Michael Drout

About Michael Drout

Author of The Tower and the Ruin: J.R.R. Tolkien\'s Creation, I am currently hold the Frances A. Shirley Professorship of English and am Director of the Center for the Study of the Medieval at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, where I am in my 29th year of teaching. I am available for lectures, both online and in person. Although I previously declined offers to change schools, I am now happy to listen to proposals-as long as there is teaching involved. My research and teaching is centered around Old and Middle English and Old Norse literature as well as fantasy and science fiction, particularly the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. A co-founder and co-editor of the journal Tolkien Studies, I have published over 100 books and articles and have recorded 13 audio courses for Recorded Books\' The Modern Scholar series as well as the 40+ hour audio series Exploring Beowulf, and, most recently, the audio book for The Tower and the Ruin. I have appeared on The History Channel\'s \"Clash of the Gods\" and \"True Monsters,\" National Geographic\'s \"Beyond the Lord of the Rings,\" and on \"Icons Unearthed: The Lord of the Rings,\" and for the past 20 years I have been an unofficial consultant for The Lord of the Rings Online MMPORG. I have published short essays on Tolkien in the Washington Post and New York Times. Other books include How Tradition Works (2003); J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia (Ed.)(2006); Tradition and Influence in Anglo-Saxon Literature (2013); Beowulf Unlocked (2016); Transitional States (2018), and How to Learn How to Think: The Liberal Arts and their Enduring Value (2025).

Experience

1. Professor of English

   Wheaton College Massachusetts

   Jul 1997 — Present

   Director, Center for the Study of the Medieval

Education

• Loyola University Chicago

  Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), English

  1993 — 1997

• University of Missouri-Columbia

  M.A., English

  1991 — 1993

• Stanford University

  Master of Arts (M.A.), Communication (Journalism)

  1990 — 1991