ARHU158K

first semester freshmen in the College of Arts and Humanities. Ever read The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings? (Did you feel like skipping the poems?) Many know Tolkien for his fantasy fiction set in Middle-earth, but may not know that he was a poet in his youth, or that he was a scholar and professor of medieval literature and languages. Upon closer examination, Tolkien's scholarship, his poetry, and even his artwork all make important contributions to his famous tales of hobbits and wizards. Beginning with an exploration of Middle-earth from the perspectives of literature, art, film, and language studies, we will consider how -and why - authors employ more than one mode of expression in the development of their art. Additionally, our study of "multimodality" will allow us to examine the flexibility and range of our studies and career options in the Arts and Humanities.