Voices of Mythgard

Student Spotlights

Spring 2013

The fifth semester at Mythgard brings with it the return of Dr. Verlyn Flieger for her Tolkien’s World of Middle-earth course.  We also have Dr. Amy H. Sturgis back on deck for the second half of her Science Fiction course and Dr. Corey Olsen is offering a retelling of The Story of The Hobbit.  What are the students thinking of Mythgard this time around?

02.06.2013 – “Thanks to the Mythgard Institute and Verlyn Flieger’s Tolkien’s World of Middle-earth course for initiating these thoughts- in the form of an exam no less!” – On Tolkien, Beowulf, and Tragedy

01.13.2013 – “Just got access to a Library for my course. First reaction: LOOK AT ALL THIS AWESOME STUFF! IT HAS THIS, AND THIS AND THIS AND THIS… AND OMIGOD WAR OF THE WORLDS AND THIS AND LOOOOOOVE. Second Reaction: *sniffles* I… I don’t have time to read it all…”

Fall 2012

Our fourth semester and one year class anniversary kicked off with Science Fiction, Part II from Dr. Amy H. Sturgis and Dr. Corey Olsen’s first course on Tolkien’s beloved children’s story, The Story of The Hobbit.  This semester also saw the first annual Mythmoot academic conference.  Here’s what our students have been saying.

12.19.2012 – “Hwæt!. . . wē Gār-Dena in geār-dagum þēod-cyninga þrym gefrūnon . . . .” Not something you hear every day, declaimed with bardic harp! But we got that, along with off-the-cuff musings on Tolkien’s Hobbit and apocrypha related to the new Peter Jackson Hobbit film from Prof. Corey Olsen, Peter S. Beagle, and many informed, talented, and insightful folks. Mythmoot was a wonderful, fun-packed weekend.

12.18.2012 - Most of all, however, is the unshakeable feeling that, somehow, in the course of only 36 hours, I’ve managed to forge and fortify connections that in five, ten, twenty years I’ll look back on and be able to say, “It all started at Mythmoot!”

11.11.2012 - Considering a class with Dr. Amy Sturgis?  The trained mind of a historian, the bibliophilic heart of a librarian, Dr. Sturgis teaches with enthusiasm about her passions.  Pro Tip – enjoy her lectures with a Goodreads window open, so you can add the scores of titles and authors she recommends just in the casual course of conversation!

11.03.2012 - I’ve always enjoyed writing papers, but never half as much as I enjoy writing them for Mythgard. I still can’t get over that I get to write about elves and hobbits!

09.03.2012 - Yes! home in time to catch up on first week of Mythgard Institute History of the Hobbit classes and discussion boardand the attns live class tonight at 1:30am on MacDonald’s The Princess and the Goblin – Tolkien work beckons from tomorrow and rest of holiday week.

Summer 2012

Mythgard’s third semester began in the Summer of 2012 with Dr. Olsen’s newest course, Modern Fantasy. Find out what our students are saying throughout the term here (and join the ongoing conversation on Facebook).

07.25.2012 – @mythgardian “Thank you guys for joining me in this course” We myth you already…

06.23.2012 – Prof. Olsen is an inspiring lecturer as can be seen in his Tolkien Professor podcasts. I am looking forward to the opportunity to buy the course package later this year [...]

06.20.2012 – I have greatly enjoyed Modern Fantasy so far. Dr. Olsen’s lectures have led me to appreciate these works in ways that a casual reading would not have allowed. I only wish I had time to take the class for credit and write the papers, but alas that is not possible due to other time commitments. I will certainly consider taking additional courses from Mythgard in the future.

06.15.2012 – This course is great. We are reading and discussing books that I never would have thought of in an academic setting. Dr. Olsen is helping us really pay attention to the text (rather than skim and jump immediately to theories), and his collaborative approach to his lectures is stimulating new ways of viewing the stories for me. Love it!!!

Spring 2012

Mythgard’s second semester began in the Spring of 2012 with two new courses – Taking Harry Seriously: The Artistry and Meanings of the Harry Potter Saga and The Making of Myth: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Find out what our students are saying throughout the term here (and join the ongoing conversation on Facebook).

06.17.2012 – I am very pleased with my results in this course. I have not been in an academic setting for a very long time and I do not have undergraduate training in literary analysis or criticism. So this first course of my Masters degree has been a trip into the deep end of the pool, and with the help of Professors Olsen and Daley aw well as my fellow students, my head is well above water and I am swimming!

05.13.2012 - Just uploaded my final exam for the Tolkien/Lewis course. Probably the most fun I’ve ever had on a final exam!

04.26.2012 – Just watched the brilliant lecture Dr Verlyn Flieger gave last night for Mythgard Institute‘s Tolkien and Lewis course on The Lost Road and Notion Club Papers and now off to bed with her edition of On Fairy Stories with all the notes and deleted bits – pure Tolkienian bliss!

03.14.2012 – @Mythgardian: First time in my educational life I’ve ever been bitter about Spring Break. I’d rather be in class right now!

02.22.2012 - Many thanks to my course preceptor Liam Daley for his support as I toil to master literary analysis. It’s great having someone cheering me on, especially when that someone is as talented and helpful as Liam!

02.18.2012 – Honest, if you haven’t started at least auditing these courses yet, put Mythgard onto your calendar this summer!!! You’ll be glad you did!

02.10.2012 – [T]he semester is going great. Engaging with the texts academically, discussing them with other intelligent people, and the fantastic insight and enthusiasm of Professor Olsen make for a really awesome experience.

02.09.2012 – I’m having a really wonderful time! But it IS getting increasingly difficult not to make hobbit talk and Harry talk a part of conversation to anyone and everyone I meet throughout the day…

01.31.2012 – Something that it is better than [..] in any [other] University in which I have been involved in the past: Mythgard actually listens to us. How lucky we are!

Fall 2011

The Mythgard Institute’s first ever course, “The Great Tales: Tolkien and the Epic” was offered for the Fall 2011 semester – and students shared their thoughts on both the course and Mythgard in general.

11.29.2011 – One of the most incredibly insightful and exciting lectures on Lord of the Rings I have ever heard or read – Drout lives inside Tolkien and it is a true gift to hear him talk on LOTR[. ] This is the power of the Mythgard Institute being able to hear and interact with the great minds of Tolkien and related scholarship of today!

11.25.2011 – [...] the thing I like most is that it has helped me rediscover a passion that I forgot I had. It has been a long time since I’ve read critically and really studied a piece of literature, and I did not remember how much I enjoyed that. Plus, it has put me in touch with others of a like mind, or at least similar-enough minds, whom I likely would not have met otherwise. (read more)

09.16.2011 – Professor Olsen, THANK YOU. Thank you so much for the lecture on writing papers.

08.30.2011 – I absolutely love the format of the Netmoot [webinar]. I especially appreciate that I can watch the recording of the lecture a second time and give greater consideration to the ideas of the professors and the questions of the students.

08.29.2011 - Bravo! [...] Tom Shippey’s lecture was excellent. [...] Thank you, Mythgard Institute, for bringing such a great mind to us and look forward to next week!

08.16.2011 - I’m excited too. And my husband, who will be auditing vicariously, is more anxious for a schedule than I am.

07.22.2011 - Another advantage of the Mythgard Institute over traditional universities — we have unlimited, free, and easy-to-access parking!-