Signum Symposia

Find out about the new courses offered at Signum University this coming Summer Term (May 1 – July 30) and meet the professors who will be teaching them! Representatives from the courses will be on hand to explain how the classes work, what people can expect if they sign up, and answer questions from the live audience.

The Summer 2023 Courses:

Please note: Unfortunately, following the recording of this Signum Symposia event, we have decided to postpone "Literary Copernicus: The Cosmic Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft" until the Fall 2023 semester. "Tolkien Illustrated," "The Inklings and King Arthur," and "Introduction to Old Norse" are still open for registration. Thank you.

Tolkien Illustrated: Picturing the Legendarium – This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the history of Tolkien illustration and its visual, contextual, and critical analyses.

Literary Copernicus: The Cosmic Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft – This course explores the work of H.P. Lovecraft and his impact on literature and popular culture. Students will study the foundations of Lovecraft’s writing, the meaning behind his works, along with his cosmic vision and legacy.

The Inklings and King Arthur – This course explores how J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and other Inklings authors interpreted the Arthurian legends in their work.

Introduction to Old Norse – The first half of this course provides a focus on Old Icelandic grammar, and the second half allows students to begin reading from a selection of Old Icelandic prose and poetic texts.

Thesis Theater: Jennifer Ewing, “The Promises to the Overcomer”

This recording from April 3rd, 2023.

Signum MA student Jennifer Ewing will present her thesis “The Promises to the Overcomer: The Gifts and Rewards Given to the Fellowship in The Lord of the Rings” and respond to questions from the audience in an interactive Thesis Theater. The discussion will be facilitated by Jennifer’s thesis supervisor, Dr. Michael Corso.

Abstract
J. R. R. Tolkien’s devout Catholicism and Biblical knowledge, through personal study and professional translation and commentary on medieval works, is well known. This Catholic and biblical ‘leaf-mould’ finds its way into the gifts and rewards which were given to the Fellowship in completion of their quest in The Lord of the Rings (Letters 409). This thesis presents evidence that the gifts or rewards articulated as promises to the overcomer in the book of Revelation seem to correspond in theme and value to a gift or a reward in The Lord of the Rings and include: the tree of life (Rev. 2.7), no second death (Rev. 2.11), manna, a white stone, and a new name (Rev. 2.17), rule of the nations, the morning star (Rev. 2.26, 28), white raiment (Rev. 3.5), to be a secure as a pillar in the temple of My God (Rev. 3.12), and to sit with Jesus on his throne (Rev. 3.21). In addition to the religious symbolism, there is a cursory exploration of the stewardship aspects of the gifts and rewards. Without prudent use of these gifts (or rewards), the War of the Ring would have been lost and quest would have surely failed.

About the Presenter
Jennifer Ewing read the Bass & Rankin illustrated edition of The Hobbit when she was ten years old. Despite this auspicious start, fourteen years passed before she read The Lord of the Rings. Some say that entering a course of study with an aim in mind brings a certain depth to that subject. Jennifer has known for the past twenty years that she wanted to write a thesis on Tolkien and Revelation 2-3. She attended seminary (where she is the library director), taking courses with that object in mind, and after graduation she waited two whole months before enrolling at Signum.

About Signum Thesis Theaters
Each of our master’s students writes a thesis at the end of their degree program, exploring a topic of their choice. The Thesis Theater is their opportunity to present their research to a general audience, and answer questions. All are welcome to attend!

This recording from December 1, 2022.

Find out about the new courses offered at Signum University this coming Spring Term (January 9 – April 2) and meet the professors who will be teaching them! Representatives from the courses will be on hand to explain how the classes work, what people can expect if they sign up, and answer questions from the live audience.

Your host, Professor Sparrow Alden, will introduce you to some of our amazing Spring Term professors: Sara Brown, Gabriel Schenk, Liam Daley, and Nelson Goering.

The Spring 2023 Courses:

Race, Gender, and the Other in Tolkien’s Middle-earth – This course explores the issues of race, sexuality, gender, and Othering in the mythological legendarium of J.R.R. Tolkien.

The Gothic Tradition – This course will investigate the fascinating and subversive Gothic imagination, identify the historical conditions that have inspired it, and consider how it has developed across time and place and medium.

Chaucer I: Visions of Love – This class is the first semester in a two-part survey of Chaucer’s major works, looking at his early dream vision poems and his greatest completed work: Troilus and Criseyde.

Introduction to Germanic Philology II – This class provides an introduction to Germanic comparative philology in a broad sense. Students are not expected to have prior familiarity with any language other than modern English.

This is Part 1 of the separate recordings from The 2022 Fall Fundraising Campaign Finale, recorded on November 19, 2022.

This recording from September 5, 2022.

Signum MA student Nadia Schafer will present her thesis “One Strange (s) Elf: Deep Ecology, Decolonization and the Radical Hope of Legolas Greenleaf ” and respond to questions from the audience in an interactive Thesis Theater. The discussion will be facilitated by Nadia’s thesis supervisor, Dr. Sara Brown.

Abstract:

While living through a national reckoning, a global pandemic, and a worsening climate change crisis, what The Lord of the Rings can offer to those living on Turtle Island in the 2020s? This thesis argues that the text offers its reader radical hope through the ecocritical voice through the character Legolas Greenleaf. Strongly influenced by the writings of Joanna Macy, Donna Haraway, and Robin Wall Kimmerer, “One Strange (s)Elf” explores the narrative of Legolas’ role in the process of decolonization and restoration in Middle-earth. Using a postcolonial analysis paired with Deep Ecology, this thesis establishes an Indigenous reading of the Silvan Elves. Building of this reading, it further demonstrates the power of making Oddkin as an act of decolonization, explores the elements of the Queer Gothic in the depiction of Fangorn’s Huorns, and acknowledges the power of shared grief. Finally, this work demonstrates how Tolkien suggests to his audience an alternative to despair by offering the choice to stray.

About the Presenter: