As you can most likely tell from my previous blog post, I have always been a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work. When I first learned that Pitt offered a class that covers Tolkien’s writing exclusively, I was ecstatic to say the least. I finally had an opportunity to share my love for Tolkien with others and learn to appreciate his work in new ways. It is also my great fortune that Dr. Lorie Campbell-Tanner taught class. I took the Tolkien class in the Spring 2022 semester and when I walked out of the first class, I knew that I was in for something special.

During my time in her class, Dr. C. always strove to create a learning environment where everyone felt free to contribute to the conversation. Everything about Tolkien’s work was up for debate! In many ways, the class aimed to create a collective reading of Tolkien’s work through the observations and efforts of both student and teacher. The primary way through which Dr. C. facilitated this collective reading was through discussion leading projects. These assignments gave small groups of students the opportunity to provide a close reading of a specific passage from whatever the class was assigned to read at any given time, which is to say that they examined how the Tolkien’s use of language produces a specific effect on the reader. These projects not only provided students the opportunity to learn the nitty-gritty of literary research, but also the opportunity to learn how to communicate that research.

My discussion leading project was focused on the question of free will within The Lord of the Rings. More specifically, my partner and I argued that Tolkien presents free will as the ability to choose to how one goes about their fate, whether that be despairing, doing evil, or doing good. My final paper for the class did not expand the argument presented in my discussion leading project, but it did build off it. As my last blog post described, my final paper was interested in presenting Tolkien’s vision for the proper use of power within a fallen world. Regardless of what I could have chosen to research, my experience of the discussion leading post helped to give me the metaphorical toolkit to go about literary research in general.

Dr. C. provided me the research experiences that encouraged me to apply for the CUTF and continue my literary analysis of Tolkien’s work as a TA for her class. However, the most fulfilling experience of my time under the CUTF so far has been providing students the same kind of encouragement that Dr. C. provided me. Dr. C. had me provide an example discussion leading post for the class and she has given me the opportunity to teach as well. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to teach the classes on the Silmarillion and the character of Tom Bombadil. My preparations for both classes have given the opportunity to expand upon my own research. While my current career goal is to study and teach philosophy, my experience as a TA is helping me to learn how to best engage students in the research process whatever their interests or the topic may be. More importantly, it is helping me to learn how to encourage students speak their own mind.