Southwestern Oklahoma State University
SWOSU Digital Commons (Southwestern Oklahoma State University)Not a member yet
28964 research outputs found
Sort by
\u3ci\u3e“Mysterium Tremendum et Fascinans”\u3c/i\u3e: Melian’s and Lúthien’s Numinosity
No full textAt the heart of all the positive changes in Middle-earth, and at the starting point for undoing the great evil wrought by male characters (divine or otherwise), are two female characters: Melian the Maia and her daughter Lúthien. They form a kind of mythological complex of mother and daughter goddesses, similar to that of Demeter and Persephone. Melian, as a static, maternal figure, forms a sacred centre of Beleriand to which all in need of protection gravitate, while Lúthien, representing a dynamic principle, can be considered the greatest hero of Tolkien’s Legendarium, performing feats unmatched by any male character. Yet their magical powers seem to possess a twilight quality, and sometimes (especially in the earlier versions of their stories) become a shade darker than one might expect from the embodiments of good and beauty that they are supposed to be. An ineffable, awe-inspiring mystery is perceived behind their radiant façade, suggesting the presence of the numinous as “Mysterium Tremendum et Fascinans” in Rudolf Otto’s terminology.
Combining religious studies, mythocritical and ecofeminist approaches, the paper seeks to examine the two characters from the perspective of their magical manipulation and their relationship to the land, primarily the woodlands
The Mariner (and his wife): Rethinking Aldarion\u27s (A)sexuality
Full text link“Aldarion and Erendis” (Unfinished Tales) is a rare example in Tolkien’s work of a marriage gone severely awry. Many readings of the tale apportion blame to Aldarion, who is seen as “unwilling” to make the marriage work, and cruel and unfeeling towards Erendis, who herself is characterised as resentful and unaccepting. However, these readings rely on an assumption of a cisheteronormative and, more importantly, allosexual relationship between the couple. This paper proposes an alternate view of Aldarion and his role in the story, suggesting the possibility that he is asexual and/or aromantic (i.e., he does not experience sexual and/or romantic attraction in ways considered societally normative), and is therefore constrained by a system of marriage and duty that is anathema to him and to which he does not connect in any personal way. By queering Aldarion’s (a)sexuality, this paper seeks a reading more compassionate towards both him and Erendis, understanding them as people wronged by societal expectation and ‘normality’ as characterised by the couple’s “failure” to reach a balance between their gendered characteristics. While Aldarion may not be exonerated from the harm his decisions have caused, this view shifts the blame from him personally to an amatonormative system that makes a villain of him, as well as Erendis and those around them
2/14/2025 SWOSU Jazz Festival Count Basie Clinic
No full text2/14/2025 SWOSU Jazz Festival Count Basie Clini
\u3ci\u3eTolkien\u27s Cosmology: Divine Beings and Middle-earth\u3c/i\u3e by Sam McBride
Full text linkMythlore book review by Phillip Fitzsimmons
2025 Westview Festival with Keynote Speaker David R. Slayton
No full textThe annual Westview Festival was on Wednesday, April 16th, 2025 at Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) in Weatherford, Oklahoma, featuring fantasy author David R. Slayton.
Westview is published semiannually by the Language Arts Department of Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Publications include previously unpublished short fiction, poetry, prose poems, creative nonfiction, and artwork.
David R. Slayton is a fantasy author from Guthrie, OK. He is the author of such books as the Adam Binder series (White Trash Warlock, Trailer Park Trickster, and Deadbeat Druid) as well as the Gods of Night and Day series (Dark Moon, Shallow Sea)
Evolution Podcast Project: Evolution and Natural Selection
No full textTitle: Evolution Podcast Project Teacher: Dr. Marcella Santos Course: Spring 2025 Evolution (BIOL-4853) Recording Month: April 2025
Ria Govind and Carla Albert – Evolution and Natural Selectio