He is on the Mythopoeic Society's Inklings scholarship committee. In 1995 he became the North American representative of The Tolkien Society. įoster is a known Tolkien scholar the Washington Post described him as 'somewhat of an authority on all things Tolkien'. įoster has published many papers and book reviews on English fantasy literature, including on the Inklings Tolkien and his Oxford friend C. This represented what in the context of sceptical attitudes was 'a rare success' in the early history of Tolkien research Foster later documented his teaching approach on the course in 'an appropriately anecdotal piece'. While at Illinois Central College he taught fantasy literature from 1974, and a special studies course focusing entirely on J. He taught there until he retired in 2005. In addition, he worked as a journalist for the Peoria Journal Star. In 1971 he joined the staff of the English department of Illinois Central College in Peoria, Illinois, eventually becoming a professor there. He then took a Master's degree at Marquette. He obtained his first degree in Arts at Marquette University in 1968, and that year became a teacher at Spalding High School. Michael Alan Foster was educated at Spalding High School. The principal advantage of a course centered on Tolkien, as opposed to, say, Shakespeare, is that many students have read all the author's major works. The four essays required for four approaches to the study of literature: analysis of a small section, examination of a possible literary source, evaluation of a critical study, and commentary on the evolution of a single character.

But twenty others did, and the Tolkien course has continued at Illinois Central College since then, with the exception of four years at the end of the last century when it was cast into darkness and doom by a Balrog dean. Of course, only one of the fifteen who signed up showed up. I took a petition signed by fifteen students requesting such a course to my department chairman, and he agreed to schedule Lit.

Tolkien father christmas