Paper abstracts are currently being sought for the following Tolkien sessions for the International Medieval Congressat Leeds, 3-6 July 2023.  The special thematic strand of this conference will be Networks and Entanglements.  See more here https://www.imc.leeds.ac.uk/imc-2023/

We are very pleased that the 2023 IMC Tolkien Sessions will again be sponsored by the Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic at the University of Glasgow.

Paper submissions are being sought for the following sessions:

Tolkien: Medieval Roots and Modern Branches

This session can accommodate wider topics and new approaches to Tolkien’s medievalism, ranging from source studies and theoretical readings, to comparative studies of Tolkien’s works. 

Tolkien’s Medieval Entanglements 

Throughout his life and academic work Tolkien explored and grappled with some of the most perplexing and interesting cruxes and entanglements of medieval literature and language.  This session will explore examples of Tolkien’s engagement with these ‘medieval entanglements’ and how he sought potential solutions for them through both his own academic research and fictional worldbuilding. 

Tolkien’s Work and Academic Networks at Leeds

J.R.R. Tolkien established his academic career at the University of Leeds, joining as a Reader in 1920, aged 28, before being promoted to Professor within a few years. By the time he left in 1925 he had established the School as a UK leader in Old Icelandic language and literature.  Papers in this session can explore elements of Tolkien’s academic as well as fictional work while he was at the University of Leeds.  Papers can also explore the work of colleagues that formed part of Tolkien’s academic network(s) while he was at Leeds.   

New Work and Methods in Tolkien Research – Making the Links

Papers in this session can explore new methods of academic research that can be applied to both Tolkien and Middle-earth studies and what these methodologies are revealing for the continuing academic dialogue around Tolkien and both his academic and fictional works.  

Disentangling the Second Age of Middle-earth

In Tolkien’s great masterwork The Lord of the Rings, the Second Age of Middle-earth is a time remembered in poetry and song and the memories of such witnesses to its history as Elrond and Galadriel. In this session we are seeking papers that deal specifically with elements of the history, peoples and events of the Second Age of Middle-earth which saw the rise of the great evil that would cast its shadow over Middle-earth in the Third Age.  Papers in this session can be in dialogue with the upcoming Amazon Prime The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power series as well as the new book The Fall of Númenor And Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle-earth which will be published by HarperCollins in November 2022.

The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power and Questions of Adaptation and Authenticity – A Round Table 

Our continuing Tolkien at Leeds Round Table series will explore one of the most significant new adaptations of Tolkien’s works, Amazon Prime’s The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power series.  Participants will offer short presentations on some element of this series and how it is (or is not) in dialogue with Tolkien’s texts and what this new adaptation develops or reveals in the expanding body of adaptations of Tolkien’s world-building.   

• Please submit a paper contribution title and abstract by 31 August 2022 to  Dr. Andrew Higgins (asthiggins@me.com)
• Length of abstracts: 150 words (max!) 
• Papers will be 15-20 minutes long
• With your abstract, please include name and details of contributor (affiliation, address, and preferred e-mail address)

Source : Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic