Signum University and Hawkeye Community College are happy to announce MiddleMoot 2019, an annual symposium on speculative literature. This year’s theme is “Imaging the Speculative: Tolkien’s Legendarium and the Arts,” in which we will be looking at artistic creation in Tolkien’s works in honor of our special guest, Ted Nasmith.
For MiddleMoot 2019, we are once again returning to Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, IA, on October 12, 2019.
Registration
There are two levels of registration for MiddleMoot:
- Regular Attendee – $35
- Undergraduate Attendee – $15
Electronic registrations will be taken up until the day of the event. In-person cash registrations will be taken on the day of the event for any latecomers.
MiddleMoot Schedule
The tentative schedule for the day is as follows:
- 8:30: Doors open and Day-Of registration begins
- 9:00–9:15: Welcome Address (Robert Steed)
- Special Note: All through the day, Emily Austin will be offering/managing her “Art Collaboration: Add Your Own Leaf to Niggle’s Tree” interactive project in the atrium of Tama Hall
- 9:30–10:30: Session 1
- Jude Bleile: “And As She Wept: Exploring the Theme of Female Grief as an Act of Foresight and Subcreation within Tolkien’s Legendarium”
- Caleb Konopka: “Tolkien and the Muse: Why Authors Should Learn To Embrace Interruptions”
- 10:55–11:55: Session 2
- Casey Knue: “The Wasteland and Ash: A Study of Eliot through Miyazaki’s Dark Souls III”
- Nicole Evans: “Fanfiction and a Story in a Bag Adventure” (interactive)
- 12:00–1:15: Lunch, with musical performance by The Nitpickers featuring Ted Nasmith
- 1:30–2:45: Keynote Address by Ted Nasmith, with audience discussion afterwards moderated by Corey Olsen, the Tolkien Professor
- 2:55–3:55: Session 3
- Dr. Joshua Langseth: “Envisioning Evil: Father Christmas Letters and the ‘Problem of the Orcs’”
- Brandon Lovesee: “From Page to Screen: What we Learn from Film Adaptations”
- 4:00–5:00: Session 4
- Robbie Park: “Finding Fellowship: Creating Your Own Tolkien Group and Fostering Community Service”
- Jake Bates: “Using the Hobbit in the Talented and Gifted Classroom”
- 5:00–6:30: Adjourn to the Cedar Valley Arboretum for Socializing around the Hobbit Hole! Shawn O’Laughlin will perform “Into the West.”
Post-Conference Evening: Dinner at Montage
