Courage: How Fantasy Helps Us Develop Bravery and Valor
Signum University and the Mythgard Institute invite you to join us on Saturday, October 5, 2024, for StuttMüt 2024. This hybrid, English-language event will occur at the Rock Business Center in Stuttgart, Germany. For our first journey to Germany, our theme is “Courage: How Fantasy Helps Us Develop Bravery and Valor”.
Register Here for StuttMüt
Price: $50.00 USD for in-person attendance, $25.00 USD for remote attendance
“I’ll get there, if I leave everything but my bones behind,” said Sam. “And I’ll carry Mr. Frodo up myself, if it breaks my back and heart.” – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King.
In a world where the mundane often overshadows the extraordinary, the realm of fantasy provides a sanctuary for the human spirit. Courage comes from the spirit to confront intimidating or dangerous circumstances. J.R.R. Tolkien understood this well and embodied his heroes, both great and small, with valor of all kinds. From Frodo and Sam in The Lord of the Rings, to Niggle from Leaf by Niggle, and even Farmer Giles (in the end) from Farmer Giles of Ham. fantasy characters can teach us that we can be the heroes of our own stories. Such fantasy allows us to develop strength by seeing characters act bravely, putting ourselves in such positions to make decisions with or as characters while still feeling safe. True courage may not even be recognized inside us until it is required. Through learning from brave actions and acting on them, the valor in our hearts can win out despite our failings.
We invite you to join us in Germany and learn about how courage can be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.
Corey Olsen, PhD, is our guest of honor. As the president of Signum University, Corey is the inspiring force behind a team of planners, educators, and visionaries revolutionizing education for the third millennium. In addition to teaching classes on J.R.R. Tolkien, Chaucer, and modern fantasy literature for Signum, Dr. Olsen has extended the digital classroom concept to include non-traditional outlets. His Exploring the Lord of the Rings podcast, a sentence-by-sentence examination of The Lord of the Rings, has been going strong for seven years and is expected to end sometime in 2045! Through the Mythgard Academy, he offers free weekly lectures on works of speculative fiction chosen by Signum University supporters, and he has embraced the “new literature” of cinema and video game adaptations through interactive programs such as The Silmarillion Film Project and in-game discussions of Lord of the Rings Online.
Schedule of Events (all times local to Stuttgart)
9:00 – 9:15am: Welcome to StuttMüt w/Corey Olsen
9:15 – 9:55am: The Boldest of the Brave, Beren Ermabwed and Lúthien, Most Brave of Heart: Courage in the Tale of Beren and Lúthien w/Giovanni Carmine Costabile
9:55 – 10:35am: “To the Bottle I Go”: Courage and Controlled Substances in Tolkien’s Legendarium w/Nick Brindlow
10:45 – 11:25am: Wyrd and the Word: The Heroism of Túrin Turambar and Aragorn in Tolkien’s Legendarium w/Samuel Lewis
11:25am – 12:35pm: Discussion Panel – Stories of Courage w/Corey Olsen, Andrew Buyan, Ben Toone, and Jonathan Toone
12:35 – 1:50pm: StuttMüt Lunch Break
1:50 – 2:45pm: StuttMüt Keynote Address w/Corey Olsen
2:45 – 3:15pm: Estel in Alaska w/Stuart Miller
3:25 – 4:05pm: Unwinding Ariadne’s Thread: Navigating the Labyrinth in Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Tombs of Atuan and Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth w/Lily Tun
4:15 – 4:55pm: Breaking the Mound: Heroes and Revenants in the Legendary Sagas w/Irina Manea
