Cameron Bourquein
@cameronbourquein.bsky.social
Tolkien fan and scholar with a focus on Sauron, his development, and his intersections with Legendarium metaphysics | artist, designer, writer | fandom old | (she/her) | CameronBourquein.com | TheRoadToArdaHealed.substack.com | SauronProject.com |
Reposted by Cameron Bourquein
"Queer people in the UK have it so much better than before, and so much better than elsewhere, you should be grateful for the improvements and not keep whining about being oppressed." A paraphrased quote from a conversation I was in recently.
Fuck this.
www.thepinknews.com/2025/06/30/k...
Fuck this.
www.thepinknews.com/2025/06/30/k...
Starmer says trans bans must be implemented 'as soon as possible'
Keir Starmer has ordered that public bodies to enforce the Supreme Court's controversial gender ruling "as soon as possible".
www.thepinknews.com
June 30, 2025 at 1:01 PM
"Queer people in the UK have it so much better than before, and so much better than elsewhere, you should be grateful for the improvements and not keep whining about being oppressed." A paraphrased quote from a conversation I was in recently.
Fuck this.
www.thepinknews.com/2025/06/30/k...
Fuck this.
www.thepinknews.com/2025/06/30/k...
"Perceiving the Perceiver: 'Viewing' Sauron Through the Gestalt Theory of Perception" uses Gestalt theory, the Gestalt laws of perception, & the reception theory of Wolfgang Iser to elucidate #Sauron as he appears in #LotR, #RoP, & #Tolkien 's wider legendarium. 🧵/
scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftol...
scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftol...
May 19, 2025 at 6:16 PM
"Perceiving the Perceiver: 'Viewing' Sauron Through the Gestalt Theory of Perception" uses Gestalt theory, the Gestalt laws of perception, & the reception theory of Wolfgang Iser to elucidate #Sauron as he appears in #LotR, #RoP, & #Tolkien 's wider legendarium. 🧵/
scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftol...
scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftol...
I am beyond humbled to have my very FIRST peer reviewed paper, “Perceiving the Perceiver: Viewing Sauron Through the Gestalt Theory of Perception” published alongside work from such amazing scholars! My thanks to the editors and peer reviewers for their hard work. (As always, JTR is free to read!)
Up now on JTR: 'Tolkien & Psychology'. Papers by @nicholasbirns.bsky.social, @cameronbourquein.bsky.social, @drfairylelie.bsky.social, Mareike Huber, Kris Larsen, Martin Hauberg-Lund Laugesen & Bo Kampmann Walther, Ali Mirzabayati, Dawn Walls-Thumma, & me! scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftol...
Journal of Tolkien Research (JTR) | Valparaiso University
The Journal of Tolkien Research (JTR) is a peer-reviewed electronic journal. It has the goal of providing high-quality research and scholarship based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) and on...
scholar.valpo.edu
May 14, 2025 at 5:07 PM
I am beyond humbled to have my very FIRST peer reviewed paper, “Perceiving the Perceiver: Viewing Sauron Through the Gestalt Theory of Perception” published alongside work from such amazing scholars! My thanks to the editors and peer reviewers for their hard work. (As always, JTR is free to read!)
Thanks for the mention @thetolkienist.com and for compiling all this!
Another edition of the Roving Ranger has just been sent to its subscribers.
Including: hordes of Hobbits, Tolkien Tapestries, Wagga Wagga robotic cats, Gollum, riddles, the Pope, Studies in Tolkien, Omentië Nolwë, LotRO fun, Gamling 69 flips, Pterry and much more...
steadyhq.com/en/thetolkie...
Including: hordes of Hobbits, Tolkien Tapestries, Wagga Wagga robotic cats, Gollum, riddles, the Pope, Studies in Tolkien, Omentië Nolwë, LotRO fun, Gamling 69 flips, Pterry and much more...
steadyhq.com/en/thetolkie...
The One hundred and twenty-eighth Roving Ranger
The Roving Ranger #128 brings you all the interesting things Tolkienian of the last week and the weeks upcoming, curated by the Tolkienist.
steadyhq.com
March 14, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Thanks for the mention @thetolkienist.com and for compiling all this!
My #Tolkien paper from Oxonmoot 2023 is published in JTR: "Wizard, Demon, Cat; Reformer, Satanist, Bureaucrat." I argue Sauron is present in 3 modes in the Legendarium, each reflecting three abandoned characters from The Book of Lost Tales (Tevildo + 2). scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftol...
March 13, 2025 at 8:33 AM
My #Tolkien paper from Oxonmoot 2023 is published in JTR: "Wizard, Demon, Cat; Reformer, Satanist, Bureaucrat." I argue Sauron is present in 3 modes in the Legendarium, each reflecting three abandoned characters from The Book of Lost Tales (Tevildo + 2). scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftol...
Reposted by Cameron Bourquein
... And Queer Lodgings will answer! We took a bit of a break because... well... *gestures broadly at everything* But we just had a planning session for our next few episodes, which should include some great guests!
March 6, 2025 at 3:37 AM
... And Queer Lodgings will answer! We took a bit of a break because... well... *gestures broadly at everything* But we just had a planning session for our next few episodes, which should include some great guests!
I've been inactive on here for a few weeks and missed sharing this when it first went live. Go give the most recent Athrabeth episode a listen. @aranelparmadil.bsky.social does a fantastic job breaking down feminist scholarship on Tolkien, past, present, and (hopefully) future!
This month, we are joined by Tolkien scholar, Dr. Sara Brown to examine the past, present and future of feminist criticism of Tolkien’s work! Sara is such a phenomenal educator, you are going to love this! Thanks so much, @aranelparmadil.bsky.social!
athrabeth.simplecast.com/episodes/epi...
athrabeth.simplecast.com/episodes/epi...
February 22, 2025 at 11:55 PM
I've been inactive on here for a few weeks and missed sharing this when it first went live. Go give the most recent Athrabeth episode a listen. @aranelparmadil.bsky.social does a fantastic job breaking down feminist scholarship on Tolkien, past, present, and (hopefully) future!
Reposted by Cameron Bourquein
My book "Illustrating The Lord of the Rings in the Soviet Bloc" has a cover! Featuring artwork by the most excellent Yassen Panov, illustrator of the 1990-1991 Bulgarian #LOTR translation Vlastelinat Na Prastenite. The book is currently scheduled for release on September 18th #Tolkien
January 27, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Reposted by Cameron Bourquein
The paperback proceedings that contain @cameronbourquein.bsky.social and I’s paper on “Reading, Rending, and Queering the Web of Story with the Lens of ‘Con-creation’ and Process Theology” is now available! Get yourself a copy and enjoy some great work from some amazing #Tolkien scholars!
We're very excited to announce that print and ebook versions of the proceedings of the Something Mighty Queer OMS from last February are live!
trade paperback/kindle: https://buff.ly/40A3Fsu
other ebook options: https://buff.ly/42oKPr3
trade paperback/kindle: https://buff.ly/40A3Fsu
other ebook options: https://buff.ly/42oKPr3
January 26, 2025 at 11:06 PM
The paperback proceedings that contain @cameronbourquein.bsky.social and I’s paper on “Reading, Rending, and Queering the Web of Story with the Lens of ‘Con-creation’ and Process Theology” is now available! Get yourself a copy and enjoy some great work from some amazing #Tolkien scholars!
Reposted by Cameron Bourquein
For WEEK 1 of America's #AuthoritarianCrisis, your reading assignment is #OnTyranny by @timothysnyder.bsky.social. Get it, study it well, & return to it often over the next four years.
#AmericanId
#AmericanId
On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder - Timothy Snyder
On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder is a call to arms and a guide to resistance, with invaluable ideas for how we can preserve our freedoms in the uncertain years to come.
timothysnyder.org
January 21, 2025 at 3:28 AM
For WEEK 1 of America's #AuthoritarianCrisis, your reading assignment is #OnTyranny by @timothysnyder.bsky.social. Get it, study it well, & return to it often over the next four years.
#AmericanId
#AmericanId
Reposted by Cameron Bourquein
"What weather they shall have is not ours to rule."
Gandalf, "The Last Debate"
The Return of the King, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Gandalf, "The Last Debate"
The Return of the King, by J.R.R. Tolkien
January 20, 2025 at 4:46 PM
"What weather they shall have is not ours to rule."
Gandalf, "The Last Debate"
The Return of the King, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Gandalf, "The Last Debate"
The Return of the King, by J.R.R. Tolkien
One of the best parts of the season, IMO, though I hope we still get full on Celebrimbanner.
January 20, 2025 at 5:46 PM
One of the best parts of the season, IMO, though I hope we still get full on Celebrimbanner.
Sometimes I get angry at him, but I also love this man. ❤️
January 20, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Sometimes I get angry at him, but I also love this man. ❤️
Reposted by Cameron Bourquein
Excellent news! I’ve got a chapter in this volume on #Tolkien, folklore, and foxes! 🦊 🦊 🦊
The keynote lecture on which my chapter is based, can be accessed here: youtu.be/rAAYOnkVnwk
(Apologies in advance for the ear worm!)
@uofgfantasy.bsky.social @uofgartshums.bsky.social
The keynote lecture on which my chapter is based, can be accessed here: youtu.be/rAAYOnkVnwk
(Apologies in advance for the ear worm!)
@uofgfantasy.bsky.social @uofgartshums.bsky.social
New Society publication: Proceedings of the Tolkien 2019 Conference!
It features 61 papers by esteemed and new Tolkien scholars on a range of topics relating to the Tolkien's life, works, and legacy. Releasing on 28 February, it is now available to pre-order.
www.tolkiensociety.org/2025/01/new-...
It features 61 papers by esteemed and new Tolkien scholars on a range of topics relating to the Tolkien's life, works, and legacy. Releasing on 28 February, it is now available to pre-order.
www.tolkiensociety.org/2025/01/new-...
New Society publication – Proceedings of the Tolkien 2019 Conference
The Tolkien Society and Luna Press Publishing are pleased to announce that the Proceedings of the Tolkien 2019 Conference will be published on 28th February, and is now available to pre-order. Edited ...
www.tolkiensociety.org
January 19, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Excellent news! I’ve got a chapter in this volume on #Tolkien, folklore, and foxes! 🦊 🦊 🦊
The keynote lecture on which my chapter is based, can be accessed here: youtu.be/rAAYOnkVnwk
(Apologies in advance for the ear worm!)
@uofgfantasy.bsky.social @uofgartshums.bsky.social
The keynote lecture on which my chapter is based, can be accessed here: youtu.be/rAAYOnkVnwk
(Apologies in advance for the ear worm!)
@uofgfantasy.bsky.social @uofgartshums.bsky.social
Reposted by Cameron Bourquein
My conference paper for the Mythopoeic Society OMS, "Sauron, Seduction, and the Queering Mechanism of the Ring", is finally available in print proceedings! Please keep in mind that this is very much a conference proceedings and not a finalized work, but here it is!
dc.swosu.edu/mythpro/vol2...
dc.swosu.edu/mythpro/vol2...
Sauron, Seduction, and the Queering Mechanism of the Ring
It has often been argued that Sauron is barely present in The Lord of the Rings, existing as a villainous presence on the margins of the narrative. This paper will argue that Sauron is present through...
dc.swosu.edu
January 14, 2025 at 12:45 PM
My conference paper for the Mythopoeic Society OMS, "Sauron, Seduction, and the Queering Mechanism of the Ring", is finally available in print proceedings! Please keep in mind that this is very much a conference proceedings and not a finalized work, but here it is!
dc.swosu.edu/mythpro/vol2...
dc.swosu.edu/mythpro/vol2...
I want to give a shout out to a recent episode of @resonantarc.bsky.social's podcast for touching on something I talked about at PCA National Conference last year: how the evolution of #FinalFantasy graphics from pixel art to near photo-real 3D changed a LITERARY experience into a CINEMATIC one. 🧵
January 14, 2025 at 4:51 PM
I want to give a shout out to a recent episode of @resonantarc.bsky.social's podcast for touching on something I talked about at PCA National Conference last year: how the evolution of #FinalFantasy graphics from pixel art to near photo-real 3D changed a LITERARY experience into a CINEMATIC one. 🧵
Reposted by Cameron Bourquein
I really appreciated this belated obit for Karon Wynn Fonstad, cartographer of the Tolkien Atlas (and the maps for Dragonriders of Pern!) and not only for this killer quote re the Tolkien Atlas, "It was like the Velvet Underground of fantasy mapmaking": www.nytimes.com/2025/01/13/o...
Overlooked No More: Karen Wynn Fonstad, Who Mapped Tolkien’s Middle-earth (Gift Article)
She was a novice cartographer who landed a dream assignment: to create an atlas of the setting of “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings.”
www.nytimes.com
January 14, 2025 at 2:19 AM
I really appreciated this belated obit for Karon Wynn Fonstad, cartographer of the Tolkien Atlas (and the maps for Dragonriders of Pern!) and not only for this killer quote re the Tolkien Atlas, "It was like the Velvet Underground of fantasy mapmaking": www.nytimes.com/2025/01/13/o...
Reposted by Cameron Bourquein
People took all the wrong lessons from Tolkien (fantasy race determinism, long-prophesied return of the king, lore coming out your ears)
and none of the right ones (subversive heroes who succeed through failure, overwhelming grief at the passing of an enchanted world).
and none of the right ones (subversive heroes who succeed through failure, overwhelming grief at the passing of an enchanted world).
People complain a lot about the influence of #Tolkien on fantasy, but I do think it’s fascinating a series about PTSD is so influential, and that ineffable sadness of a world long gone is such an interesting starting place for the modern genre
#booksky #writingcommunity
#booksky #writingcommunity
January 12, 2025 at 3:28 PM
People took all the wrong lessons from Tolkien (fantasy race determinism, long-prophesied return of the king, lore coming out your ears)
and none of the right ones (subversive heroes who succeed through failure, overwhelming grief at the passing of an enchanted world).
and none of the right ones (subversive heroes who succeed through failure, overwhelming grief at the passing of an enchanted world).
The paper that @njspolk.bsky.social and I presented at @mythsoc.bsky.social OMS 3 last year has been published as a part of the conference proceedings! "Reading, Rending, and Queering the Web of Story with the Lenses of 'Con-creation' and Process Theology." Link and abstract in 🧵. #Tolkien
January 13, 2025 at 10:42 PM
The paper that @njspolk.bsky.social and I presented at @mythsoc.bsky.social OMS 3 last year has been published as a part of the conference proceedings! "Reading, Rending, and Queering the Web of Story with the Lenses of 'Con-creation' and Process Theology." Link and abstract in 🧵. #Tolkien
My #Mairon paper is published (link in 🧵). It was presented at Tolkien@UVM and GIFCon in 2023, and at Oxonmoot in 2024. “Mairon” is what got me back into #Tolkien fandom and scholarship, because what are you supposed to do when you learn #Sauron might have been called “precious”?
January 6, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Reposted by Cameron Bourquein
Thanks to Stef and Jude for this awesome recording experience. I had a wonderful time. I’ve enjoyed the Athrabeth podcast for a while so getting to appear on it to talk #Tolkien and #Sauron was kind of surreal!
Join us as Tolkien scholar and Sauron expert, Cameron Bourquein, leads us down her lesser-trod path exploring Sauron’s nature, the meanings of his name, & his changing role in the legendarium throughout its development. Thanks, @cameronbourquein.bsky.social!
athrabeth.simplecast.com/episodes/epi...
athrabeth.simplecast.com/episodes/epi...
January 1, 2025 at 5:36 PM
If you listened to and enjoyed yesterday’s episode of the Athrabeth podcast where I talk about my #Tolkien (mostly #Sauron) work, check out my new Substack. Working on some #RingsOfPower related pieces.
theroadtoardahealed.substack.com
theroadtoardahealed.substack.com
January 2, 2025 at 4:18 PM
If you listened to and enjoyed yesterday’s episode of the Athrabeth podcast where I talk about my #Tolkien (mostly #Sauron) work, check out my new Substack. Working on some #RingsOfPower related pieces.
theroadtoardahealed.substack.com
theroadtoardahealed.substack.com
Thanks to Stef and Jude for this awesome recording experience. I had a wonderful time. I’ve enjoyed the Athrabeth podcast for a while so getting to appear on it to talk #Tolkien and #Sauron was kind of surreal!
Join us as Tolkien scholar and Sauron expert, Cameron Bourquein, leads us down her lesser-trod path exploring Sauron’s nature, the meanings of his name, & his changing role in the legendarium throughout its development. Thanks, @cameronbourquein.bsky.social!
athrabeth.simplecast.com/episodes/epi...
athrabeth.simplecast.com/episodes/epi...
January 1, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Reposted by Cameron Bourquein
Reminder that in order to get early bird pricing for #Westmoot, you need to register before the end of the week! #Tolkien @tolkiensociety.org
www.tolkiensociety.org/events/westm...
www.tolkiensociety.org/events/westm...
Westmoot 2025
For the first time, fans can experience a Tolkien Society conference in person in the US! Westmoot will take place May 9th-11th in Kansas City, Missouri, at the National WWI Museum and Memorial. This ...
www.tolkiensociety.org
December 3, 2024 at 2:53 PM
Reminder that in order to get early bird pricing for #Westmoot, you need to register before the end of the week! #Tolkien @tolkiensociety.org
www.tolkiensociety.org/events/westm...
www.tolkiensociety.org/events/westm...
Check this out!
I’m feeling very jazzed after Robin Reid’s presentation at the @tolkiensociety.org’s Christopher Tolkien conference and if you are likewise energized by Tolkien’s amazing female characters, please consider submitting to this CFP from me and Cami Agan!
November 26, 2024 at 9:18 PM
Check this out!