LeiLani Hinds writes: I’ve been a daily visitor to your website for the past four years, love the films, and today have a piece of news that your readers might be interested in.
I am an English professor who has been a huge Tolkien fan since 1967, and this fall I will be teaching a course on Tolkien for the first time at my college, Honolulu Community College in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Students can earn 3 credits of transfer-level college credit for taking English 257L J. R. R. Tolkien. The course will focus on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, with parts of The Silmarillion brought in to provide background for a fuller understanding of The Lord of the Rings. We will look at Tolkien’s themes, characters, images, and symbols and see how his childhood, his interests in languages and Anglo-Saxon England, his wartime experiences, and significant cultural and historical events of the twentieth century contributed to creating his masterpiece.
We will also study the recent films by Peter Jackson and analyze how well they interpret Tolkien’s books. As well as discussing the storyline, characters, and themes of the films, we will also pay attention to the music, costumes, art, and settings Jackson uses.
If anyone would like further information on the course or registration at HCC, they may email me at leilani@hcc.hawaii.edu . I will be delighted to answer any questions.
