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.
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 …
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.
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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. …
"Nor Am I Out Of It": The Modern Bureaucratic Hell On Page And Screen,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
"Nor Am I Out Of It": The Modern Bureaucratic Hell On Page And Screen, Janet Brennan Croft
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
SESSION VI
5:30 PM—6:20 Eastern
4:30 PM—5:20 Central
3:30 PM—4:20Mountain
2:30 PM—3:20 Pacific
9:30 PM—10:20 GMT
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.
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 …
Re-Visioning Underland: C. S. Lewis’S The Silver Chair As Dystopian Fiction,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Re-Visioning Underland: C. S. Lewis’S The Silver Chair As Dystopian Fiction, William Thompson
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
In C. S. Lewis’s The Silver Chair, Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum follow the four signs given to them by Aslan and descend into the underworld in order to rescue the lost prince. They find the enchanted Prince Rilian, along with thousands of Earthmen, enslaved to the Green Lady, who has a plan to subjugate the people and creatures of Narnia. Michael Ward, in Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens and the Imagination of C. S. Lewis, takes a primarily Christological approach to the Narnia series, but finds a further analogue to Underland of The Silver Chair in the underworld …
The Road To Hell: Rebirth And Relevance In Musical Adaptations Of Katabatic Myth,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
The Road To Hell: Rebirth And Relevance In Musical Adaptations Of Katabatic Myth, Jarrod Deprado
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
Adapting Greek mythology provides a framework to reapproach classic works through a contemporary lens to better understand the present. Of particular interest is the depiction of characters traveling to Hell in search of a better future. Looking at two myth-inspired musicals—The Frogs by Stephen Sondheim and Burt Shevelove and Hadestown by Anaïs Michell—we see two disparate journeys to the Underworld given contemporary relevance. The Frogs (1974) depicts Dionysus’ journey to Hades to bring back a poet (originally Euripides, now George Bernard Shaw). However, it was not until the 2004 Broadway adaptation that overtly anti-authoritarian messages were added, aimed at …
Thinking Makes It So? Hell As A (Fixable) State Of Mind In The Good Place And Lucifer,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Thinking Makes It So? Hell As A (Fixable) State Of Mind In The Good Place And Lucifer, Erin Giannini
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
While different in genre, sitcom The Good Place and drama Lucifer share a certain irreverent tone and a somewhat unique approach to the afterlife. In The Good Place, there is no mention of gods or devils, only demons, a Good Place committee, and a judge. Lucifer, loosely based on Neil Gaiman’s graphic novels, however, features angels, demons, God, and the Devil, providing its own spin on established cosmology with embodied versions of prominent figures such as the archangel Michael and biblical brothers Cain and Abel. Yet what ties The Good Place and Lucifer together is a focus on …
“Hell Is Only A Word. The Reality Is Much, Much Worse”: Black Holes As Fantasy Gateways To Hell,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
“Hell Is Only A Word. The Reality Is Much, Much Worse”: Black Holes As Fantasy Gateways To Hell, Kristine Larsen
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
Black holes are frequently described as the scariest objects in the universe, even by the normally staid scientists who study them. Like the warning on the gate of Hell in Dante’s Inferno, any (hu)man or matter that dares to cross the event horizon abandons all hope before literally being ripped to shreds by the object’s extreme tidal forces. As the heart of the beast is approached, the laws of physics break down, time loses its simple everyday meaning, and mathematical madness reigns supreme. It is no wonder that Hollywood has repeatedly adopted the black hole as more than merely …
Substance Abuse: C.S. Lewis And The Symbolic Geography Of Hell,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Substance Abuse: C.S. Lewis And The Symbolic Geography Of Hell, Richard Angelo Bergen
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake the Romantic, proffers a Romantic vision of hell, and a geographical representation of capacity and scope with an energetic apology. On the other hand, C.S. Lewis’s vision of hell in The Great Divorce is that of a land without substance: a land of addiction to mental maladies, an endless mental substance abuse, an emptying of presence. As one surveys the conversations throughout the book, one gets an increasing sense of the importance of understanding place correctly, as a matter of eternal consequence. One chapter concerns a well-travelled ghost who repeats his …
Panel: “Hell Is Other People: Looking At The Political Rage Machine In Tolkien Fan Spaces And Media”,
2023
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Panel: “Hell Is Other People: Looking At The Political Rage Machine In Tolkien Fan Spaces And Media”, Alicia Fox-Lenz, Grace Moone, Cara Marta Messina
Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)
Following the backlash against the Tolkien Society’s “Tolkien and Diversity” seminar and the airing of the first season of Rings of Power, social media fan spaces for Tolkien remain politically charged and reactionary. Building on the foundation of Mythcon 51’s Roundtable “Race, Racisms, and Tolkien,” and Craig Franson’s work showcased there and on the podcast “American Id,” we will discuss the current state of Tolkien discourse on social media and how to navigate the landscape as safely as possible.
