Teaching Tolkien

Hi all, this is Vairë, or, as many of you know me, Sam. After this semester of work and readings and discussion, it is clear to me that there are quite a few takeaways to be had from this class. Tolkien is definitely a teachable work, and one with lasting value in a number of fields and areas of life. After coming to that realization, I wanted to ask you all a few questions: 1.) Do you agree with my assessment, or do you find difficulty applying the works of Tolkien to our molecular universe or legitimizing them without it 2.) Would you like to see Tolkien studies more frequently in school systems 3.) Does the lasting value of Tolkien's works, it's "legacy," warrant an entire field of studies 4.) would you follow such a course of study? I ask these things out of a lifelong curiosity over the teaching of creative thinking and humanities courses. I believe their teaching is integral to society as a whole, and I like to do a fact check and to analyze the ways that their teaching can be shown applicable and necessary. I hope you might contribute your opinions to my questions, whether you agree or disagree. I feel like there is a fight to legitimize everything from fantasy to philosophy, and if there is indeed a need for such, I would like to know how to defend the necessity of the work that is separate from the molecular.