What are your go-to resources on the dangers of LLMs and so-called "A.I."? I'm working on something and am looking to marshal a proper bibliography. If you have peer-reviewed studies that's great, but any reputable source on ecological, ethical, economic, psychological, or other impacts is welcome.

Fan theories feel like 21st century media's equivalent of early modern Rosicrucianism. We're reading the same source text, but y'all are taking it some *places* my guys, and where might be influenced by the number of mercury fumes you've inhaled trying to forge the philosopher's stone.

Edition 195 of the all things Tolkienian newsletter, the Roving Ranger, is out now. Including... Online art exhibition; Barcelona turns into Middle-earth; Omentielva in France; Middle-earth gaming day in Dresden; New Jersey TS meetup at Princeton; the Finns' autumn moot.. And so much more...

The One hundred and ninety-fifth Roving Ranger

The Roving Ranger #195 brings you all the interesting things Tolkienian of the last week and the weeks upcoming, curated by the Tolkienist.

steady.page

A deeply insightful perspective. While fascist narratives and Tolkien's legendarium both exalt an imagined past, their respective relationships to that exalted, imagined past are diametrically opposed and suggest radically different moral values.

Tom Emanuel@realtomemanuel.bsky.social · last mo.

You've probably noticed that a lot of right-wing ghouls love The Lord of the Rings: Giorgia Meloni, Peter Thiel, J.D. Vance, many such cases. In my latest essay, I set out to put neofascist affinity for Tolkien in religious and historical context - and to show why the far right gets Tolkien wrong.

"To restore a sense of meaning and connectedness to lived experience, then, post-Christian technologies of re-enchantment need to draw upon a variety of other cultural, aesthetic, and affective resources – including those made available by the advent of disenchantment itself.

Tom Emanuel@realtomemanuel.bsky.social · last mo.

You've probably noticed that a lot of right-wing ghouls love The Lord of the Rings: Giorgia Meloni, Peter Thiel, J.D. Vance, many such cases. In my latest essay, I set out to put neofascist affinity for Tolkien in religious and historical context - and to show why the far right gets Tolkien wrong.

Ooo will sit down to read with a cup of tea

Tom Emanuel@realtomemanuel.bsky.social · last mo.

You've probably noticed that a lot of right-wing ghouls love The Lord of the Rings: Giorgia Meloni, Peter Thiel, J.D. Vance, many such cases. In my latest essay, I set out to put neofascist affinity for Tolkien in religious and historical context - and to show why the far right gets Tolkien wrong.

Tom Emanuel has a new piece debunking fascist appropriations of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Strongly recommend.

Tom Emanuel@realtomemanuel.bsky.social · last mo.

You've probably noticed that a lot of right-wing ghouls love The Lord of the Rings: Giorgia Meloni, Peter Thiel, J.D. Vance, many such cases. In my latest essay, I set out to put neofascist affinity for Tolkien in religious and historical context - and to show why the far right gets Tolkien wrong.

"…Tolkien’s legendarium nevertheless stands in opposition to fascistic projects of racial, cultural, and political domination. We can understand both Tolkien’s legendarium and fascism as enchanted worlds, constructed in response to a felt sense of disenchantment under Western modernity." ☝️☝️☝️

Tom Emanuel@realtomemanuel.bsky.social · last mo.

You've probably noticed that a lot of right-wing ghouls love The Lord of the Rings: Giorgia Meloni, Peter Thiel, J.D. Vance, many such cases. In my latest essay, I set out to put neofascist affinity for Tolkien in religious and historical context - and to show why the far right gets Tolkien wrong.

A pereceptive reader pointed out problems with some of my claims RE: Tolkien's support for Franco in the Spanish Civil War. I've issued a correction and edited accordingly. When people notice holes in our work, it’s important to be honest and fix them, especially when they complicate our arguments.

Tom Emanuel@realtomemanuel.bsky.social · last mo.

You've probably noticed that a lot of right-wing ghouls love The Lord of the Rings: Giorgia Meloni, Peter Thiel, J.D. Vance, many such cases. In my latest essay, I set out to put neofascist affinity for Tolkien in religious and historical context - and to show why the far right gets Tolkien wrong.

You've probably noticed that a lot of right-wing ghouls love The Lord of the Rings: Giorgia Meloni, Peter Thiel, J.D. Vance, many such cases. In my latest essay, I set out to put neofascist affinity for Tolkien in religious and historical context - and to show why the far right gets Tolkien wrong.

Fascism and Faërie

Fantastic Antitheses

queerandback.substack.com

This sounds like fun - though I think anyone who follows me already knows full well what the answer to #1 is... 1 like = 1 book question

Mo 🌸📚@moplayspoke.bsky.social · last mo.

1 like = 1 book question 📚💙

I wrote an essay on the right-wing and Tolkien... but it is in Spanish. It was published here: legendariaediciones.com/libros/ensay...

J.R.R. Tolkien en el Reino Peligroso - Legendaria ediciones | Editorial de literatura fantástica

Divulgativo Tolkien El Señor de los Anillos

legendariaediciones.com

You've probably noticed that a lot of right-wing ghouls love The Lord of the Rings: Giorgia Meloni, Peter Thiel, J.D. Vance, many such cases. In my latest essay, I set out to put neofascist affinity for Tolkien in religious and historical context - and to show why the far right gets Tolkien wrong.

Fascism and Faërie

Fantastic Antitheses

queerandback.substack.com

I am unbelievably touched that @dropout.tv titled my @dimension20.dropout.tv Adventuring Academy episode “A Duty of Care”

I’m overwhelmed today, but I want to circle back in a while to share the links to everyone & everything I cited. More soon.

A Duty of Care (with Dr. Emily Friedman) - Season 7 - Dropout

Dr. Emily Friedman joins Brennan to discuss the history of actual play and the best gaming system. Content Warning: Misophonia (Crunching) - [throughout 54:37-1:01:03]

watch.dropout.tv

Are you an editor? Want to commission a piece for the 25th anniversary of the LOTR films? Maybe about watching them when U.S. Christian authoritarians are waging a pointless oil war in the Middle East because time is a flat circle? This guy just finished his Tolkien PhD and would love the work!

Toby Fox uses video games' inherent interactivity to blur the line between Primary and Secondary Worlds and bore down on choices, their consequences and limitations, in ways that are *catnip* to both Tom the Scholar and also Tom the Nerd who engraved the SAVE icon from Undertale on his arm.

Tom Emanuel@realtomemanuel.bsky.social · last mo.

I just finished Chapter 5 of Deltarune - life got in the way of playing it sooner - and the games of Toby Fox are some of the few non-Tolkien works of fiction I can imagine writing an entire book about. The man is frustratingly good at what he does.

I just finished Chapter 5 of Deltarune - life got in the way of playing it sooner - and the games of Toby Fox are some of the few non-Tolkien works of fiction I can imagine writing an entire book about. The man is frustratingly good at what he does.

Someone once asked me for a definition of poetry. I suggested, “Doing more with less.” One provisional answer among many possible ones; but if there’s any truth in it, there are few poets more skilled than Louise Glück. also, lmao

Joseph Rezek@rezekjoe.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The inimitable, sublime Louise Glück:

Being a parent has changed me in so many ways, big and small. One of them is I love kids being kids in public, and I have such empathy for harried parents, like, “dude I just want to get through this Target checkout line, cut me 90 seconds of slack you little goddamned hellions”

I'm a single-issue voter and that single issue is Nuremberg Trials for every last one of these fascist goons and their regime commandants.

Leah Greenberg ❌👑@leahgreenberg.bsky.social · 2mo ago

A report on the ground from the ICE shooting in Biddeford that should make every parent in this country lose their minds:

I was admittedly a very bookish kid. But even before I tackled it myself - I was five or six, I think? - I loved hearing my dad read The Hobbit aloud at bedtime. If I didn't understand a word or passage or bit of dialogue, I just asked him what it meant. I learnt a lot that way.

Lincoln Michel@thelincoln.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The big literary discourse on twitter right now is whether The Hobbit—a children’s book that won children’s lit awards and was literally written for the author’s children—is appropriate reading for children or in fact such a difficult book most adults can’t “get their head around” it.

When my first journal article got accepted for publication back in 2023, I never imagined that more than 2,500 people would read it. You always hope that your work will make an impact beyond your narrow subfield. I'm honored that people think my work worth reading, even just to disagree with me!

Are you an editor? Want to commission a piece for the 25th anniversary of the LOTR films? Maybe about watching them when U.S. Christian authoritarians are waging a pointless oil war in the Middle East because time is a flat circle? This guy just finished his Tolkien PhD and would love the work!

Always lovely to wear my robes for graduation, and especially today, seeing two of my own PhD students receiving their doctorate degrees! One thesis on Tolkien, by Dr Tom Emanuel (@realtomemanuel.bsky.social), the other on Tamora Pierce, by Dr Grace Worm!

My very first peer-reviewed article is a 10,000-word list of reviewers to avoid. I strive not to be a professional hater and give credit where it's due - even scholars I disagree with are capable of good work and genuine insight. But for good or ill, I don't make a habit of mincing words.

Dr Francis Young@drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 2mo ago

One of the funniest aspects of peer-reviewing book proposals is pondering authors' responses to the question 'Are there any reviewers we should avoid?' and trying to reconstruct and imagine the epic beefs and fallings-out reflected therein... 😂

I am pleased to report that all the references I met were lovely people. Everyone was lovely! I didn't run across a single conference arsehole, which is borderline unprecedented in my experience. Really glad this coincided with my PhD graduation next Tuesday so I could combine transatlantic trips.

Tom Emanuel@realtomemanuel.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The European Conference on the Fantastic in Glasgow this past week was one of the best I've been to. I'm glad for online and hybrid conferences, but there's nothing like meeting in physical space, if only because I got to meet a good chunk of my PhD bibliography in person and put faces to bylines!

The European Conference on the Fantastic in Glasgow this past week was one of the best I've been to. I'm glad for online and hybrid conferences, but there's nothing like meeting in physical space, if only because I got to meet a good chunk of my PhD bibliography in person and put faces to bylines!

To the top of the queue! Many years of Tom’s work 👇🏻

Tom Emanuel@realtomemanuel.bsky.social · 2mo ago

My PhD thesis "The Tale We've Fallen Into: J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and the Post-Christian Quest for Meaning" is now available to download from the University of Glasgow! As JRRT said of publishing LotR, "I have exposed my heart to be shot at." Please read it! theses.gla.ac.uk/86043/

My PhD thesis "The Tale We've Fallen Into: J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and the Post-Christian Quest for Meaning" is now available to download from the University of Glasgow! As JRRT said of publishing LotR, "I have exposed my heart to be shot at." Please read it! theses.gla.ac.uk/86043/

Just updated my conference bio, and if you don't think I'm going to take every opportunity to write out "the *Rev. Dr.* Tom Emanuel" for at least the next six months, you don't realize just how much of my life I set on fire to earn those dual honorifics.