Category Archives: Original Research

Mythmoot VIII: The World Ahead! (June 24-27, 2021 Live-Online Hybrid)

Posted on June 10, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

“Home is behind, the world ahead / And there are many paths to tread” — J. R. R. Tolkien Although Signum University is a completely online school, offering a global-leading MA programme in imaginative literature and Germanic languages, we do … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links, Original Research | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, fantasy literature, Mythmoot, Science Fiction, Signum University, speculative fiction | 2 Comments

“The Personal Heresy” and C.S. Lewis’ Autoethnographic Instinct: An Invitation to Intimacy in Literature and Theology

Posted on June 3, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Canada’s annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences (Congress2021) is now winding down. I missed being live on the ground, stumbling with weary feet and droopy eyes from one brilliant intellectual session to another, discovering great local craft brewpubs … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research | Tagged An Experiment in Criticism, Autobiography, autoethnography, C.S. Lewis, Congress2021, De Descriptione Temporum, Heather Walton, Literary Theory, new criticism, Surprised by Joy, The Personal Heresy, theology and literature | 2 Comments

Michael Gorman’s Narrative Spiritual Theology and C.S. Lewis’ Logic of Cruciformity: A Conversation Across Generations and Disciplines by Brenton Dickieson

Posted on June 1, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

My past past few days has been taken up by Canada’s annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Congress2021–what scholarly Canadians used to call “the Learneds.” It was certainly a learning experience for me–and I am a bit mentally … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research | Tagged biblical theology, C.S. Lewis, Christian spirituality, Congress2021, cruciformity, Michael J. Gorman, spiritual theology, spirituality, St. Paul, The Shape of the Cross in C.S. Lewis’ Spiritual Theology | 1 Comment

“The Personal Heresy” and C.S. Lewis’ Autoethnographic Instinct: An Invitation to Intimacy in Literature and Theology (Congress2021 Paper)

Posted on May 28, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

As I noted yesterday, this week is Canada’s annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Congress2021. In the same morning, I am presenting twice, at two different societies–at the Canadian-American Theological Association with a paper on C.S. Lewis’ spiritual theology, … Continue reading →

Michael Gorman’s Narrative Spiritual Theology and C.S. Lewis’ Logic of Cruciformity: A Conversation Across Generations and Disciplines (Congress2021 Paper)

Posted on May 27, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

This week is Canada’s annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Congress2021–what scholarly Canadians used to call “the Learneds,” I believe, a short form of “the Learned Societies” that make up the conference. I am presenting twice, at two … Continue reading →

Why is Tolkien Scholarship Stronger than Lewis Scholarship? Part 3: Other Factors

Posted on April 20, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

As I have been chest-deep in academic works about C.S. Lewis and at least knee-deep in the same kinds of J.R.R. Tolkien books and articles, I conceived of a thought experiment. Without even glancing at my bookshelf, I can name … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Christopher Tolkien, J.R.R. Tolkien, Literary Theory, Lord of the Rings, owen barfield, scholarship, The Hobbit, Walter Hooper | 21 Comments

Biography of Dr. Brenton Dickieson

Posted on March 7, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Brenton D.G. Dickieson (BA, MCS, PhD) For fifteen years, Brenton Dickieson (PhD, Chester, 2020) has taught at the University of Prince Edward Island. Returning to the home of his undergraduate studies in 2006, he is now the Lecturer in Theology … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links, Original Research | Tagged academic, academic writing, C.S. Lewis, Inklings, J.R.R. Tolkien, L.M. Montgomery, research, scholarship, spiritual theology | 8 Comments

2020: A Year of Reading: The Nerd Bit, with Charts

Posted on January 13, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

“No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally – and often far more – worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond.”~ C.S. Lewis “On Stories” 2020 was my first full year … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Flannery O'Connor, Goodreads, Harry Potter, J.R.R. Tolkien, L.M. Montgomery, Marilynne Robinson, Narnia, Neil Gaiman, Nnedi Okorafor, Reading, Sorina Higgins, Stephen King | 2 Comments

The Legacy of Walter Hooper, C.S. Lewis’ Better Than Boswell

Posted on December 17, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

In the warm and appreciative introduction to a festschrift honouring Walter Hooper (1931-2020), C.S. Lewis and the Church (eds., Judith Wolfe and Brendan N. Wolfe), Andrew Cuneo compares Walter Hooper to James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck and biographer of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reflections | Tagged Andrew Cuneo, C.S. Lewis, Dr. Johnson, God in the Dock, James Boswell, Life of Samuel Johnson, Mere Christianity, Narnia, Of Other Worlds, owen barfield, Past Watchful Dragons, Spirits in Bondage, The Dark Tower, The Preface to Paradise Lost, Walter Hooper, Warren Lewis | 29 Comments

“A Sense of the Season”: C.S. Lewis’ Birthday Pivot and the Cambridge Inaugural Address

Posted on November 29, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

In the autumn of 1954 at the age of 56, C.S. Lewis was at the height of his academic career. After nearly two decades of research and writing English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, Excluding Drama, this magnum opus intensified … Continue reading →