Death and Immortality: The Great Escapes
Signum University and the Mythgard Institute invite you to join us on Saturday, April 27, 2024, for UK Moot 2024. This hybrid event will take place at the Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre in York, UK. This year, UK Moot will accept proposals on the theme of “Death and Immortality: The Great Escapes“.
What: UK Moot 2024
When: April 27, 2024 – 9:ooam to 5:00pm British Summer Time
Where: Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre, 17 Blossom St, York YO24 1AQ
Tolkien famously rejected suggestions that The Lord of the Rings had any allegorical meaning or themes. However, in turning a critical eye to his writing, he wrote to a friend:
“The real theme for me is […] Death and Immortality: the mystery of the love of the world in the hearts of a race ‘doomed’ to leave and seemingly lose it; the anguish in the hearts of a race ‘doomed’ not to leave it, until its whole evil-aroused story is complete.”
We invite contributions from in-person and remote attendees that analyze the philosophical, theological, and literary dimensions of death and immortality in Tolkien’s works, exploring the impact of these themes on characters, cultures, and the overarching narrative. Such contributions could include, but are not limited to:
- Theological Underpinnings: Examining the influence of Tolkien’s Catholic faith on his portrayal of death, the afterlife, and the immortal beings in Middle-earth.
- Character Studies: Analyzing characters’ individual experiences in the face of mortality, such as Aragorn’s acceptance of his human destiny and Frodo’s burden of bearing the One Ring.
- Cultural Perspectives: Exploring how different races in Middle-earth, such as Men, Elves, and Dwarves, conceptualize and grapple with the concepts of death and immortality.
- Narrative Impact: Investigating how the themes of death and immortality contribute to Tolkien’s stories’ narrative depth and emotional resonance.
- Comparative Analysis: Drawing parallels between Tolkien’s treatment of mortality and immortality and other literary, mythological, or religious traditions.
Price: $50.00 USD for in-person attendance, $25.00 USD for remote attendance
Schedule of Events (all times local to York)
9:45 – 9:55am: Greetings and Welcome from Corey Olsen
9:55 – 10:25am: Far Beyond the Sea: Tolkien, Brendan & Tír na nÓg with Terence Magennis
10:25 – 10:55am: “There is a place called ‘heaven’ where the good here unfinished is completed” But Which Can Only be Accessed Through Death with Martina Juričková
10:55 – 11:10am: Elevensies (break)
11:10 – 11:40am: Word Use in The Lord of the Rings with Ruth Barratt
11:40am – 12:10pm: Tolkien and the Tasks of Grief with Karen Pollock
12:10 – 1:10pm: Lunch Break
1:10 – 1:40pm: Tolkien’s Oriental Sources? Renunciations of Immortality and Fairy Nature with Giovanni Carmine Costabile
1:40 – 2:10pm: Mortal Enchants Immortal: Reverse Fairy-Tale elements in Beren and Luthien with Darren Grey
2:10 – 2:40pm: (In)Sight: Inference, Imagination and Resurrection in Middle Earth with Nick Brindlow
2:40 – 3:10pm: Reincarnation, Immortality, Christianity with Sebastiano Tassinari
3:10 – 3:30pm: Afternoon Tea
3:30 – 4:00pm: Bulgakov’s ‘Sophiology of Death’ and Tolkien’s ‘Athrabeth Finrod Ah Andreth’ with Callum McGregor
4:00 – 4:30pm: Deprivation Account – Why is Death Bad? with Matthew De Rosa
4:30 – 5:00pm: Tolkien’s Place on the Map of Immortality with Sean Strasburg
5:00 – 5:05pm: Thank Yous and Goodbyes from Corey Olsen
