December 2014

Feminism doesn’t (t)werk that way: “Booty Culture,” race, and pop feminism

As Pippa Middleton recently remarked, “What is it with this American booty culture? It seems to…
Teaching Tolkien: Biographical, Textual, and Historical Approaches

Though I have not yet had the chance to teach an entire course on Tolkien, his…
In Praise of Christopher Tolkien

Today I finally got around to finishing up a post I started two years ago. For…
Review: “The Red Tent” (Part Two)

Note: Full spoilers follow. Immensely more engaging and well-written than the first half, proving that historical…
Review: “The Red Tent” (Part One)

Note: Full spoilers follow. Passably good entertainment, but it could have been so much better. When…
Feeling Testy: Assessing our Assessments

Originally posted on Metathesis: Tests and assessment make people angry. Yes, this is a terrible film.…
Reading “The Simarillion” Part One

C.S. Lewis once remarked of The Lord of the Rings that: “Here are beauties which pierce like swords…
Who Owns Tolkien?

In case you missed it, Peter Jackson recently announced that, unless the Tolkien Estate grants permission…
Tolkien and the Political Pleasures of Sadness

One of the things that always stands out to me upon reading Tolkien’s work, whether that…
Get your Hands off my Boobs: Mansplaining and (Gay) Male Privilege

Originally posted on Metathesis: In my previous blog posts, I sought to demonstrate the way in…