19th Annual UVM Tolkien Conference
Program
Saturday April 1, 2023
Theme: The Second Age of Tolkien’s Middle-earth
Full Day Conference (Eastern Daylight Savings Time)
Lafayette L207
8:00am Continental Breakfast
Session 1 8:30-9:45am
Moderator: Christopher Vaccaro (University of Vermont)
Presenters:
“Elmar, Aredhel, and Aerin: Tolkien’s Captive Women”
Clare Moore (Independent Scholar, In-person)
“The War of Sexes: Erendis and Aldarion’s Story”
Alexandra Filonenko (Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Virtual)
“Forms of Lust in Tolkien’s Middle-earth Stories”
Martina Jurickova (Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Slovakia, Virtual)
Session 2 9:45-11am
Moderator: Nick Birns (New York University)
Presenters:
“‘Of their women we hear less’: Pride and Prejudice in the tale of ‘Aldarion and Erendis’”
Sara Brown (Signum University, Virtual)
“The Ruin of Middle-earth: Sauron, the Second Age, and the Post-Apocalyptic Condition”
Robert Tally (Texas State University, Virtual)
“Following the Star”: Eärendil, Numenor, and the Star of Bethlehem”
Kristine Larsen (Central Connecticut State University, In-person)
Session 3 Undergraduate Voices 11am – 11:30
Moderator: Christopher Vaccaro (University of Vermont)
Presenters:
Savannah Arciaga (UVM, In-person)
Leo Parlo (UVM, In-person)
Lunch Break 11:30-12:30pm
Keynote Speaker 12:30-1:30pm
“The Silmarillion and History”
Gergely Nagy (Independent Scholar, In-person)
Session 4 Theorizing Tolkien 1:30 -2:45pm
Moderator: Kristine Larsen (Central Connecticut State University)
Presenters:
“The Second Age as Forehistory”
Nicholas Birns (New York University, In-person)
“The Nameless Enemy: How Do You Solve a Problem Like ‘Mairon’?”
Cameron Bourquein (Independent Scholar, Virtual)
“Second Thoughts about the Second Age: Applying Gloria Anzaldúa's Borderlands Theory to Tolkien's Legendarium”
Robin Anne Reid (Independent Scholar, Virtual)
Afternoon Break 2:45 -3pm
Coffee, tea, snacks
Session 5 Deep into the Second Age 3pm – 4:15pm
Moderator: Noah Slowik (University of Vermont)
Presenters:
“Finrod the Commended, Caranthir the Slandered: A Case Study in Narrative Bias in The Silmarillion."
Dawn Walls-Thumma (Coventry Village School, In-person)
“Exploring the Second Age”
Jamie Williamson (University of Vermont, In-person)
““Mistaken Marriages: Mortality, Separation, and Queer Romances in Tolkien’s Second Age.”
Brendan Anderson (Fellow of Bangor University Arthurian Center, In-person)
Future Conference Date, Themes, & Keynote Speakers
Tolkien at UVM, 2024 Conference, Saturday, April 6th
Theme: Tolkien and Psychology
Keynote Speaker: Sara Brown (Signum University)
Tolkien at UVM, 2025 Conference, Saturday, April 5th
Theme: Tolkien and War
Keynote speaker: John Garth (Independent Scholar