The Tolkien Professor, Dr. Corey Olsen

Professor Olsen and his class tackle chapters 1-6 of C.S. Lewis’s classic fantasy, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”.Find it here or on iTunes.

The third week of discussion of Chapter 19 of The Silmarilion “Of Beren and Luthien” is now available. Be sure to listen to the very end to hear Dave Kale’s special announcement! You can find the file here and on iTunes.

The BBC archives have just released something truly remarkable for any fans of Tolkien:  a rare video interview from 1968!  In the clip from In Their Own Words, J.R.R. Tolkien talks about everything from nature to his love of beer – and, of course, his books.  A treat to start off your Monday, we hope!

Watch part two and read more over at The Good Report.

(Thanks to Patricia Ralston for posting this over at Mythgard’s Facebook page.)

The Tolkien Professor was recently asked to sit down for an interview with Jason Hartman, host of the Speaking of Wealth podcast.  While a bit of a departure from the normal subject matter covered by Dr. Olsen, it was a great opportunity to talk about how the ease of creating content with new media tools has allowed for direct opportunities for teaching and learning that would never have existed before.  Listen in to episode #49 of the SoW show here.

At last, Silmarillion Seminar Episode 20, “Thingol, Father of the Year” (on Chapter 19, “Of Beren and Luthien”) is now available for download.

Episode Four is now available!

Prof. Corey Olsen and Dave Kale finally get to the heart of the matter and discuss Thorin Oakenshield.  They compare his different portrayals across The Hobbit, Appendix A of The Return of the King, and different versions of The Quest of Erebor and analyze how they may be combined and adapted by Peter Jackson’s team in the upcoming The Hobbit films.  They focus in on his testy relationship with Gandalf, as well as his rivalry with Bilbo over the leadership of the group, and they speculate how the filmmakers may craft his story arc and character development.  Finally, they zero in on one specific moment: will the filmmakers preserve Thorin’s early capture by the elves of Mirkwood, or will they add him to the battle with the spiders?

Prediction of the Week: How will Thorin end up in the Elvenking’s dungeon?