Queer Approaches to Tolkien: Essays on the Many Paths to Middle-earth (Studies in Tolkien)

Queer Approaches to Tolkien: Essays on the Many Paths to Middle-earth (Studies in Tolkien)

Voices from wide-ranging academic fields, time periods, and scholarly backgrounds converge in this first collection to focus solely on queer approaches to Tolkien's legendarium. The discussion is grounded in queer experiences, bodies and interpretations, while recognizing and responding to the religious reception of Tolkien's work.  The essays cover a broad chronological span, from work on pre-modern queerness to contributions from contemporary queer theorists trained in later periods. Addressing the tensions between queerness, spirituality and the ongoing debates around diversity, this collection offers new ways to read and understand Tolkien's texts through a queer lens. “...a page-turner of a collection… One of the many strengths of this book is the way the writers position themselves via queer theory. Rather than just examine Tolkien’s works through queer theory in terms of sexuality, the editors and writers frame this work through queer theory in a wider sense in terms of anti-normativity..... By doing this, they take a step further than other queer Tolkien works to look at the ways various Tolkien works challenge heteronormativity.”―Dr. Christopher Roman, professor of English, Kent State University Robin Anne Reid is a retired English professor who lives in Bellingham, Washington. She publishes on feminist, gender, and queer approaches to Tolkien. Christopher Vaccaro is senior lecturer at the University of Vermont, where he teaches courses on early medieval English literature and on Tolkien's legendarium. He has published essays and chapters related to Tolkien. Stephen Yandell is a professor of English at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he teaches regularly on J.R.R. Tolkien and medieval literature. He publishes in the intersection of medieval studies and popular culture, including Tolkien, Lewis, and Disney.