“The Cloud of Unseeing”: Myths Transformed and Pseudo-scientific Interpretations of the Book of Genesis

This paper, delivered at the Tolkien Seminar (Kalamazoo, MI) on May 9, 2018, traces the potential influence of popular late 19th-century Biblical commentaries on the Book of Genesis on Tolkien\u27s post Lord Of the Rings cosmologies, in particular the problem of the creation of the Sun and Moon

A Journey Down the Rabbit Hole of the OED in Search of the Meaning of “Master” Elrond

An editorial commentary on the use of the title “Master” to describe Elrond, with heavy reliance on the Oxford English Dictionary

Magic, Matrimony, and the Moon: Medieval Lunar Symbolism in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun” and “The Fall of Arthur”

This paper (originally delivered at the 2017 International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds, UK) explores common lunar symbolism in The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun and The Fall of Arthur

A Journey Down the Rabbit Hole of the OED in Search of the Meaning of “Master” Elrond

An editorial commentary on the use of the title “Master” to describe Elrond, with heavy reliance on the Oxford English Dictionary

Tolkien, Self and Other: This Queer Creature (2016) by Jane Chance

Book review, by Kristine Larsen, of Tolkien, Self and Other: This Queer Creature (2016), by Jane Chance

Medieval Cosmology and Middle-earth: A Lewisian Walk Under Tolkienian Skies

A nearly identical version of this paper was delivered at the 30th Annual International Conference on Medievalism in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 2, 2015, as part of a session on the Inklings and Medievalism

Elsewhere and elsewhen : parallel universes and the dangers of interdimensional travel in Land of the Lost

While the 1974-76 American television series Land of the Lost is often derided in popular culture circles as having been nothing more than an example of the poorly acted and executed children’s television series of its time, a closer reading demonstrates that there is far more of substance to the show than its legendarily campy stop-motion dinosaurs would suggest. Guest writers for the series included such well-known science and science fiction authors as Ben Bova, Larry Niven, Walter Koenig, and Theodore Sturgeon, who penned hard science fiction plotlines that dealt with cutting-edge topics such as the paradoxes of time travel, antimatter, parallel universes, and the geometry of space-time. This essay investigates numerous instances in which Land of the Lost both accurately portrays the scientific knowledge of its day, and presages more recent developments in the field of time travel. It is argued that Land of the Lost therefore deserves to be reconsidered by academics and science educators interested in popular culture depictions of time travel and related fields of theoretical physics, alongside more often explored works such as Lost and Doctor Who.peer-reviewe

The Science of Middle-earth (2021), edited by Roland Lehoucq, Loïc Mangin, and Jean-Sébastien Steyer. Translated by Tina Kover. Illustrated by Arnaud Rafaelian.

Book review, by Kristine Larsen, of The Science of Middle-earth (2021), edited by Roland Lehoucq, Loïc Mangin, and Jean-Sébastien Steyer. Translated by Tina Kover. Illustrated by Arnaud Rafaelian

I am Primarily a Scientific Philologist : J.R.R. Tolkien and the Science/Technology Divide

Presentation on Tolkien\u27s writings on science and technology, New York Tolkien Conference, Baruch College, New York, March 17, 201

“Ore-ganisms”: The Myth and Meaning of ‘Living Rock’ in Middle-earth

This paper, presented at the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association National Conference, New Orleans, LA, April 3, 2015, surveys Tolkien\u27s use of the term living rock and related language in both a literal and metaphorical sense. Topics discussed include the origins of the trolls, dwarves, orcs, and ents