The Long Winter and the Unending Light: Endurance in Tolkien’s World and the North
Signum University invites you to join us on Saturday, 1 August for Helcaraxë Moot. This hybrid event will occur at the JP Jones Center in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA. For our first foray into the frigid North, we will gather together to learn and ruminate on “The Long Winter and the Unending Light: Endurance in Tolkien’s World and the North”.
Register Here for Helcaraxë Moot!
Price: $50.00 USD (~ $70.00 CAD) for in-person attendance, $25.00 USD (~ $35.00 CAD) for remote attendance
In the heart of the Far North, where winter’s deep silence is broken by the shimmer of the aurora and the midnight sun offers a season of unending light, we gather to explore the profound themes of endurance, hope, and resilience in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Presentations will delve into the harsh winters of Middle-earth, the psychology of hope (estel) and perseverance (amdir), and the symbols of light that guide characters through despair. We will examine the fortitude of peoples: the Dwarves in exile, the Hobbits in the Shire in the face of Saruman, the Elves in their Long Defeat, and place their stories in conversation with the historical and cultural resilience of Northern and Arctic communities. Expect interdisciplinary insights blending literary criticism, environmental studies, mythology, philosophy, and art, all framed by the unique and inspiring backdrop of the Alaskan subarctic.
We seek papers, panels, and creative presentations that engage with the theme’s duality. Potential avenues include, but are far from limited to:
- The Ecology of Winter: The Forodwaith, the Fell Winter, Caradhras as a character, or the biology and symbolism of Tolkien’s winter landscapes.
- Light as Motif and Power: The Silmarils, the Phial of Galadriel, the Evening Star, the Trees of Valinor, and their parallels in auroral mythology or the midnight sun.
- Endurance and Culture: The steadfastness of Ents, the exile of the Noldor, the longevity of the Dúnedain, or the recovery of the Shire, examined through lenses of trauma, healing, and cultural memory.
- Northern Mythologies: Tolkien’s use of Norse, Finnish, and Anglo-Saxon sources, and potential dialogues with Athabascan and other Arctic Indigenous narratives of survival and light.
- Art and Illustration: How artists have depicted the bleakness and beauty of Tolkien’s frozen wastes and luminous beacons.
- Philosophical and Theological Explorations: The concepts of hope without guarantee, the nature of evil as a “long defeat,” and the ultimate defiance of darkness in a seemingly marred world.
Let us explore together how, in the face of the long winter, even the smallest light is never wholly overcome. Submit your proposals, join us under the vast Alaskan sky to share in fellowship and scholarship. and prepare for a gathering of remarkable depth and warmth.
Schedule of Events – All Times Local to Fairbanks – Alaska Daylight Time
9:00-9:15am: Greetings and Welcome to Helcaraxë Moot w/Corey Olsen
9:15-9:55am: The World Grown Thin: Elegy of Recovery and Ethics of Reciprocity w/Sara Little
9:55-10:35am: Poems for Long Nights w/Sparrow F. Alden
10:35-10:55am: Elevenses – A Short Break
10:55-11:35am: Black Dogs and Englishmen: the Role of Tolkien’s Musti in The Story of Kullervo w/Tamara Bootsma
11:35am-12:15pm: “There was Light.” w/Elizabeth Perico
12:15-1:30pm: Helcaraxë Moot Lunch Break
1:30-2:10pm: Arda’s Arctic Circle w/Peter Christian
2:10-3:30pm: Corey’s Textual Analysis Dice Game w/Corey Olsen
3:30-3:50pm: Afternoon Break
3:50-5:00pm: Spinning the “Wheel of ‘What If…?’ Scenarios” in Middle-earth and Beyond w/Adam Beaton
