Hell Is School—And Other People—And Myself (But Mostly Other People): From Inferno To The Paradiso In The Scholomance Series By Naomi Novik,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Hell Is School—And Other People—And Myself (But Mostly Other People): From Inferno To The Paradiso In The Scholomance Series By Naomi Novik, Nicole Duplessis
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
In her novels A Deadly Education, The Last Graduate, and The Golden Enclaves, Naomi Novik constructs a world in which school is Hell and the outside world is Heaven—or so it seems from the inside. From the competition and internal hierarchies that exist between the students, to the monsters, or “mals” that stalk students and devour them for their “mana,” to the brutal lessons, harsh punishments, and presumed Darwinism of the school itself, the inside of the Scholomance seems the embodiment of Hell to the novel’s protagonist and central consciousness “El,” short for Galadriel, even as she …
Hell As Colonizing Force: Postcolonialism In World Of Warcraft’S The Maw,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Hell As Colonizing Force: Postcolonialism In World Of Warcraft’S The Maw, Heather Bass
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
The lore in World of Warcraft represents various global religions along with their multiple paths to the soul’s redemption. One quest asks players to approach various divintities and retrieve their sacred objects in order to save a paladin from the disease of undeath in desolate Icecrown. Scholars have also noticed World of Warcraft’s religious capacities with one such example being comparing Thrall to Jesus. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the World of Warcraft lore has its own version of Hell–a region known as the Maw–with its own version of Satan. The Maw is one of the new territories …
The Lord Of The Rings & Dante’S Inferno: The Pilgrim’S Path—A Descent Into Hell,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
The Lord Of The Rings & Dante’S Inferno: The Pilgrim’S Path—A Descent Into Hell, Hayden Bilbrey
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
This project explores the parallels between the journeys of Dante’s Pilgrim in Inferno and Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings. It asserts that these two examples are a variant of the hero’s journey, more akin to a divine pilgrimage. Through this analysis, each author’s use and repurposing of mythology and monsters to fit within a Christian narrative will be closely examined. Following the Pilgrim and Frodo, this project charts their voyages through hell (or hellish landscape) and the effects that has on each of them psychologically and spiritually. In essence, this project seeks to chart both external …
Orpheus, The Harrowing Of Hell, And Mary Magdalene In The Tale Of Beren And Lúthien,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Orpheus, The Harrowing Of Hell, And Mary Magdalene In The Tale Of Beren And Lúthien, Giovanni Carmine Costabile
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
Tolkien has a wealth of precedents in giving his Orpheus and Eurydice, i.e., Beren and Lúthien, a happy ending. My paper proposes to survey these precedents in the Orphic tradition of Ancient Greece, in its subsequent Christening in late ancient and medieval literature, and in its connections with the Harrowing of Hell. Looking for a female Orpheus, an undiscussed parallelism is found in the figure of Mary Magdalene.
Cloaked In Shadow: The Biopolitics Of Sauron’S Middle-Hell,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Cloaked In Shadow: The Biopolitics Of Sauron’S Middle-Hell, Journee Cotton
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
This paper considers hellish aspects of The Lord of the Rings through an environmental bioethical framework focusing on the intersection of biopolitics, race, and ecology. Key figures that shall be examined include Sauron, Saruman, Uruk-hai, and the body of Middle-earth. Sauron shall be read as a Hades figure; they share numerous connections, such as their domain is hell, influence over invisibility (Hades’ cloak and Sauron’s Ring), characterization of giver of gifts, possession of dead bodies, and connection to the earth’s fertility (or lack). Sauron’s possession over dead bodies arises from the necropolitical power he incites over bodies in his sphere …
Through The Mirror Darkly: Link’S Journey To Hell And The Inversion Of Hyrule In The Legend Of Zelda’S Underworlds,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Through The Mirror Darkly: Link’S Journey To Hell And The Inversion Of Hyrule In The Legend Of Zelda’S Underworlds, Alicia Fox-Lenz
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
When talking about The Legend of Zelda, “underworld” can have a variety of definitions, from simple dungeons hidden beneath the ground to fully realized parallel dimensions. Since the first entry in the franchise, the subterranean dungeons have been where the player character, Link, learns new skills and battles colossal monsters, honing the player’s skills and advancing the narrative. While not as ubiquitous as dungeons, since A Link to the Past, Zelda games have often included travel to parallel worlds, whether those are parallel dimensions or alternate time periods, where the rules and mores of Hyrule have been upended creating truly …
From Fiery Pit Of Divine Fire To The Watery Caves Of Primordial Chaos: The Realm Of The Dead, A New Hell Of A Place,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
From Fiery Pit Of Divine Fire To The Watery Caves Of Primordial Chaos: The Realm Of The Dead, A New Hell Of A Place, Gaëlle Abaléa
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
Representations of hell used to have an educational purpose, they conveyed edifying messages: be good or you will suffer for all eternity. Since the rise of psychology, the representations of Hell have evolved, losing their religious content yet, paradoxically, enduring. If they lost their religious purpose, they kept an ancient mythological architecture. Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom series’ depiction of Hell is at the same time Greek, with the river running as an entry point to the realm of the dead, adding a Bachelardian influence to the picture with the omnipresence of water. Besides, travelling through hell is a journey through …
(Re)Visiting Hades: Depictions Of The Underworld In Virgil’S And Rick Riordan’S Work,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
(Re)Visiting Hades: Depictions Of The Underworld In Virgil’S And Rick Riordan’S Work, Inês Vaz
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
The hero’s journey is one of the most popular narrative patterns in storytelling, constituting a particular bridge between classical mythology and modern fantasy. One of the most captivating and poignant parts of the journey is none other than the descent to the underworld. Since the beginning of time, countless heroes have come and gone, but the underworld stays the same. Or does it . . .? From among the long tradition of classical texts that first helped bring the underworld to life, Virgil’s can be praised for providing some of the most detailed descriptions, as both Orpheus’ descent in Book …
The Videogaming Hell Of Gears Of War As A Political Parable,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
The Videogaming Hell Of Gears Of War As A Political Parable, Orazio Marie Gnerre
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
Gears of War is a series of video games born for the Xbox platform in 2006. These are set on a planet very similar to Earth and in approximately the same age as ours. As in the case of the ukronic tales, however, the political organization of the planet Sera (as the world of this narrative is called) is partially different from ours. Humanity on this planet has federated into a progressive political world government. There is no longer any internal enemy to humanity, but despite this society is managed in a highly organized and disciplined manner. From the depths …
Mythopoeic Society Awards Ceremony,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Mythopoeic Society Awards Ceremony, Mythsoc Stewards
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
Mythopoeic Society Awards Ceremony: Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature, Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature, Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies, Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth & Fantasy Studies, and Alexei Kondratiev Student Paper Award.
A Nostalgic Understanding Of Bureaucracy As Hell,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
A Nostalgic Understanding Of Bureaucracy As Hell, Mayank Kejriwal
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
There is a wide body of visual and literary cultural media on interpreting the over-bureaucratization in modern society as modern hell. I argue that more recent post-modern depictions of bureaucracy, especially in visual media, have been less disquieting. Apple’s Severance tapped into deep uncertainties that modern workers face on issues like work-life balance and self-actualization, but if bureaucracy is present, it is well concealed under the gloss and efficiency of modern office buildings and technology. Hell is not the first word that comes to mind even when faced with such disquiet. Gone is the visceral fear associated with hell, or …
C.S. Lewis’S Inferno: Did The Two Queens Wish To Leave Hell?,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
C.S. Lewis’S Inferno: Did The Two Queens Wish To Leave Hell?, Kyoko Yuasa
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
C.S. Lewis depicts “inferno” not only as the otherworldly vision of Hell, but also as how you would choose your life in the present. In Beyond the Shadowlands, Wayne Martindale discussed, in separate chapters, how Jadis and Orual chose Hell. This presentation will add to his research a comparison of the two queens’ choice of “living in the self” and refusal to abandon themselves. In The Great Divorce and The Silver Chair, a protagonist moves out of the present world into a dimension of Inferno or Elysium, while Jadis in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and Orual …
Timeless Moments: Russell Kirk, Charles Williams, And Stephen King On The Afterlife,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Timeless Moments: Russell Kirk, Charles Williams, And Stephen King On The Afterlife, Camilo Peralta
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
In this paper, I apply the eschatological framework of Michigan historian and Gothic horror writer Russell Kirk to the depictions of Purgatory and Hell in certain novels by Charles Williams and Stephen King. Although these authors represent a wide range of faith traditions, there are a number of surprising similarities between their respective depictions of the afterlife, aspects of which Kirk’s notion of “timeless moments” can help to clarify. All three authors, for instance, characterize the afterlife as a state of mind that is nevertheless closely associated with specific physical locations such as a castle in Scotland, the city of …
Managing Hell: C.S. Lewis And J.R.R. Tolkien On The Infernality Of Managerialism,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Managing Hell: C.S. Lewis And J.R.R. Tolkien On The Infernality Of Managerialism, Mark Brians
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
Other typical hadean tropes notwithstanding (e.g. the fiery slopes of Mt. Doom, or the demonic cannibal feast over which Screwtape gives a toast, the rank pits of Angband), the image that most commonly attends the hellish landscapes in the work of both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien is one of managerial governance. From the policies of the bilious Governor Gumpas to the Dark Lord’s economic network of “long wagon-trains of goods and booty and fresh slaves,” Hell for both authors is a place where all of life succumbs to what Baptiste Rappin has called “the foundation of Management.” Hells such …
C.S. Lewis’S The Silver Chair: Descent, Destiny, And Discipleship In The Deep Realm And Beyond,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
C.S. Lewis’S The Silver Chair: Descent, Destiny, And Discipleship In The Deep Realm And Beyond, Aven Lumi Whitehorne
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
This paper will explore the descent and underworld journey of Eustace Scrubb, Jill Pole, and Puddleglum the Marsh-wiggle in C.S. Lewis’s The Silver Chair, amplifying themes which indicate that Lewis’s The Silver Chair distills Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship for young readers. I use a Campbellian lens to discuss why Lewis set the climax of his adventure in the profane underworld ruled by the Queen of the Deep Realm. Through Bonhoeffer’s notion of “cheap grace,” Biblical parallels, connections to Paradise Lost, and contrasts with Dante’s Inferno, we will explore the journey to the underworld and the descent into it. …
The Good, The Bad, And The Mind-Body Problem: Dualistic Punishment And Torture In The Good Place,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
The Good, The Bad, And The Mind-Body Problem: Dualistic Punishment And Torture In The Good Place, Katelynn Baerg
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
Theories about the afterlife have been a constant fixation of humanity throughout history, illustrated through diverse mediums and genres. Literary and philosophical movements reflect and influence the shifts between the worldviews of traditional and modern writers. In comparing Michael Schur’s sitcom The Good Place with Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, this paper demonstrates how the writer’s depictions of torture and punishment reflect their respective positions on philosophical concepts of the human self. Through the lens of the mind-body problem proposed by Rene Descartes, I analyze how the relationship between the mind and body in the afterlife is explored in each depiction. …
Hell In Anime And Manga, From Go Nagai’S Devilman, Kentaro Miura’S Berserk, Hell Girl Project’S Hell Girl, The Works Of Junji Ito And Everything In Between,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Hell In Anime And Manga, From Go Nagai’S Devilman, Kentaro Miura’S Berserk, Hell Girl Project’S Hell Girl, The Works Of Junji Ito And Everything In Between, Minna Nizam
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
This paper will explore the influence of Hell in Anime and Manga. The discussion will begin with Go Nagai’s Devilman then lead into other examples of anime/manga with the same theme. The focus will be on the titular character, Akira Fudo, his transformation, and the villains throughout the story. Then a larger discussion on Kentaro Miura’s Berserk and his interpretation of hell will be taken into account. From Griffith’s transformation to Femto, to the iconography of the monsters Guts battles. Then another popular anime franchise will be discussed: Hell Girl and its impact on modern media. The story of revenge …
Reforming Xibalba In Gods Of Jade And Shadow,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Reforming Xibalba In Gods Of Jade And Shadow, Anne Acker
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
When Gods of Jade and Shadow was published in 2019, it was acclaimed both for its excellent writing and its revisioning of Mesoamerican mythology. While there is certainly a centering of indigenous American myth over the Western religion, depicted as alien and imposed, the novel also belongs to a growing body of feminist literature in the #MeToo era that critiques and reimagines the power structures of the original stories. This paper explores the literary reconstruction of Xibalba, the underworld of Mayan myth, as Casiopea Tun seeks to restore the god Hun-Kame to his rightful throne at great personal cost. The …
Grey Town: The Practical Theology Of The Great Divorce,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Grey Town: The Practical Theology Of The Great Divorce, Reggie Weems
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
As one of the most-read Protestant authors of the last two centuries, the legacy of C.S. Lewis is surprisingly rooted in his various writings about Hell. And yet, even though his works are permeated with the mysterium tremendum et fascinans, Lewis rarely spoke directly or clearly about Hell, such as he did in a single chapter in The Problem of Pain (1940). He nonetheless attempted to demythologize Hell from God’s viewpoint in The Pilgrim’s Regress (1933), Satan’s outlook in The Screwtape Letters (1942), and the human perspective in The Great Divorce (1945), his last and perhaps, most insightful …
Panel: Deep Places Of The World: Journeys In The Underworlds Of Middle-Earth,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Panel: Deep Places Of The World: Journeys In The Underworlds Of Middle-Earth, Alicia Fox-Lenz, Laura Grabowski, Constance Wagner, Jim Wert
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
In many world mythologies, underworlds are typically subterranean lands that house the dead. Sometimes these underworlds are visited by living heroes who pass trials only to return to the land of the living transformed. Tolkien uses this mythological theme to great effect throughout his legendarium. From The Hobbit to the Silmarillion, Tolkien’s world is littered with underworlds through which characters journey and emerge forever changed. Join us for a lively discussion of Tolkien’s underworlds and how they transform the characters who enter them, as well as the shape the larger events of Middle-earth.
