Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-tj2md Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T16:51:12.812Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Hobbits, Hogwarts, and the Heavens: The use of fantasy literature and film in astronomy outreach and education

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2011

Kristine Larsen
Kristine Larsen*
Affiliation:
Physics and Earth Sciences, Central Connecticut State University, 506 Copernicus Hall, 1615 Stanley St., New Britain, CT 06050, USA email: larsen@ccsu.edu
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Due in part to recent (and ongoing) film adaptations, the fantasy series of C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia), J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter), Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials), and J.R.R. Tolkien (The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings) are being introduced to a new audience. Many astronomers and astronomy educators are unaware of the wide variety of astronomical references contained in each series, and the myriad possible uses of these works in astronomy education and outreach. This paper highlights activities which educators, planetariums, and science centers have already developed to utilise these works in their education and outreach programs.

Keywords

Science fiction and fantasypopular cultureliteraturefilm
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 5 , Symposium S260: The Role of Astronomy in Society and Culture , January 2009 , pp. 306 - 310
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2011

References

Allday, J. 2003, Physics Education, 38, 27CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnett, M. & Kafka, A. 2007, J. College Sci. Teaching, 36, 31Google Scholar
Dubeck, L. W., Mosher, S. E., & Boss, J. E. 1994, Fantastic Voyages: Learning Science Through Science Fiction Films (Woodbury, NY: AIP Press)Google Scholar
Gribbin, M. & Gribbin, J. 2007, The Science of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials (New York: Laurel-Leaf)Google Scholar
James, C. R. 2007, Mercury, 36, 20Google Scholar
Krisciunas, K. 2003, Sky & Telescope, 106, 12Google Scholar
Larsen, K. 2004, in Cosmos in the Classroom 2004, Fraknoi, A. & Waller, W. (eds) (San Francisco: Astronomical Society of the Pacific), p. 237Google Scholar
Larsen, K. 2005a, Tolkien Studies, 2, 161CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larsen, K. 2005b, Mallorn, 43, 49Google Scholar
Larsen, K. 2006, Mallorn, 44, 22Google Scholar
Larsen, K. 2007, Tolkien Studies, 4, 223CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larsen, K. 2008, CAP Journal, 4, 16Google Scholar
Larsen, K. 2009, in The Mirror Crack'd: Fear and Horror in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and its Sources Forest-Hill, L. (ed) (Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing), p. 169Google Scholar
Lewis, C. S. 2008, The Chronicles of Narnia (New York: Harper Collins)Google Scholar
Pasachoff, J. M. 2003, Sky & Telescope, 106, 12Google Scholar
Pullman, P. 2007, His Dark Materials (New York: Alfred A. Knopf)Google Scholar
Quiñonez, J. & Raggett, N. 1990, Vinyar Tengwar, 12, 5Google Scholar
Tolkien, J. R. R. 1994, The Lord of the Rings (Boston: Houghton Mifflin)Google Scholar
Tolkien, J. R. R. 1997, The Monsters and the Critics (London: Harper Collins)Google Scholar
Ward, M. 2008, Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis (Oxford: Oxford University Press)CrossRefGoogle Scholar