One of the great things about checking in at Hogwarts Professor, as you have noted again and again in the comment boxes, is the fascinating and brilliant people you meet here. Quite a few of them are University Professors and published authorities on Potterdom; Edmund Kern at Lawrence, Carrie Birmingham and James Thomas at Pepperdine, Daniel Nexon at Georgetown, David Baggett at Liberty, John Mark Reynolds at Biola, Louise Freeman at Mary Baldwin, Melissa Aaron at CSU Pomona, Scott Moore at Baylor, Vincent Kling at La Salle — really, this site should be called “Potter Professors,” with emphasis on the plurality.
One of the neatest people and smartest folk on hand, though, is Dr. Amy Sturgis at Belmont University. She is our local default Tolkien authority and the on-the-spot reporter who revealed how risibly the Carnegie Hall Open Book Tour event was misrepresented in the Skeeter reports the day after said event. And is she ever in the news this January! Check this out:
1. Her forthcoming book, Tecumseh: A Biography, is now available for pre-order directly from Greenwood Press or at Amazon.com.
2. If you want to learn more about this book, Pop Thought has just posted an interview with her today that you can read here.
Not enough? There’s more. How about an interview this weekend in which you can participate?
3. Dr. Sturgis will be interviewed on Woodland Star New Radio (which is accessible via computer at http://www.woodlandstar.net/) on 6 January 2008 at 6:55pm EST for approximately 40 minutes about her work, especially (but not exclusively) regarding J.R.R. Tolkien. The show is entitled “An Afternoon of Wandering with Frodo and Dr. Amy H. Sturgis through Mirkwood Forest.” Listeners can email questions before the interview (woodlandstar@hotmail.com) or call in live to ask questions during the interview.
Here is the description under “Woodland Star New Radio: Next Guest”:
Next Guest: Dr. Amy Sturgis, Guest for January 6th
“An afternoon of wandering with Frodo and Dr. Amy Sturgis through Mirkwood Forest.”
Amy H. Sturgis is an author, speaker, and scholar of Native American Studies and Science Fiction/Fantasy Studies. She earned her Ph.D. in Intellectual History from Vanderbilt University. Currently she teaches Interdisciplinary Studies at Belmont University, serves on the Scholarly Board of The Tennessee Center for Policy Research and the Advisory Board of Mythopoeic Press, and contributes to the Liberty and Power group weblog.
Sturgis is author of four books on U.S. Presidential History and Native American Studies, three edited works on science fiction and fantasy, and dozens of other scholarly and popular book chapters, articles, and presentations. In 2006, she was honored with the Imperishable Flame Award for Achievement in Tolkien/Inklings Scholarship by Heren Istarion.
Sturgis lives in Granite Falls, North Carolina with her husband, Dr. Larry M. Hall, who is Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College at Lenoir-Rhyne College.
In case she’s out there, “Thank you, Dr. Sturgis, for your contributions to scholarship in general and for your joining us on occasion here at Hogwarts Professor!”
Grateful John
Thank you so much for your kind words and ongoing encouragement and support! I really appreciate it. It’s a joy to lurk and delurk here at Hogwarts Professor, where all the cool folks hang out and the interesting discussions are happening. 🙂 Thanks for making this such a terrific place for thoughtful and meaningful debate.
Dr. Amy Sturgis,
Congratulations on your forthcoming book on Tecumseh: A Biography.
I have read a number of your works on Native American issues from your
website, as well as your great literary studies into the works of C S Lewis and J R R Tolkien.
I had the honor of presenting your work, “Harry Potter is a Hobbit” from
your article in the C S Lewis Society to the Spellbound 2005 gathering in Chicago and I’m pleased to say that your paper was selected the best roundtable discussion by the chairperson of the presentation staff. I was also able to do an additional panel discussion at Lumos2006 in Las Vegas which by the way lead me to meet one, John Granger for the first time.
Amy, you and John have been such a great inspiration to my education and understanding of not only the Harry Potter world, but of the English Literary world as well that has been a springboard into new roads within my ministry to both youth and adults in the Christian church.
I am really looking forward to getting a copy of your new book. We here in Ohio have the opportunity to see Tecumseh as a “live” outdoor drama each summer in a huge professional ampitheater in southern Ohio.
John, if we get the HogwartsProfessor Cruise or Conference going in the near future, do you think we can add Dr. Amy Sturgis to list of presenters?
Grateful David
Thank you so much for your kind post, David! I really appreciate it. I’m thrilled at all you’ve accomplished and are continuing to accomplish, and I’m very pleased I could have been a part of that in some way. I’m grateful for your support and encouragement. Believe it or not, I mention that live outdoor drama in Ohio in my Tecumseh book! Researching and writing the biography was a fantastic experience. You have some truly magnificent history in the Ohio region. Thanks again!
If we missed the interview, is there any way to get it? Is it recorded?
Thanks for asking! I understand that an MP3 version will eventually go up on the webite, but it may take a few weeks. I will post again with an update when I know more. In the meantime, some of my other interviews (print and audio) are available here. I appreciate your interest!