Astronomer and physicist Dr. Kristine Larsen has frequently written about the connections between Tolkien’s fictional cosmology and modern astronomy, but this chapter, found in Approaches to Teaching Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” and Other Works, edited by Leslie A. Donovan, focuses specifically on Larsen’s pedagogical approaches in her physics and astronomy courses. Though the courses are meant for undergraduate students and for non-science majors, Larsen’s activities, pedagogical models, and ideas are applicable across various age ranges and science subjects. This chapter is an excellent resource for any teacher of Tolkien Studies, but most especially those for whom math, science, and the humanities are intertwined.
This chapter highlights the importance not only of teaching math and science concepts for their own merits, but as a pathway to understanding how humans have conceived of and communicated scientific ideas and discourse throughout the centuries. Too often we think of math and science at odds with the humanities (as Larsen reflects in her paper “Hobbits, Hogwarts, and the Heavens: The use of fantasy literature and film in astronomy outreach and education”). Rather, Tolkien’s cosmology proves that myths and literature show us how scientific concepts manifest in the imagination. Larsen’s courses, as highlighted in the chapter, give students the opportunity not only to learn about the stars, geology, and other physical science subjects, but to also understand “the interconnectedness of all human knowledge and to encourage students to think broadly and critically” (182).
Larsen encourages her students to synthesize concepts from modern science, medieval cosmology, and Tolkien’s imagination through various activities such as lab exercises, debates, and practical problems. As a result, her students learn the process behind various science concepts while also considering the cultural significances behind them. Science is rarely practiced without considering the ethics and cultural impacts behind such discoveries, and Tolkien’s materials give Larsen’s students a fictional culture and scenarios in which to consider and practice such ethics.
Larsen begins with small, practical exercises of star mapping and lunar chronology that give her students the opportunity to play with the scientific method and apply the material they’ve learned in a novel setting (if you’ll forgive the pun). She also discusses the process of teaching an immersive course on the Science of Middle-earth, which explored geomythology, etiological myths, and creation myths through The Silmarillion. Larsen argues that teaching myths and stories in science classes is essential because it teaches us “the origins of science: the primal need to know the universe” (180). Tolkien’s works provide the same rich context and rigor in examining a culture’s creation myth due to his meticulous worldbuilding details, giving Larsen’s students the ability to “[give a] dispassionate analysis [which can] lead them to a more successful analysis of real world cultures and a deeper understanding of the importance (and inherent beauty) of creation myths” (182).
I highly recommend this essay for science teachers of all ages to help them consider how to use fantasy texts, including Tolkien and Lewis, in their classes. I will note, however, that this particular volume was published in 2015. I would be very interested to see how Larsen and other science professionals would incorporate The Nature of Middle-earth in the classroom.