Bradley J. Birzer
Bradley J. Birzer | |
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Born | 6 September 1967 |
Alma mater | University of Notre Dame Indiana University Bloomington |
Occupation | Historian |
Employer | Hillsdale College |
Bradley J. Birzer (born 1967) is an American historian. He is a history professor and the Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies at Hillsdale College, the author of five books and the co-founder of The Imaginative Conservative. He is known also as a Tolkien scholar.
Early life
Birzer graduated from the University of Notre Dame, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1990.[1] He earned a PhD from Indiana University Bloomington in 1998.[1]
Career
Birzer is a History professor and the Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies at Hillsdale College.[1]
Birzer is the author of several books. His first book, J.R.R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth, was about Roman Catholicism in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels. It examines Tolkien's views on myth and subcreation, the theological cosmology of Middle-earth, and his approaches to heroism, the nature of evil, and modernity.[2]
His second book looked at Saint Augustine's influence on the British 20th century Catholic historian Christopher Dawson.[3] His third book was a biography of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the only Roman Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence.[4] His two other books were about the Canadian musician Neil Peart and the American political theorist and literary critic Russell Kirk.
From 2014 to 2015, Birzer was visiting scholar in conservative thought and policy at the University of Colorado Boulder's Center for Western Civilization, Thought & Policy.[5]
Reception
Journalist Christopher Caldwell, reviewing Birzer's book Russell Kirk: American Conservative for The New York Times, states that Birzer "succeeds admirably" in discerning an overarching project in Russell Kirk's writing. He also says, however, that Birzer "exaggerates Kirk's importance in the past decades' revival of interest in Burke and Tocqueville" and "ascribes to Kirk a larger role than the facts warrant in the early stages of Barry Goldwater's campaign for the 1964 Republican nomination". He concludes that "Kirk is too often the book's hero rather than its subject".[6]
Political scientist Lee Trepanier, reviewing the same book for The Independent Review, states that "Birzer's book both deepens and broadens the themes that previous biographies about Kirk have explored" and concludes that "Birzer's book is not only accessible and scholarly but provides the historical, intellectual, and philosophical context to understand the man and his ideas. For years to come, it will be seen as the standard, if not definitive, account of Russell Kirk's life and ideas".[7]
Political scientist Jeff Taylor, reviewing Birzer's book In Defense of Andrew Jackson for The American Conservative, states that, before reading the book, he "feared this might be a lightweight pro-Jackson tract, with a trendy Donald Trump tie-in", but admits that he was wrong after reading it.[8] He praises Birzer as a bona fide historian and notes that the tone of the book is not defensive.[8][clarification needed]
Author and columnist Dave Benner, reviewing the same book for the Abbeville Institute, criticizes its title, saying that it "does not properly conceptualize the book's chief premise" because "Birzer does more to defend the age which produced a Jackson than Jackson himself", but concludes that:
Rather than defend or criticize Jackson’s views and responses to every conceivable political subject, Birzer’s work instead portrays Jackson as a man who was frank, honest, and consistent – for better or worse. Rather than justify Jackson’s deeds, In Defense of Jackson instead depicts Jackson in the context of his own world. In doing so, Birzer makes a remarkable contribution to the Jackson historiography that effectively tackles Old Hickory’s political disposition in a concise single volume. Whether one enters into its pages admiring or loathing Jackson, Birzer’s book is a must-read.[9]
Selected works
- Birzer, Bradley J. (2003). J.R.R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle-earth. Wilmington, Delaware: ISI Books. ISBN 9781932236200. OCLC 54742159.
- Birzer, Bradley J. (2007). Sanctifying the World: The Augustinian Life and Mind of Christopher Dawson. Front Royal, Virginia: Christendom Press. ISBN 9780931888861. OCLC 230095474.
- Birzer, Bradley J. (2014). American Cicero: Charles Carroll of Carrollton. Wilmington, Delaware: ISI Books. ISBN 9781497635715. OCLC 883300592.
- Birzer, Bradley J. (2015). Neil Peart: Cultural (Re)Percussions. Colorado Springs, Colorado: WordFire Press. ISBN 9781614753544. OCLC 923310688.
- Birzer, Bradley J. (2015). Russell Kirk: American Conservative. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813166193. OCLC 973052580.
- Birzer, Bradley J. (2018). In Defense of Andrew Jackson. Washington, D.C.: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781621578437.
References
- ^ a b c "Brad Birzer". Hillsdale College. 2016-03-21. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
- ^ "J.R.R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle-Earth". Publishers Weekly. October 28, 2002. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
- ^ Mitchell, Philip Irving (March 1, 2010). "Book Review: Sanctifying the World: The Augustinian Life and Mind of Christopher Dawson". Christianity & Literature. 59 (2): 369–371. doi:10.1177/014833311005900224.
- ^ McDaniel, Stefan (August 2010). "American Cicero by Bradley J. Birzer". First Things. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
- ^ "Bradley J. Birzer". 2015-09-24.
- ^ Caldwell, Christopher (2016-01-22). "'Russell Kirk: American Conservative,' by Bradley J. Birzer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
- ^ Trepanier, Lee (2016). "Book Review | Russell Kirk: American Conservative, by Bradley J. Birzer". The Independent Institute. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
- ^ a b Taylor, Jeff (2019). "Andrew Jackson: Our First Populist President". The American Conservative. 18 (1): 60.
- ^ Benner, Dave. "In Defense of Andrew Jackson". Abbeville Institute. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
- v
- t
- e
and songs
- Songs for the Philologists (1936)
- The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son (1953)
- "A Walking Song" (1954)
- The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (1962)
- "Errantry"
- "Fastitocalon"
- "The Sea-Bell"
- "The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late"
- The Road Goes Ever On (1967)
- Bilbo's Last Song (1974)
- List of Tolkien's alliterative verse
- The Hobbit (1937)
- "Leaf by Niggle" (1947)
- The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun (1945)
- Farmer Giles of Ham (1949)
- The Lord of the Rings:
- The Fellowship of the Ring (1954)
- The Two Towers (1954)
- The Return of the King (1955)
- Tree and Leaf (1964)
- The Tolkien Reader (1966)
- Smith of Wootton Major (1967)
fiction
- The Father Christmas Letters (1976)
- The Silmarillion (1977)
- Unfinished Tales (1980)
- Mr. Bliss (1982)
- The History of Middle-earth (1983–1996)
- Roverandom (1998)
- The Children of Húrin (2007)
- The History of The Hobbit (2007)
- The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún (2009)
- The Fall of Arthur (2013)
- The Story of Kullervo (2015)
- Beren and Lúthien (2017)
- The Fall of Gondolin (2018)
- The Nature of Middle-earth (2021)
- The Fall of Númenor (2022)
works
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Middle English text, 1925)
- "The Devil's Coach Horses" (1925)
- "Ancrene Wisse and Hali Meiðhad" (1929)
- "Sigelwara Land" (1932–34)
- "Chaucer as a Philologist: The Reeve's Tale" (1934)
- "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" (1936)
- "On Fairy-Stories" (1939)
- "On Translating Beowulf" (1940)
- Sir Orfeo (1944)
- Ancrene Wisse (1962)
- "English and Welsh" (1963)
- Jerusalem Bible (as translator and lexicographer, 1966)
academic
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo (translations, 1975)
- Exodus (1981)
- Finn and Hengest (1982)
- The Monsters and the Critics, and Other Essays (1983)
- Beowulf and the Critics (2002)
- Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary with "Sellic Spell" (2014)
- A Secret Vice (2016)
Writers |
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Christian | |
Literary critics |
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Linguists | |
Medievalists |
- A Tolkien Compass
- Family
- Influences
- Artwork
- J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator
- Languages constructed by Tolkien
- The Inklings
- The Keys of Middle-earth
- Mythlore
- Mythopoeic Society
- Picturing Tolkien
- Tolkien and the Classical World
- Tolkien's impact on fantasy
- Tolkien and the modernists
- Tolkien Estate
- Tolkien fandom
- The Tolkien Society
- Tolkien Studies
- Memorials
- Reception
- Tolkien research
- Works inspired by Tolkien
- J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography (1977, authorized biography)
- The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide
- Master of Middle-Earth
- Perilous Realms
- Tolkien and the Great War
- The Worlds of J. R. R. Tolkien
- Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth
- Tolkien: A Cultural Phenomenon
- Tolkien, Race and Cultural History
- Tolkien's Art: 'A Mythology for England'
- Tolkien (biographical film)
- Poems and Songs of Middle Earth (album)
- Language and Human Nature
- The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary
- Understanding The Lord of the Rings