Kristine Larsen

BOOKS:

Humanity and the Sun in Popular Media. McFarland Publishers, under contract. Anticipated publication date: 2024.

Science, Technology and Magic in The Witcher: A Medievalist Spin on Modern Monsters. McFarland Publishers, 2023.

Particle Panic! How Popular Media and Popularized Science Feed Public Fears of Particle Accelerator Experiments. Springer, 2019. Invited project. Reviewed in Cosmos [https://cosmosmagazine.com/physics/black-holes-and-the-flash-new-book-explores-why-people-fear-particle-accelerators].

The Women Who Popularized Geology in the 19th Century. Springer, 2017. Invited project.

The Mythological Dimensions of Neil Gaiman. eds. Anthony Burdge, Jessica Burke, and Kristine Larsen. Kitsune Press, 2012. Recipient of the Gold Medal for Science Fiction/Fantasy in the 2012 Florida Publishing Association Awards.

The Mythological Dimensions of Doctor Who. eds. Anthony Burdge, Jessica Burke, and Kristine Larsen. Kitsune Press, 2010.

Cosmology 101. Greenwood Press, 2007. Invited project.

Stephen Hawking: A Biography. Greenwood Press, 2005. Portuguese translation (Luiz Roberto Mendez Gonçalves, A Girafa Press), 2006. Updated paperback edition (Prometheus Books), 2007. Chinese edition (English with Chinese annotations, China Renmin University Press), 2008. French translation (Michel Cassé, Dunod), 2009. Marathi translation (Jaico), 2015.

Recent Book Chapters:

“Expanding the ‘Bounds of Reason’: NonOverlapping Magistria in the Witcherverse.” In Theology, Religion and The Witcher, ed. Yael Cameron. Lexington Books. Accepted for publication, to appear November 2024.

““Forgot Even the Stones”: Stone Monuments and Imperfect Cultural and Personal Memories in The Lord of the Rings.” In Cities and Strongholds in Middle-earth, ed. Cami Agan. Mythopoeic Press, 185-206, 2024.

“A Different Sort of Monster: Science Fiction Casts a Spotlight on the Problematic Power Dynamics of Graduate Programs.” In Academia and Higher Learning in Popular Culture, ed. Marcus K. Harmes and Richard Scully. Palgrave Macmillan, 153-72, 2023.

“Clean, Limitless Energy or Catastrophic Chaos: Particle Physics as an Instrument of Destruction in the Syfy Universe.” In Attack of the New B Movies: Essays on SYFY Original Films, ed. Justin Wigard and Mitch Ploskonka. McFarland Publishers, 229-248, 2023.

“‘Books! Best Weapons in the World’: How Libraries Save the World in Popular Culture.” In Lore-masters and Libraries in Fantasy and Science Fiction: a Gedenkschrift for David Oberhelman, eds. Jason Fisher and Janet Brennan Croft. Mythopoeic Press, 43-54, 2022.

“Nothing Lasts Forever – Debunking 101.” In Outside In Wants to Believe, ed. Stacey Smith. ATB Publishing, 398-400, 2021.

“The Mad Scientist Wore Prada: Female Frankensteins in the Universe of Doctor Who.” In Doctor Who and Science, eds. Marcus K. Harmes and Lindy A. Orthia, McFarland Publishers, 124-41, 2021.

“‘Soft Light’: Super Powers and Supercolliders.” In Outside In Trusts No One, ed. Robert Smith. ATB Publishing, 120-2, 2020.

Recent Journal Articles:

“‘The world withers and the wind rises’: Apocalyptic Language in The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth and The Fall of Arthur.” Journal of Tolkien Research 18(2), article 9, 2024. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol18/iss2/9/ .

“Hell is only a word. The reality is much, much worse”: Black Holes as Fantasy Gateways to Hell. Mythlore 42(1), article 9, 2024. Available at https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol42/iss2/9/ .

“The Royal Astronomer and the Astronomer Royal: Tar-Meneldur and Sir Harold Spencer Jones.” Journal of Tolkien Research 18(1), article 8, 2024. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol18/iss1/8/ .

“Rayed Arcs and the ‘Rory Bory Aylis’: Primary World Aurorae and Tolkien’s ‘Father Christmas Letters’.” Journal of Tolkien Research 18(1), article 5, 2024. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol18/iss1/5/ .

Kristine Larsen and Arthur Bell, “Finding a Gender-Equitable Balance in Course Design in a High Anxiety Gen-ed Astronomy Course.” Systematic Reflections 3: 6-13, 2023.

“The Sun, the Son, and the Silmarillion: Christopher Tolkien and the Copernican Revolution of Morgoth’s Ring.” Mythlore 42(1), article 11, 2023. Available at https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol42/iss1/11/  .

““Following the Star”: Eärendil, Númenor, and the Star of Bethlehem.” Journal of Tolkien Research 16(3), article 3, 2023. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol16/iss2/3/  

“Arda Re-made: Finding Meaning in a Pandemic Through the Works of Tolkien, Sapkowski, and Straczynski.” Messengers From the Stars: On Science Fiction and Fantasy No. 6, 32 pp., 2022. Available at https://messengersfromthestars.letras.ulisboa.pt/journal/archives/article/arda-re-made-finding-meaning-in-a-pandemic-through-the-works-of-tolkien-sapkowski-and-straczynski

“Moons, Maths, and Middle-earth: Misconceptions about Tolkien’s Scientific and Mathematical Prowess.” Journal of Tolkien Research 15(1), article 2, 2022. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol15/iss1/4/  

“Tar-Meneldur and the Royal Sorontil Observatory.” Lembas Extra: Journal of the Dutch Tolkien Society, 2022 edition: 151-73, 2022.

“Seeing Double: Tolkien and the Indo-European Divine Twins.” Mythlore 40(2): 139-69, 2022.

Kristine Larsen, Christina Robinson, Jason Melnyk, Jennifer Nicoletti, Amy Gagnon, Kelly McLaughlin, and Mina Hussaini. "Finding Our Voice: Highly Flexible ED for the HyFlex World." To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development 40(2): 205-33, 2021.

“Can You Tell Me How to Get, How to Get to Watling Street? [The Milky Way in the Works of Tolkien]” Mallorn: Journal of the Tolkien Society No. 62: 41-4, 2021.

“Virtual Astrolabes and Virtual Pizza.” New Chaucer Studies: Pedagogy and Profession 2(2): 68-71, 2021.

“Signum Draco Magno Scilicet, or, Eärendel and the Dragon: Heavenly Warfare in Medieval European and Tolkienian Annals.” Journal of Tolkien Research 12(2), article 4, 2021. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol12/iss2/4/

"Heroine or Damsel in Distress: Traversing the Parallel Universes of Timeline’s Kate Erickson.” MOSF Journal of Science Fiction. 5(1): 26-39, 2021. Available at https://publish.lib.umd.edu/?journal=scifi&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=461

“Transits, Spots, and Eclipses: The Sun’s Unique Role in Outreach. Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers 49(1): 1-5, 2021. Available at https://app.aavso.org/media/jaavso/3732.pdf.

“Embracing the Affective Domain in a Course in Science and Pseudoscience.” Systematic Reflections 1: 36-43, 2021.

Janet Brennan Croft and Kristine Larsen, "Introduction to Special issue: J.R.R. Tolkien and the Works of Joss Whedon." Journal of Tolkien Research: 10(1), article 1, 2020. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol10/iss1/1/.

“‘They’re something nightmares are from’: The Notion Club Papers and The Cabin in the Woods.” Journal of Tolkien Research 10(1), article 5, 2020. https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol10/iss1/5/.

"Deconstructing Durin's Day: Science, Scientific Fan Fiction, and the Fan-Scholar." Journal of Tolkien Research 8(1), article 3, 2019. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol8/iss1/3/ . Winner of the Tolkien Society Best Paper Award, 2020.

Recent Published Conference Proceedings:

“‘A fear of anything large and alive, and not easily tamed or destroyed’: Kaiju in The Lord of the Rings.” Journal of Tolkien Research 19(1), article 17, 2024. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol19/iss1/17 .

“A Medievalist Myth-making Crisis: Tolkien’s Tychonic Cosmology.” Journal of Tolkien Research 19(1), article 7, 2024. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol19/iss1/7/ .

“Holding His Attention: Tolkien and ‘Modern’ Science Fiction.” Journal of Tolkien Research 19(1), article 3, 2024. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol19/iss1/3/. 

“Beware Melkors Bearing Gifts: The ‘Tale of Adanel’ as Gothic Fiction.” In Tolkien and the Gothic, Proceedings of the Tolkien Society Seminar 2022, ed. Will Sherwood, Luna Press, 18-33, 2024.

“Blame it on Aquila: Fictional and Factual Novae.” Proceedings of the 112th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Variable Star Observers, ed. Joyce A. Guzik, 85-90, 2023. Available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j2yQL085ZFGy_ahLyQS0bw3Eemm-vsH9/view .

“Everything I Ever Needed to Know About the North Pole I Learned from Father Christmas (and Karhu the Polar Bear [and Ilbereth the Elf]).” Journal of Tolkien Research 16(2), article 8, 2023. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol16/iss2/8/ .

“Falling Stars: Canonicity and ‘Meteor Man’ in Amazon Prime Video’s The Rings of Power.” Journal of Tolkien Research 16(2), article 7, 2023. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol16/iss2/7/ .

“Arda Remade (and Remade, and Remade…); or, Entropy, Einstein’s Blackboard, and R=ceα(t-t0 )∕3 [sinβ/2 (t-t0)]2∕3, being an Exploration of Overlapping Themes in the Venn Diagram of the History of Middle-earth, the History of Middle-earth, and the History of Twentieth Century Cosmology.” Journal of Tolkien Research 16(2), article 2, 2023. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol16/iss2/2/ .

“Medieval Automata and J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fall of Gondolin.” Journal of Tolkien Research 16(1), article 6, 2023. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol16/iss1/6/ .

“‘Doing My Best to Watch Phenomenal Stars’: Variable Star Astronomy in Thomas Hardy’s Two on a Tower (1882).” Proceedings of the 111th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Variable Star Observers, ed. Joyce A. Guzik, 99-105, 2022. Available at https://www.aavso.org/sites/default/files/publications/Proceedings%20of%20Annual%20Meetings/AAVSO111thMeetingProceedingsopt.pdf .

“‘I am Primarily a Scientific Philologist’: J.R.R. Tolkien and the Science/Technology Divide.” Journal of Tolkien Research 15(2), article 3, 2022. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol15/iss2/3/ .

“Half-Elven and Half-Orphans: The Choices and Consequences of ‘Crossing-Over.’” Journal of Tolkien Research 15(1), article 6, 2022. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol15/iss1/6/ .

“Nailing Jell-O to the Wall: Canonicity in Middle-earth.” Journal of Tolkien Research 15(1), article 5, 2022. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol15/iss1/5/ .

“‘Pearls’ of Pearl: Medieval Appropriations in Tolkien’s Mythology.” Journal of Tolkien Research 14(2), article 9, 2022. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol14/iss2/9/ .

“‘O’er the Moon, Below the Daylight’: Tolkien’s Blue Bee, Pliny, and the Kalevala.” Journal of Tolkien Research 14(2), article 4, 2022. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol14/iss2/4/ .

“‘Ore-ganisms’: The Myth and Meaning of ‘Living Rock’ in Middle-earth.” Journal of Tolkien Research 13(2), article 6, 2021. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol13/iss2/6/ .

“Smaug’s Hoard, Durin’s Bane, and Agricola’s De Re Metallica: Cautionary Tales Against Mining in Tolkien’s Legendarium and the Classical Tradition.” Journal of Tolkien Research 13(2), article 5, 2021. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol13/iss2/5/ .

“Who Maketh Morwinyon, and Menelmacar, and Remmirath, and the Inner Parts of the South (Where the Stars are Strange): Tolkien’s Astronomical Choices and the Books of Job and Amos.” Journal of Tolkien Research 13(2), article 4, 2021. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol13/iss2/2/ .

“Carry on My Wayward Sonne (and Moon): Common Cosmological Quirks in the Norse Fimbul-winter and Tolkien’s Early Legendarium.” Journal of Tolkien Research 13(1), article 4, 2021. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol13/iss1/4/ .

“The Walls of the World and the Voyages of the Evening Star: The Byzantine Borders of Tolkien’s Biblical/Classical/Medieval/Geocentric/Heliocentric Complicated Cosmology.” Journal of Tolkien Research 13(1), article 3, 2021. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol13/iss1/3/ .

“Cynewulf, Copernicus, and Conjunctions: The Problems of Cytherean Motions in Tolkien’s Cosmology.” Journal of Tolkien Research 13(1), article 2, 2021. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol13/iss1/2/ .

““I Am No Man”: Éowyn and Game of Thrones’ Lyanna Mormont.” Journal of Tolkien Research 12(1), article 5, 2021. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol12/iss1/5/.

“Númenor and the ‘Devouring Wave’: Literary, Historical, and Psychological Sources for Tolkien’s Self-Described ‘Atlantis Complex’.” Journal of Tolkien Research 11(2), article 5, 2021. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol11/iss2/5/

“Adapting Tolkien Beyond Arda, or, How to Navigate the Political Minefield of the International Astronomical Union in Order to Name Features on Titan, Pluto, and Charon after Middle-earth.” In Adapting Tolkien, Proceedings of the Tolkien Society Seminar 2020, ed. Will Sherwood, The Tolkien Society, 127-46, 2021.

“Identification and Analysis of Pulsating Red Giants Misclassified by ASAS and ASAS-SN.”  Proceedings of the 39th Annual Symposium of the Society for Astronomical Sciences, eds. Robert K Buchheim et al. Society for Astronomical Sciences, 193-8, 2020.

“Ladies of the Forest: Melian and Mielikki.” Journal of Tolkien Research 9(1), article 6, 2020. Available at https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol9/iss1/6/.