy Sayers, George MacDonald). Faculty from all disciplines, including STEM, are encouraged to apply. We especially welcome applications from faculty with no prior experience teaching the Inklings, as well as experienced faculty who endeavor to expand their course to a new audience (e.g., through a new setting or pedagogical format).
Fellowship applications are due July 1, 2024. For more information, please visit https://www.inklingsproject.org/apply.
First Annual Gathering of Inklings Project Fellows
Dr. Leonard DeLorenzo
On March 15 and 16, 2024, the inaugural cohort of Inklings Project Fellows gathered together at the Wade Center of Wheaton College for robust discussions around content, pedagogy, outreach. With its world-class Inklings library along with a museum featuring items like Lewis’s wardrobe and both Tolkien’s and Lewis’s desks, the Wade Center was an ideal setting for this gathering. In addition to engaging with each other, fellows were able to conduct their own research in the library, while also plotting out new projects for teaching and scholarship.
In discussions about content, fellows shared which texts and authors they have been teaching and how students have engaged with these texts. They highlighted which works are taught well together, and considered which works they plan to engage in the future.
In terms of pedagogy, fellows detailed their approaches to teaching the Inklings and how those approaches have evolved or changed over time. They were able to share challenges they have encountered and learn from others’ successes.
Finally, the group explored ideas and possibilities for outreach to new student communities and even beyond their own campuses. Some fellows have already tested such outreach, including offering Inklings classes at local churches or teaching the Inklings to men imprisoned in a state penitentiary. This last leg of conversation on outreach was important for envisioning the future growth and impact of the Inklings Project as a whole.
Far from a mere “working meeting”, the soul of this gathering was one of friendship and fellowship. Scholars from different fields and diverse teaching and research backgrounds were united, first, by a common love of the Inklings and, thereafter, by a respect for and enjoyment of one another’s interests and passion. As the Inklings themselves pursued their intellectual interests in colleagueship and friendship, so too did the fellows who study them seek this more convivial path.
Coming to the end of their yearlong fellowship, the inaugural Inklings Project Fellows will engage in closing conversations with the Inklings Project staff at the University of Notre Dame and Brown University, while also potentially planning a collaborative project for the future. We are also looking forward to welcoming many of these fellows back as mentors for the fellows in future cohorts, beginning with the AY 2024-25 group that we are recruiting now.
Top Left: Crystal Downing, Co-Director of the Wade Center, giving a tour of the Wade Center museum
Top Right: Jill Walker, Catalog Librarian, introducing the Reading Room
Bottom Left: Fellow discussion
Bottom Right: Fellows with members of the Inklings Project staff and with the Wade Center Co-Directors, David and Crystal Downing
Fellow Spotlight
Interview with Dr. Mary Keys | Teaching Tolkien for the Moreau College Initiative
One of this year’s Inklings Project Fellows is Dr. Mary M. Keys, a Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Keys teaches a first year seminar titled “Politics and Literature: J. R. R. Tolkien,” a course that introduces students to the study of political philosophy through the literary narratives of J. R. R. Tolkien's classic works. Recently, she developed a version of her course for the Moreau College Initiative, which she taught for the first time this past fall. Below, we were able to ask her a few questions about her experience.
1. Can you tell us a little bit about the Moreau College Initiative (MCI) and the course you taught for them the first time this past fall?
The Moreau College Initiative, or MCI, is a partnership of Holy Cross College, the University of Notre Dame, and the Indiana Department of Correction. Basically, it’s a selective program offering incarcerated persons, in this case all men, the opportunity to take college classes and earn Holy Cross College degrees while serving their sentences at the Westville Correctional Facility. This past fall I taught in the Westville program for the first time. The program director told me that the students love literature, reading, and discussing novels. So I thought I’d begin with “Politics & Literature: J. R. R. Tolkien,” a popular course I’ve taught a long time at Notre Dame. Westville students read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, as well as some of The Silmarillion. Key themes in ethics and political philosophy of course appear throughout these literary classics. At the same time, to round out the course we read excerpts from classics in the history of political thought, philosophy, and theology. And for further study, thanks to your generous Inklings Fellowship grant, I donated a number of books by and about Tolkien and his works to the MCI Westville Library.
2. What has been your inspiration for developing and teaching "Politics & Literature: J. R. R. Tolkien"?
I loved The Lord of the Rings when I first read it in high school. Then as a freshman at Boston College I had two especially good interconnected courses: “Fundamental Concepts in Political Science,” focused on ancient Greek and American political thought and team-taught by Professors Christopher Bruell and Marc Landy, and an elective titled “Philosophy and Literature: Tolkien,” taught by Professor Peter Kreeft. Later, at my sister’s suggestion, I reread The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with her while beginning my academic career at Notre Dame. And it hit me how key themes of political theory, together with philosophy and theology, were interwoven in Tolkien’s novels. So I wrote a conference paper on justice and friendship lessons in The Hobbit. And then it occurred to me that reading Tolkien would serve as the perfect introduction to political theory and literature for Notre Dame freshmen. Once I began teaching the course in 2004, it was like in Kevin Costner’s movie Field of Dreams – if you build it people will come. Well, the ND students definitely came.
3. How did the course go this past semester? Do any highlights come to mind?
I loved teaching the MCI course as a mid-level social science elective. The class included some of the best students in the program – nine taking the class for credit and another, a recent BA, auditing the first half of the semester. We met every Friday for three hours, with a lunch break midway through. That long break gave us a chance to visit and really get to know each other.
One highlight was seeing what special gifts these students brought to class. Examples include Earl, a gifted musician and vocalist; Tyler, already a Tolkien scholar, generously sharing his library of works by and about Tolkien with the other students; Michael, a distinguished scholar in his own right and volunteer librarian at Westville; Nate – always among the first to arrive – cheerful, ready, and willing to participate and assist in whatever was needed; Mike, a natural leader who set up the classroom for each session’s focus, whether seminar discussion, film viewing, or speeches, including all the needed supplies; and Steve, with his cheerfulness and thoughtful scholarship, leading to his election as one of two student speakers at the 2023 MCI Commencement, which I had the honor of attending.
4. Were there any specific works, chapters, or characters that especially resonated with your students?
From our class discussions and several essays, the characters of Bilbo, Boromir, and Gollum, or Smeagol, seemed to resonate the most. Of course Bilbo’s great propensity for adventure and friendship were themes that captivated students’ attention – more about that later. No less surprising, Boromir’s combination of strength, loyalty, and skepticism; his act of betrayal in attempting to take the One Ring from Frodo; and later his return and act of repentance. Boromir definitely was the subject of broad fascination, diverse interpretation, and debate, both in class and in student papers. And several students focused on tortured ring-destroyer and antihero Gollum’s sad past, his near conversion, and his fall and seeming failure to repent at the end – although it’s worth mentioning that one of Tolkien’s letters suggests Gollum in fact did repent and was forgiven before reaching the Fire of Mt. Doom. These three – Bilbo, Boromir, and Gollum – prompted special reflection on character, freedom, free will and grace, true patriotism, and one’s duties to God and all of humanity as God’s creation.
Some students produced original paintings inspired by The Lord of the Rings, revealing characters and moments in the story that inspired them. For example, with bold strokes of green and brown, Will powerfully depicted Treebeard breaking the gates at Isengard and beginning to restore the land. And Gary’s beautiful painting captured Gandalf courageously facing the Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm – a key act of heroism, servant-leadership, and self-sacrifice. At the same time, Earl chose to paint a vibrant portrait of Tolkien smiling and musing, surrounded by his protagonists Bilbo, Frodo, and Gandalf.
5. Did anything particularly surprise or challenge you and/or your students?
During the MCI semester, with the help of my sister, who is an accomplished editor and communications professional, I built what was to be a simple class presentation into a full formal speech assignment, introducing students to the art and technique of public speaking – skills that will serve them well throughout their lives. Rob’s speech at the semester’s end was one of the best. Focusing on the final chapters in The Lord of the Rings, he opened by candidly noting one personal challenge and one surprise, thanking his colleagues in class for persuading him not to drop the course, having learned he was wrong – he had in fact learned something significant from, as he put it then, “fairy tales.”
This turning point brought me back to the semester’s start, when Rob seemed disengaged and uninterested – and he really was! He had wanted the “Chinese Philosophy” course, but settled for mine when that was canceled. But as with Tolkien’s characters, things happen for a reason. And Rob saw the light and re-engaged, working hard on his first paper on the first half of The Hobbit. As class began, I asked who had written a paper on the question of how and why friendships have formed so far. Rob immediately raised his hand. He spoke with passion and offered a surprising thesis – there were no real friendships formed in the story, he asserted, though Bilbo made the mistake of treating his business associates the dwarves as if they were friends, nearly getting himself killed as a result. This claim prompted a lively and illuminating class debate concerning the nature of friendship, forms of friendship, and Aristotle’s theory of friendship in his Nicomachean Ethics. Rob seemed genuinely surprised that his thought had fueled such a lively discussion. After that, both his writing and seminar participation took off, and Rob went on to win an end-of-semester MCI Scholar Award for his coursework.
Another challenge – this one medical – was met by David, who missed the first two weeks of class while sick in the infirmary. Was I ever surprised when he arrived at class on the third Friday with his assigned paper completed – and well done – as well as by the knowledge and love of Tolkien he subsequently brought to every class and shared with his classmates. But knowledge wasn’t all he shared – to make one film presentation sweeter, David offered everybody cookies he had brought to share with his classmates.
6. What did you learn from teaching this course? What were your main takeaways?
Teaching for the first time for the Moreau College Initiative made me feel in some ways like a rookie teacher and gave me new opportunities to grow in humility, flexibility, and openness to listen and learn. I enjoyed the easy focus and peacefulness of the classroom and the dedication of the students. I’m so grateful to the staff of the Indiana Department of Correction, as well as MCI and Westville, for making this experience possible. And of course special thanks to everybody at the Inklings Fellows Program for your generous support.
7. Do you plan to teach this course in the future? If so, do you think you will make any changes?
I hope to teach it again. And I don’t expect any big changes. But I would try to incorporate student suggestions for enhanced feedback and flow. This summer I expect to teach a different class in the MCI program, another long-standing course at Notre Dame called “Politics and Conscience.” I’m celebrating 30 years of teaching at Notre Dame, and yet this will be my first time ever teaching summer school! Needless to say, I can’t wait to be back in the classroom at Westville. Again, my deepest appreciation to all those involved and to the Inklings Fellows Program for all your continued encouragement and support – thanks so much!
And to learn more about MCI, visit the program’s website at https://www.hcc-nd.edu/moreau-college-initiative/ and see the recent documentary on its gardening programs: “Regenerate Indiana: Land and People Made Whole” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1n8kpo1PM0).
From a Fellow
Dr. Michael J. Urick | What Can Tolkien Tell Us About Modern Organizations?
Dean – Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics, and Government
Saint Vincent College – Latrobe, PA
When a colleague of mine told me about the Inklings Project, I was eager to learn more. I applied soon thereafter and was surprised when I got accepted. I was even more surprised when I saw the backgrounds of the other esteemed fellows – theologians, medievalists, philologists, and other renowned professors were among those selected whose disciplines seemed more related to the works of Tolkien, Lewis, Williams, and Barfield than my own. Would I, as an organizational behaviorist, be able to contribute to our conversations? What value does my work on Tolkien have, especially given all of the other wonderful scholarship on the Inklings in which this group and others outside of the group have undertaken?
I am a bit odd, both for an organizational behaviorist and for a Tolkien enthusiast. My primary field of organizational behavior explores how people work together in businesses, nonprofits, government agencies, and basically any group or institution. In most university settings, the discipline of organizational behavior is situated in the curriculum of the business school. The field studies concepts related to motivation, job performance, teamwork, organizational commitment, work satisfaction, and other related areas. Though these things seem quite removed from Tolkien’s Middle-earth, I have loved his tales since I was a child. It is perhaps strange to want to explore Tolkien’s thoughts on these organizational behavior topics, but that is exactly where some of my interests lie.
Many Tolkienists engage in excellent literary, linguistic, and historical analyses of Tolkien and his work. There are very few Tolkien scholars that seek to blend organizational studies to Tolkien’s work and I’ve found myself not quite fitting in (or at least looked at skeptically by other attendees) at Tolkien conferences and events at which I’ve presented.
For the most part, I’ve come to terms with this. Much of what I study I do for practical reasons. I try to use academic scholarship to suggest actionable outcomes for students and readers. A course that I am teaching this semester, some of which leverages learning leadership from The Hobbit, is partially based on my book and other writings related to using Tolkien’s Middle-earth stories to illustrate leadership theories.
The goal of both my writing and the course is to provide examples of leadership through fictional work that illustrate clear theories of leadership. While these theories have been academically supported by data, they are not always well understood by students or even organizational leaders. So, I like to use Tolkien’s stories to provide examples of both “good” and “bad” leadership to make the theories clearer to students and readers.
In making theories clearer, I ask my students and readers not to learn the theory just for the sake of the theory or to consider Tolkien’s stories in light of leadership concepts just because doing so is fun. Instead, once the theories are clearer due to examples from Tolkien, I ask them to then reflect and step into certain characters’ shoes. How is their leadership context similar to or different from those of Bilbo’s, Gandalf’s, Aragorn’s, or even Sauron’s? How can they apply the theories that these characters illustrate into their own workplace context?
I have found that this reflection can be both fun and rewarding. And it is fun and rewarding for me, too, as a professor and author – I am able to blend my passions for organizational behavior and Tolkien’s writing together to, I believe, create impact in modern real-world organizations. I believe that this approach can truly lead to more effective and moral leadership outcomes. To that end, I would be happy to share more with anyone interested in additional details about my work on learning leadership through Tolkien. Please feel free to email me at michael.urick@stvincent.edu.
Quarterly Highlights
Inspiration: “When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.” — C. S. Lewis, “On Three Ways of Writing for Children”
Resource: “Contemplating The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis with Josh McManaway”, a Church Life Today podcast episode hosted by Dr. Leonard DeLorenzo, of the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame. This discussion of C. S. Lewis’ brief but brilliant novel is enjoyable and elucidating for new and old readers alike.
“You can’t take a souvenir from Hell into Heaven; likewise, you can’t fit the realities of Heaven into Hell…”
Event: C. S. Lewis Onstage Further Up and Further In, a Max McLean production that is touring across the United States this summer. See the schedule for shows near you!
Interested in supporting the Inklings Project?
The Inklings Project exists because of the generosity of individuals. To make a one-time or recurring donation to the Inklings Project, please visit giving.nd.edu/inklings, or call 574-631-7164.
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For past issues of the Inklings Quarterly, visit www.inklingsproject.org/quarterly.
