Robin Anne Reid

Last updated

Robin Anne Reid is a scholar of literature who has specialized in feminist studies and Tolkien studies. She was a professor of English at Texas A&M University until her retirement in 2020.

Contents

Biography

Robin Anne Reid took her B.A. and M.A. at Western Washington University in 1979 and 1981, followed by an MA at Middlebury College in 1984. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Washington in 1992. She has taught courses at both undergraduate and graduate level on topics in literature including fantasy and Tolkien. [1] She began her career at Western Washington University in 1979, moving successively to Boise State University in 1985 and Olympic Community College in 1989. [1] She then served as a professor of English from 1993 at Texas A&M University. She retired in May 2020, refusing the title of "Professor Emerita", and using instead the description "independent scholar". In a 2022 article, she described herself as "A Queer Atheist Feminist Autist". [2] She studied feminism for some ten years and then switched to Tolkien studies. [2] [3] She has also written on fantasy and science fiction more widely, such as on Arthur C. Clarke. [4]

Reid's work on J. R. R. Tolkien and his Middle-earth writings includes papers and a bibliographic essay on Tolkien and race. [5] [6] [7] She has written on homosexuality in Tolkien's text and fan responses to it. [8] With Judy Ann Ford, she has contributed to scholarly analysis of Peter Jackson's film interpretation of The Lord of the Rings. [9]

Reception

Reviewing Reid's book Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy, K. A. Laity wrote that it is an "immense, glossy reference book ... aimed at the library market", with a scope spanning both academic and fan sources. [10]

Benjamin Lawson writes of Reid's Ray Bradbury: A Critical Companion that it succeeds in being useful to the general reader, having been designed as an introduction for young adults. Lawson finds the "Alternative Perspectives" section at the end of the analysis of each of Bradbury's books "the chief novelty and sophistication" of this particular Companion. In the space of three pages each, these sections give an update on recent theory, including in some cases gender or "more daringly" queer theory. [11]

Books

Authored

Edited

Related Research Articles

<i>Fahrenheit 451</i> 1953 dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451 is a 1953 dystopian novel by American writer Ray Bradbury. It presents a future American society where books have been outlawed and "firemen" burn any that are found. The novel follows in the viewpoint of Guy Montag, a fireman who soon becomes disillusioned with his role of censoring literature and destroying knowledge, eventually quitting his job and committing himself to the preservation of literary and cultural writings.

Feminist science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction focused on such feminist themes as: gender inequality, sexuality, race, economics, reproduction, and environment. Feminist SF is political because of its tendency to critique the dominant culture. Some of the most notable feminist science fiction works have illustrated these themes using utopias to explore a society in which gender differences or gender power imbalances do not exist, or dystopias to explore worlds in which gender inequalities are intensified, thus asserting a need for feminist work to continue.

Science fiction and fantasy serve as important vehicles for feminist thought, particularly as bridges between theory and practice. No other genres so actively invite representations of the ultimate goals of feminism: worlds free of sexism, worlds in which women's contributions are recognized and valued, worlds that explore the diversity of women's desire and sexuality, and worlds that move beyond gender.

In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fiction, Man and Men denote humans, whether male or female, in contrast to Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and other humanoid races. Men are described as the second or younger people, created after the Elves, and differing from them in being mortal. Along with Ents and Dwarves, these are the "free peoples" of Middle-earth, differing from the enslaved peoples such as Orcs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Shippey</span> British medievalist (born 1943)

Thomas Alan Shippey is a British medievalist, a retired scholar of Middle and Old English literature as well as of modern fantasy and science fiction. He is considered one of the world's leading academic experts on the works of J. R. R. Tolkien about whom he has written several books and many scholarly papers. His book The Road to Middle-Earth has been called "the single best thing written on Tolkien".

Tolkien fandom is an international, informal community of fans of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially of the Middle-earth legendarium which includes The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. The concept of Tolkien fandom as a specific type of fan subculture sprang up in the United States in the 1960s, in the context of the hippie movement, to the dismay of the author, who talked of "my deplorable cultus".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Hobb</span> American fiction writer (born 1952)

Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden, known by her pen names Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm, is an American writer of speculative fiction. As Hobb, she is best known for her fantasy novels set in the Realm of the Elderlings, which comprise the Farseer, Liveship Traders and Tawny Man trilogies, the Rain WildChronicles, and the Fitz and the Fool trilogy. Lindholm's writing includes the urban fantasy novel Wizard of the Pigeons and science fiction short stories, among other works. As of 2018, her fiction has been translated into 22 languages and sold more than 4 million copies.

Sandra Louise Miesel in New Orleans) is an American medievalist, writer, editor and fiction critic. Her early work was in science fiction and fantasy criticism, while her later writings focus on religious critiques.

Gender has been an important theme explored in speculative fiction. The genres that make up speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy, supernatural fiction, horror, superhero fiction, science fantasy and related genres, have always offered the opportunity for writers to explore social conventions, including gender, gender roles, and beliefs about gender. Like all literary forms, the science fiction genre reflects the popular perceptions of the eras in which individual creators were writing; and those creators' responses to gender stereotypes and gender roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Quilter</span>

Laura Quilter is a writer, lawyer, librarian, professor, and science fiction fan known for both her work on intellectual property and new media, and her long-standing archive of information on feminist science fiction.

An orc, in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy fiction, is a race of humanoid monsters, which he also calls "goblin".

<i>Born of Hope</i> 2009 British fantasy fan film by Kate Madison

Born of Hope: The Ring of Barahir is a 2009 British fantasy adventure fan film directed by Kate Madison and written by Paula DiSante based on the appendices of J. R. R. Tolkien's 1954–55 novel The Lord of the Rings. The film centres on the communities affected by Sauron's war; the Dúnedain bloodline; and the story of Arathorn II and his relationship with Gilraen as they would be the parents of Aragorn, who became a key leader against Sauron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dimitra Fimi</span> Scottish academic and author

Dimitra Fimi is a Greek academic and writer and since 2023 Professor of Fantasy and Children's Literature at the University of Glasgow. Her research includes that of the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien and children's fantasy literature.

<i>A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien</i> 2014 scholarly book edited by Stuart D. Lee

A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien is a 2014 book edited by Stuart D. Lee and published by Wiley-Blackwell. It is a part of the Blackwell Companions to Literature series, which have been described as prestigious reference works, and features authors well-known in the field of Tolkien studies.

J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings have been said to embody outmoded attitudes to race. However, scholars have noted that he was influenced by Victorian attitudes to race and to a literary tradition of monsters, and that he was anti-racist both in peacetime and during the two World Wars.

Commentators have compared Peter Jackson's 2001–2003 The Lord of the Rings film trilogy with the book on which it was based, J. R. R. Tolkien's 1954–1955 The Lord of the Rings, remarking that while both have been extremely successful commercially, the film version does not necessarily capture the intended meaning of the book. They have admired Jackson's ability to film the long and complex work at all; the beauty of the cinematography, sets, and costumes; the quality of the music; and the epic scale of his version of Tolkien's story. They have, however, found the characters and the story greatly weakened by Jackson's emphasis on action and violence at the expense of psychological depth; the loss of Tolkien's emphasis on free will and individual responsibility; the flattening out of Tolkien's balanced treatment of evil to a simple equation of the One Ring with evil; and the replacement of Frodo's inner journey by an American "hero's journey" or monomyth with Aragorn as the hero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kristina Busse</span>

Kristina Dorothea Busse is a professor in the Philosophy department at the University of South Alabama. As the co-editor of Transformative Works and Cultures, her research focuses on fanfiction communities and fan culture. Alongside fandom academics Alexis Lothian and Robin Anne Reid, she coined the term "queer female space" in 2007.

John Garth is a British journalist and author, known especially for writings about J. R. R. Tolkien including his biography Tolkien and the Great War and a book on the places that inspired Middle-earth, The Worlds of J. R. R. Tolkien. He won a 2004 Mythopoeic Award for Scholarship for his work on Tolkien. The biography influenced much Tolkien scholarship in the subsequent decades.

The presence of sexuality in The Lord of the Rings, a bestselling fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien, has been debated, as it is somewhat unobtrusive. However, love and marriage appear in the form of the warm relationship between the hobbits Sam Gamgee and Rosie Cotton; the unreturned feelings of Éowyn for Aragorn, followed by her falling in love with Faramir, and marrying him; and Aragorn's love for Arwen, described in an appendix rather than in the main text, as "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen". Multiple scholars have noted the symbolism of the monstrous female spider Shelob. Interest has been concentrated, too, on the officer-batman-inspired same-sex relationship of Frodo and his gardener Sam as they travel together on the dangerous quest to destroy the Ring. Scholars and commentators have interpreted the relationship in different ways, from close but not necessarily homosexual to plainly homoerotic, or as an idealised heroic friendship.

In Tolkien's legendarium, ancestry provides a guide to character. The apparently genteel Hobbits of the Baggins family turn out to be worthy protagonists of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Bilbo Baggins is seen from his family tree to be both a Baggins and an adventurous Took. Similarly, Frodo Baggins has some relatively outlandish Brandybuck blood. Among the Elves of Middle-earth, as described in The Silmarillion, the highest are the peaceful Vanyar, whose ancestors conformed most closely to the divine will, migrating to Aman and seeing the light of the Two Trees of Valinor; the lowest are the mutable Teleri; and in between are the conflicted Noldor. Scholars have analysed the impact of ancestry on Elves such as the creative but headstrong Fëanor, who makes the Silmarils. Among Men, Aragorn, hero of The Lord of the Rings, is shown by his descent from Kings, Elves, and an immortal Maia to be of royal blood, destined to be the true King who will restore his people. Scholars have commented that in this way, Tolkien was presenting a view of character from Norse mythology, and an Anglo-Saxon view of kingship, though others have called his implied views racist.

Michael Martinez is an author and Tolkien scholar.

References

  1. 1 2 "Robin Anne Reid" (PDF). Texas A&M University-Commerce. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 Reid, Robin A. (2022). "A Queer Atheist Feminist Autist Responds to Donald Williams's "Keystone or Cornerstone? A Rejoinder to Verlyn Flieger on the Alleged 'Conflicting Sides' of Tolkien's Singular Self". Mythlore . 40 (2). Article 14.
  3. ↑ Ryan, Barbara (2000). "[Review:] 'Feminism for the 21st Century'". NWSA Journal. 12 (1): 181–186. doi:10.1353/nwsa.2000.0020. JSTOR   4316717.
  4. ↑ Marbais, Peter Christian (1998). "[Review:] Arthur C Clarke: A Critical Companion". Extrapolation (Pre-2012). 39 (2): 174.
  5. ↑ Reid, Robin Anne (11 February 2021). "Making or Creating Orcs: How Thorinsmut's Free Orcs AU Writes Back to Tolkien". Journal of Tolkien Research . 11 (2). article 3.
  6. ↑ Reid, Robin Anne (2017). "Race in Tolkien Studies: A Bibliographic Essay". Tolkien and Alterity. Cham: Springer International Publishing. pp. 33–74. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-61018-4_3. ISBN   978-3-319-61017-7.
  7. ↑ Reid, Robin Anne (2022). "Race in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and in Katherine Addison's The Goblin Emperor". Journal of Tolkien Research. 15 (2). Article 4.
  8. ↑ Reid, Robin Anne (2009). "Thrusts in the Dark: Slashers' Queer Practices". Extrapolation (Pre-2012); Brownsville. 50 (3 (Fall 2009)): 463–483, 376. doi:10.3828/extr.2009.50.3.6.
  9. ↑ Ford, Judy Ann; Reid, Robin Anne (2011). "Into the West: Far Green Country or Shadow on the Waters?". In Bogstad, Janice M.; Kaveny, Philip E. (eds.). Picturing Tolkien: Essays on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy. McFarland & Company. pp. 169–182. ISBN   978-0-7864-8473-7. Archived from the original on 2020-08-19. Retrieved 2020-08-22.
  10. ↑ Laity, K. A. (2009). "Review of Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy". Femspec. 10 (2): 135–138.
  11. ↑ Lawson, Benjamin S. (2001). "[Review:] Ray Bradbury Companions". Utopian Studies. 12 (1): 133–136. JSTOR   20718241.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.