A group of Trinity Western professors have been discovering how a circle of 20th century Oxford writers, including C.S. Lewis and his contemporaries, can speak to the questions, concerns, and lives of students and scholars today.
This discovery is taking place through the Inklings Institute of Canada, housed in the Department of English and Creative Writing at TWU. Professors Dr. Monika Hilder and Dr. Stephen Dunning have been leading the institute as its co-founders and co-directors. The Inklings Institute now celebrates 10 years since its founding in 2013.
See the Inklings Institute of Canada 10th Anniversary celebration event
Mentors in literature and in life
Whether the writing is fantasy, poetry, mystery, or crime literature, the works of the Oxford Inklings group—which includes C.S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams, and J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as friends and mentors such as Dorothy L. Sayers, George MacDonald, and G.K. Chesterton—contain a wealth of treasure for the curious mind.
"The Inklings Institute cultivates a space both to discuss the writings of these justly-famous authors, and to connect Christian readers, scholars, and artists together in a way that takes inspiration from how the Inklings modelled community."
In addition to being accomplished writers, the Inklings are exemplars of thoughtful, faithful Christian thinkers for whom biblical truths have illuminated their understanding of the world and informed their life and writings.
As Dr. Laura Van Dyke says, "The Inklings Institute cultivates a space both to discuss the writings of these justly-famous authors, and to connect Christian readers, scholars, and artists together in a way that takes inspiration from how the Inklings modelled community."
The serious business of joy
In introducing the Inklings Institute, Dr. Monika Hilder begins by quoting C. S. Lewis, “‘Joy is the serious business of Heaven,’ and few things are as joyous as growing the moral imagination through studying literature in community.”
Scholars and students seek to develop critical thinking through engagement with the Inklings writers, “We encourage the advancement of Inklings scholarship through literary criticism and related collaborative research across the disciplines, investigating how these authors critiqued their own cultures to help us respond to our own historical and cultural context.”
In doing so, the Inklings Institute is helping to form the next generation of literary thinkers. As Dr. Hilder notes, “Our special delight is in how students respond to the Inklings in transformative ways: in formal and informal discussion, in academic papers and presentations, and in creative writing and performances.”
“We ask ourselves how the Inklings and Inklings-related authors spoke into their cultures and how their voices continue to resonate with us today."
Deeper truths
Dr. Dunning was himself a young man who was caught up by the depths and the wisdom within the Inklings’ writings.
“After having finished reading The Lord of The Rings as a teenager,” he recalls, “I attempted to explain to my mother how profoundly the work had influenced me. I cannot remember what I said, but at the end of my attempt, she looked at me and said, ‘But it isn't true.’”
This moment was an early step in Dr. Dunning’s journey into Inklings scholarship:
“I wanted to tell her that it was, that it was truer than the kitchen table at which I was sitting, truer than anything else she would care to mention. At the time, however, I did not have the training to explain what I meant, and I suppose that I have spent much of my adult life, and certainly my life as an academic, trying to develop a worldview and a vocabulary that would have allowed me to respond adequately to my dear mother's doubts.”
Today, Dr. Dunning and Dr. Hilder along with their colleagues continue to seek the deeper truths: “We ask ourselves how the Inklings and Inklings-related authors spoke into their cultures and how their voices continue to resonate with us today. What did these authors love and what did they worry about? What societal problems did they address and what solutions did they suggest? How did their Christian faith impact them? What did these literary artists not talk about? How did they manage to engage their cultures and our own so transformatively?”
Celebrating 10 years of scholarship
Over the years, the Inklings Institute has advanced interdisciplinary research, published books and articles in peer-reviewed journals, and hosted numerous public lectures, discussions, and events to foster greater appreciation for the works of the Inklings.
Recent projects include a co-edited book addressing all seven of the Inklings-related authors together, in a first-of-its kind collection: The Inklings and Culture: A Harvest of Scholarship from the Inklings Institute of Canada, published with Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Dr. Hilder along with Dr. Sara Pearson and Dr. Laura Van Dyke are the volume’s co-editors. Their volume features writings from twenty-seven renowned and emerging scholars, including TWU professors from a variety of disciplines and graduates of the MA in Interdisciplinary Humanities program.
The Inklings Institute has engaged widely with scholars from other disciplines and institutions, including participating in a SFU Philosophers’ Café event to discuss mythology and science in 2017, and partnering with TWU’s School of the Arts, Media + Culture to produce a joint conference in 2016, “Arts & The Inklings”.
In 2019, the Inklings Institute hosted an evening with English poet-singer and academic Malcolm Guite. Serving as voices within broader media, in 2013, Inklings Institute members contributed to the documentary C.S. Lewis and the Inklings on CBC Radio, and in 2018, Inklings Institute members participated in the documentary The Fantasy Makers directed by Andrew Wall.
See also — TWU's Dr. Monika Hilder launches new book on how fairy tales help us find courage and hope, and teach us to live well
TWU News
About the Inklings Institute of Canada
The Inklings Institute of Canada (IIC), housed in the Department of English & Creative Writing at Trinity Western University, is a group of Canadian and international scholars who research the works of the Oxford Inklings group—including C.S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams, and J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as friends such as Dorothy L. Sayers, and their literary mentors, earlier writers such as George MacDonald and G.K. Chesterton. It is an interdisciplinary research effort that formalizes, strengthens and advances Trinity Western University’s contribution to international research on the works of the Oxford Inklings group.
About English and Creative Writing at TWU
Studying English literature and creative writing prepares you for the complexities of life, sharpens your perspectives, and develops your ability to think and communicate with clarity, eloquence, and creativity. By engaging with authors and texts that have stood the test of time and by developing your own voice through writing, you will learn to navigate the intersecting stories that make up our world with both wisdom and compassion. Learn more at English and Creative Writing at TWU.
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is a global Christian liberal arts university. We are dedicated to equipping students to discover meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. Drawing upon the riches of the Christian tradition, seeking to unite faith and reason through teaching and scholarship, Trinity Western University is a degree-granting research institution offering liberal arts and sciences as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has four locations in Canada: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Instagram @trinitywestern, Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn. For media inquiries, please contact: media@twu.ca.