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Guide to Tolkien's Letters
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Winner of the 2019 Tolkien Society award for Best Website

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23 Apr, 2013
2013-4-23 11:59:10 PM UTC
Congrats Josh! Looking forward to reading it.
24 Apr, 2013
2013-4-24 4:12:09 PM UTC
Many congratulations, Josh! I will order this issue (and I really need to become a member of the Mythopoeic Society).
24 Apr, 2013
2013-4-24 5:22:56 PM UTC
Blatant self-promotion is fine with us Josh --thanks for letting us know!

BH
24 Apr, 2013
2013-4-24 8:53:52 PM UTC
You'll all have heard about this by now, but unfortunately the news spread in the Tolkien circles based on a link to a dubious newspaper article. This is the link to the original source (and I feel sorry for Dr Brown who got so much bad publicity for what appears to be mere invention by the author of the newspaper article):

http://rydalpenrhos.com/news/13/04/lifelong_passion_for_tolkien

My question:

As I have never attempted to do the following -- is it possible to purchase a copy of a PhD thesis (i.e., Sara Brown's thesis)? A thesis is a public document, right? How would I proceed?
24 Apr, 2013
2013-4-24 11:15:42 PM UTC

Morgan wrote:
You'll all have heard about this by now, but unfortunately the news spread in the Tolkien circles based on a link to a dubious newspaper article. This is the link to the original source (and I feel sorry for Dr Brown who got so much bad publicity for what appears to be mere invention by the author of the newspaper article):

http://rydalpenrhos.com/news/13/04/lifelong_passion_for_tolkien

My question:

As I have never attempted to do the following -- is it possible to purchase a copy of a PhD thesis (i.e., Sara Brown's thesis)? A thesis is a public document, right? How would I proceed?


If it is anything like the dissertation for my Bachelors, we had to provide two bound copies (bound specifically according to the requirements of the University), and one copy was returned after marking, and the other was lodged with the University library. I can't remember whether copyright was transferred to the University or if it remained with the author. I expect the library copy was shredded years ago, as they were mostly only of interest to future students working on their own dissertations.
24 Apr, 2013
2013-4-24 11:49:57 PM UTC
Morgan,

I know it is possible to obtain a copy of a dissertation (usually in electronic form) because I have some. However, I suspect that Dr. Brown has not completed it yet. Here is a little more info from the Mythgard Institute: http://www.mythgard.org/academics/our-faculty/sara-brown/
25 Apr, 2013
2013-4-25 7:27:04 AM UTC
Morgan: what is it that everyone was talking about? I haven't heard...

BH
25 Apr, 2013
2013-4-25 9:06:57 AM UTC
Khamûl: Based on how the text reads in the newspaper article (my first link), people have been accusing Sara Brown of referring to a quote falsely attributed to Tolkien ("a single dream is more powerful than a thousand realitites"), making the conclusion that she must be a bad scholar. However, I did a bit of research and it appears like the author of the article has just re-arranged an earlier article (my second link), making it sound like Dr Brown is providing the quote (which she isn't in the original article).

Josh: No, I believe the Mythgard webpage is outdated. See her LinkedIn profile: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/dr-sara-brown/12/220/b61
25 Apr, 2013
2013-4-25 5:21:55 PM UTC
Ahh, I see; I thought that would be it. Either that or her (again probably just the article) misspelling of Middle-earth!

Her thesis entitled ‘From Abjection to Alchemy: Tolkien’s Middle Earth Legendarium’ is the result of over six years work under the supervision of Professor Lucie Armitt at the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Sciences in the University of Salford.

BH
11 May, 2013
2013-5-11 10:40:29 PM UTC
Hi Morgan. I am Sara Brown and I can tell you that I had nothing to do with what was written in the article. The school I work for (Rydal Penrhos) sent a short note to the local paper thinking it might be nice publicity for the school, and the paper made up the rest. I can assure you that 1. I have indeed completed the thesis, which is why I am able to call myself Dr Brown, 2. I am perfectly capable of spelling Middle-earth, unlike the newspaper journalist, and 3. I know my Tolkien quotes. Goodness only knows where the journalist got it from.

I had no idea I was getting such stick online for this article. It's a bit sad, as I dedicated 6 years of my life to this study and I am very proud of my work. You are welcome to read the thesis - a copy is lodged at the university and in the British Library, as is standard practice.

A great pity that substandard journalism has undermined something I put my heart and soul into.

Anyone who cares to ask any questions about my work, and get actual answers from me, is welcome to contact me at [email protected].

Sara
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