Stars and stones! Crows and furies! SilmFilm co-hosts Corey Olsen, Trish Lambert and Dave Kale went all fan, all the time as they spent time with author Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files, Codex Alera, and the brand new Cinder Spires series) about adaptation, from Jackson’s take on the The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to his own experiences in the TV adaptation of The Dresden Files. Conversation range wide and far, and included Jim sharing about his own evolution as a writer—information that wil...
Dec 20, 2015•2 hr 2 min•Ep. 12
As part of the Signum University Annual Fund Campaign Halloween Extravaganza in the fall of 2015, fantasy scholar and Signum lecturer Dr. Dimitra Fimi discussed Halloween customs and rites in literature – including extracts from some unexpected pieces of literature that have a Halloween flavor. Faculty chats, Mythgard Academy courses, the Simarillion Film Project, and other free events and series that we offer free to the public are funded by tax-deductible donations. Please consider donating by...
Dec 20, 2015•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 11
The Mythgard Academy lecture series focuses on novel-length books, with a weekly lecture over eight to ten weeks. However, as part of the Signum University Annual Fund Campaign the Halloween Extravaganza in 2015, Dr. Corey Olsen conducted a lecture on one of Tolkien's shorter works: The Father Christmas Letters, a selection of letters Tolkien wrote to his children over a number of years. If you’ve never read or considered this short but imaginative book, this is your chance to delve into it. Myt...
Dec 20, 2015•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 10
As part of the Signum University Annual Fund Campaign in the fall of 2015, Signum Master’s Program participant and resident Spreadsheet Queen Sparrow Alden and "should be an advisor to The Big Bang Theory" Dave Kale talk about computational text analysis of The Hobbit. Sounds dry? You don’t know these two. With Corey Olsen chiming in from the sidelines and audience participation designed into the segment, this is a fun-filled talk complete with charts and word geekery galore! Mythgard Academy, t...
Dec 20, 2015•1 hr 59 min•Ep. 9
This free online lecture is part of the Mythgard Academy Guest Lecture Series . Synopsis: John Keats spoke of "The truth of Imagination"; this lecture will explore the ways in which the rich, intuitive, and image-laden myth-making of Lewis and Tolkien allows the imagination to become a truth-bearing faculty. Recordings from Monday, Oct. 26, 2015 Watch: Video Listen: Audio Suggested Reading Tree and Leaf by Tolkien, especially the poem "Mythopoeia" The introduction to Faith, Hope and Poetry: Theo...
Oct 26, 2015•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 8
This free online lecture is part of the Mythgard Academy Guest Lecture Series . Both mythical studies and the study of fairy-tales took on new importance during the early nineteenth century, along with the entirely new development of comparative philology. Jacob Grimm was in all three cases the pivotal figure. The relationship between them continued to fascinate both scholars and creative writers, including Andrew Lang, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and their successors. This lecture will show ...
Sep 10, 2015•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 7
This free online lecture is part of the Mythgard Academy Guest Lecture Series . [caption id="attachment_1225" align="alignleft" width="180"] Dr. Amy H. Sturgis[/caption] What images come to mind when you think of Star Wars? Luke Skywalker watching the twin suns set on Tatooine? Princess Leia with a blaster in her hand and buns on her head? The glow of a lightsaber in the darkness? These visuals convey volumes, and they spring in part from a common origin. One of the keys to the worldwide success...
Aug 15, 2015•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 6
Aug 14, 2015•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 5
David Brin Can Science Fiction Change the World? David Brin is a scientist, speaker, technical consultant, and world-known author. His novels have been New York Times Bestsellers, winning multiple Hugo, Nebula, and other awards. At least a dozen have been translated into more than twenty languages. Some of his best-known novels include Earth , The Postman (filmed in 1997), and Hugo Award winners Startide Rising and The Uplift War . A leading commentator and speaker on modern trends, his nonficti...
Jul 25, 2015•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 4
Matthew Dickerson Tolkien as Early Environmentalist Matthew Dickerson is a Professor at Middlebury College in Vermont, associated with the Department of Computer Science, the Program of Environmental Studies, and the New England Young Writers’ Conference at Bread Loaf (which he directs). He has written or co-written several important books on Tolkien and other fantasy literature, including Ents, Elves, and Eriador: The Environmental Vision of J.R.R. Tolkien ; From Homer to Harry Potter: A Handbo...
Jun 17, 2015•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 3
Michael D. C. Drout Lexomic Analysis of Beowulf and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Scholarship on the Poem: A Confluence Michael Drout is Professor of English and Chair of the English Department at Wheaton College in Massachusetts. He has published several books of scholarship on Tolkien, Anglo-Saxon literature in general, and Beowulf in particular, including J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment , Of Sorcerers and Men: Tolkien and the Roots of Modern Fantasy Literature , and Beowul...
Mar 23, 2015•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 2
C. S. Lewis used the German term sehnsucht to describe an inconsolable yearning, "an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction." Mythgard faculty member Sørina Higgins offered observations about Lewis and sehnsucht in a bonus lecture entitled "The Heraldry of Heaven: The Development of Sehnsucht in the Writings of C. S. Lewis" for the Tolkien-Lewis Mythgard Institute course. And in the true Mythgard tradition of continuously breaking new ground, this lecture i...
Oct 07, 2014•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 1
