LotR 50th Anniversary Conferences: Info
 

Don't know if any of these have been mentioned here on the Downs, (think Tolkien 2005 was a long time back) but..

There are a couple of major international conferences, this year & next.

First is in Milwaukee, at Marquette University, Otober 22-23, 2004: www.marquette.edu/library/registration.html (call 414 288-5901).
A two day conference. Various topics & themes, including Morality & Theology, Class Difference & Predjuice, Teaching Tolkien, Language & the Inklings & Middle Earth as Mythic Prehistory.

Guests to include: Douglas Anderson, Jane Chance, Verlyn Flieger, John Garth, Wayne Hammon, Carl Hostetter, Tom Shippey & Patrick Wynne.

Second is in Birmingham (the real one, in England :) ) next year, 'The Ring Goes ever on' , August 11th - 15th, : www.tolkiensociety.org/2005
Subjects including Tolkien Linguistics, Reception of Jackson films, ecology & environment, & Hope, Sacrifice & Courage in LotR.
with guests including: Verlyn Flieger, Tom Shippey, Michael Scott Rohan & Brian Sibley.

Also, while I'm at it, The Chestertonian Institute for Faith & Culture is holding its first Oxford Conference on 12 - 15th August this year entitled 'Landscapes with Angels': Fantasy, Children's Literature & the Spiritual Role of the Imagination. www.secondspring.co.uk/fantasy

Talks including: Tolkien's Elvish England, Celtic Fairy-World, Towers & Wardrobes, Pullman & the Anti-Inklings, Mythopoea & Harry Potter (by Dr Ted Sherman, Professor of English at Middle Tennessee State University, who gave one of the best, funniest, cleverest & most insightful talks on the Fairy Stories essay I've ever heard at last year's Oxonmoot (Tolkien Society annual get together in Oxford)).

Since this is an announcement, not a book discussion, I'm moving it to the Barrow-Downs forum. Please read and post there.

Don't forget another 50th anniversary event: The Golden Ring Marathon. This one is planned for October 20th, the exact date of the fiftieth anniversary of the Return of the King. It's more of a film festival than a Tolkien conference.

All of the others look very interesting, though very far for me.....

Yes please join The Golden Ring Marathon. We need your help in planning the event!