English Language and Literature Commons^™

In Media Res: Sam & Frodo On The Journey, Craig Boyd

Mythcon

In one of the more pivotal passages in Lord of the Rings, Sam makes a couple of insightful comments to Frodo in a way that transcends his earlier foolishness. In a kind of moral and philosophical epiphany he says, “It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. . . But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with …

Opening Ceremonies, The Mythopoeic Society

Mythcon

Mythcon participants are invited (but not required!) to take part in our opening festivities Saturday morning by wearing costumes or regalia and carrying banners in our procession to the Terrace Rooms in which our Opening Ceremonies and Scholar Guest of Honor Address will be held. Those wishing to take part in the Opening Procession should meet by 8:45 am inside the main hotel lobby.

Scholar Guest Of Honor Address, The Mythopoeic Society

Mythcon

Speech by Scholar Guest of Honor Brian Attebery

Mythcon participants are invited (but not required!) to take part in our opening festivities Saturday morning by wearing costumes or regalia and carrying banners in our procession to the Terrace Rooms in which our Opening Ceremonies and Scholar Guest of Honor Address will be held. Those wishing to take part in the Opening Procession should meet by 8:45 am inside the main hotel lobby.

Sealed In The Sacred Realm: Coming Of Age In The Liminal Spaces Of Hyrule, Alicia Fox-Lenz

Mythcon

The Legend of Zelda franchise commonly uses alternate dimensions or worlds in its storytelling. These dimensions are often tied to darkness — being a place where evil waits, gathering strength, or a sister-world that has fallen to evil and needs liberation — providing the hero, Link, with the primary conflict driving his adventure. Alongside these larger worlds that provide conflict, there exist smaller dimensions, liminal spaces where Link and a small cast of other heroic characters are brought for physical and spiritual maturation. We will discuss how these liminal spaces function as doors through which the player as Link crosses …

The Year In Sf Tv, Scott Lohman

Mythcon

This is a group discussion, after some opening remarks, about the Science Fiction (broadly interpreted to include what the audience brings up) television/streaming of the past year or so.

The Genii Loci In The Midst Of Middle Earth, Richard Angelo Bergen

Mythcon

Several scholars, including Tom Shippey, Philip Mitchell, and Gordon Sleuthag, all agree that Tom Bombadil is, among other things, Tolkien’s representation of the genius loci of the Old Forest. The argument is plausible and coherent, but there is much more that can be said about the spirits of places in Tolkien’s legendarium, and the traditions he draws from to craft his world of storied and mutable place. In general, an affection and attention for the local, which Tolkien extols in his letters and fiction, is rather amenable to ideas concerning the genius loci, as theorists such as Yi-Fu Tuan and …

Eleanor Arnason’S Fantastic Mitochondrial Humor, Sandra Lindow

Mythcon

In this essay I explore Brian Attebery’s description of mitochondrial fantasy to explain how humor works in Eleanor Arnason’s short fantastic fiction. Mitochondria are the energy powerhouses in cells. They are symbiotic creatures that once were separate but became an evolutionary part of a female egg cell, providing a history that can be traced to a Mitochondrial Eve. In Fantasy: How It Works, Attebery uses mitochondria metaphorically to explain how fantastic ideas evolve. Attebery describes fantastic mitochondria as “a cellular dynamo that lives within the tissues” of a story (91). He demonstrates how stories lead to retellings and elaborations that …

‘A Stout Heart And A Good Blade’: An Examination And Reconsideration Of Éowyn In J.R.R. Tolkien’S The Lord Of The Rings, Angela Loving

Mythcon

For my paper I will examine and reconsider the character of Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings. I will look at the ways in which Tolkien uses dramatic elements and patterns from traditional literatures, including the Old English poem Beowulf and Shakespeare’s Macbeth, to tell an ancient tale anew, the tale of a dragon slain by an unlikely hero, in this case the Shield Maiden,Éowyn, and an even more unlikely assistant, a Hobbit named Merry. My process will focus on readings of the text, reflecting on ways Tolkien’s adaptations amplify female voice, choice, and agency. Éowyn enters in the …

Clifford Simak’S Big Front Yard, Eric M. Heideman, Ruth Berman

Mythcon

Eric Heideman, a Diversicon and Second Foundation founder, will talk and reminisce with Ruth Berman about the important Minnesota SF writer, who is named one of Diversicon’s “Posthumous guests of honor” this year.

Death, Soul, And Body In Tolkien’S Mythology: Perspectives On Athrabeth Finrod Ah Andreth, Chip Crane, Peter Grybauskas, Carl Hostetter

Mythcon

The conversation between the elf Finrod Felagund and the human woman Andreth in Morgoth’s Ring volume 10 of The History of Middle-warth explores in depth the differences between elves and humans in Tolkien’s mythology. Their conversation touches, among other things, on the reason humans die and the relationship of soul to body in both. Panelists will share perspectives on the significance of this conversation in Tolkien’s mythology and his own metaphysics.

“I Desire The Road. . . [But] [R]Oads Were Made For Young Men, Not Middle-Aged Women”: Ista’S Journey From Dowager To Paladin, Robin Anne Reid

Mythcon

Scholarship on Ista, Dowager Royina of Chalion, was minimal until the most recent anthology on Bujold’s work was published with four essays (out of 14, 28%) that focus on Ista, either as the primary focus of the essay (Yung Lee, Herington,), or as one of two characters analyzed (Palmer-Patel, MacDonald). These essay focus on queer and/or feminist readings of Ista (Yung Lee, MacDonald, Herington), and on analyzing the paradox of free will and fate in the Chalion duology (Palmer-Patel). In “I desire the road,” (Bujold’s emphasis), I build on these essays, all of which I consider convincing and strongly argued) …

Current Lgbtq+ Aspects In Sf&F, David Lenander, Peg Kerr, David R. Slayton

Mythcon

This panel was inspired by several things coming together. An awareness of Eleanor Arnason’s pioneering work in including LGBTQ+ characters in her novels, such as To the Resurrection Station, and some of her Lydia Duluth stories, and particularly in Ring of Swords and the other Hwarhath Stories, where this focus is a major theme. Then, there were the increasing number of books taking up these themes on the long and short lists for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, mirroring the changes that have occurred over the past few decades, so that early in our history these themes were not generally present, …

Middles And Centers In Chinese Translations Of Tolkien, Eric Reinders

Mythcon

How do Chinese translators of Tolkien translate the name “Middle-earth” without confusing it with China itself (Zhongguo, or “central kingdom”)? China is a nation which named itself the center of the world, and centrality is never a neutral or apolitical claim. “Middle/central kingdom” signifies a traditional conception of geopolitical power in concentric rings: from emperor, to capital city, to zones nearer to or further from the capital. This paper borrows from the tradition within Religious Studies of theorizing claims to centrality (Eliade, J. Z. Smith) and centrality in Chinese political symbolism (Meyer, Wheatley, Wu Hung, Walsh). Here I primarily consider …

Fantastical Philosophies: Portrayals Of Good And Evil In Tolkien And Popular Film, Olivia Crane

Mythcon

As we enjoy fiction through written and filmed media, the storytellers portray an array of philosophical perspectives through their work. An inescapable portrayal in any creation is the reality of good and evil. Some writers portray good and evil as equal and opposite forces, harmonious when reached at a balance. Others leave behind this idea with the privation theory of evil. Fantasy, involving heroes and villains, magic and mischief, is a perfect media through which to present philosophy. What, then, do fantastical works have to say about good and evil? Do they agree across the ages or refute one another? …

The Middle People Of Middle-Earth: Dwarven Displacement And Reconciliation In Tolkien’S Legendarium, Andrew Hickman

Mythcon

J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved Dwarves evidence “middleness,” or a consistent state of being in flux or consistent change, as evidenced by their historical development, foreignness to other races, and displacement from their homes. The Dwarven race, from their first references in Tolkien’s works, are considered to be a race at odds with the other races of Ilúvatar. Tolkien’s Dwarves are initially seen as a politically neutral or an outright evil group, neither aligning themselves with followers of Manwë nor of Melkor. Additionally, they are described numerous times as more akin to the Orcish race than of the other Free Folk. While …

The Year In Sf Movies, Scott Lohman

Mythcon

This is a group discussion, after some opening remarks, about the Science Fiction (broadly interpreted to include what the audience brings up) movies of the past year or so.

Check Your Dashboard, Your Gauges May Be High! What The Mythsoc Digital Archive Can Do For New And Seasoned Scholars, Phillip Fitzsimmons, Janet Croft, Victoria Gaydosik

Mythcon

The 4,411 posted works in the Mythsoc digital collections have been downloaded 782,713 times and streamed 1,767 times in 220 countries from July 2017 to March 2024. These usage statistics show that scholarship posted on the Mythsoc digital collections serves the research needs of scholars internationally, provides free and easy discoverability to authors’ works, and usage reports to contributors that provide evidence of the impact of their work. Janet Brennan Croft, Victoria Gaydosik, and Phillip Fitzsimmons will present on the success of the first seven years of using the SWOSU Digital Commons as the platform for the Mythopoeic Society Archives. …

Front Matter, Keb Editorial Board

Kentucky English Bulletin

No abstract provided.

The Importance Of Keeping Hobbies, Becca Adkins

Kentucky English Bulletin

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Keb Editorial Board

Kentucky English Bulletin

No abstract provided.

Parker Hannifan Purpose In Action Project, Gavin Barrows

Kentucky English Bulletin

No abstract provided.

Time And Time Again, Hannah Mcguffin

Kentucky English Bulletin

No abstract provided.

Anti-Homeless Architecture, Jonah Savage

Kentucky English Bulletin

No abstract provided.

Legalization Of Physician Assisted Suicide, Emilia Clemons

Kentucky English Bulletin

No abstract provided.

The Athlete From A Small Town, Dontrell Mason

Kentucky English Bulletin

No abstract provided.

Wondering The World, Reesiann Hendricks

Kentucky English Bulletin

No abstract provided.

Cereal Or No Cereal, Harley Taylor

Kentucky English Bulletin

No abstract provided.

Love’S Game, Jade Zornes

Kentucky English Bulletin

No abstract provided.

Challenged Gender Norms Surrounding The Vietnam War As Portrayed In Tim O’Brien’S The Things They Carried, Mehek Gupta

Kentucky English Bulletin

No abstract provided.

Blurring Gender Norms In Tim O’Brien’S The Things They Carried, Helen Le

Kentucky English Bulletin

No abstract provided.