The Problem of White Academia

Abstract

In 2000, Drout and Wynne identified one gap in Tolkien studies as lacking work using theories on race, class and gender and one weakness as "defending Tolkien against his detractors" (113). Feminist, gender, and historicist scholars began publishing in the 1970s (Reid, 2015) but engaging with race in Tolkien's work did not appear until 2003 when Jackson's films sparked online debates. Some critics argue Tolkien or his work are racist while others argue he/the work celebrates diversity and multi-culturalism (Reid 2017). In 2022, the growing threat of alt-right appropriation of medieval imagery for political purposes is being challenged by medievalists (Eliot, Gabriele, Heng, "Medievalists of Color," Ramey). What will Tolkien studies do, given Tolkien's strong association with medieval and medievalist texts? I argue that Tolkien scholars need to stop defending Tolkien by relying on authorial intentionality and begin confronting systemic racism in the field which includes the tendency to ignore the racialized category of Whiteness.