Mythcon 48 - July 28 - 31, 2017

Mythcon 48
All That Is Gold

Champaign-Urbana, Illinois
July 28 - 31, 2017

Mythcon 48 Schedule
Mythcon 48 Souvenir Program Book
SONG LYRICS for Closing Ceremonies
Mythcon 48 Registration
Mythcon 48 Room & Board
Mythcon 48 Progress Report
Call For Papers

The Mythopoeic Society launched a series of 50th anniversaries, starting with the founding of the Society in 2017; the initial solicitation of articles for Mythlore in 2018; and of our Mythopoeic conferences in 2019. For the fiftieth anniversary of our Society, we related to gold - all that is gold!

Theme

Gold in fantasy:
Greed for gold: Tolkien's dwarves and gold lust, economic systems in fantasy and fantasy gaming
Gold as a color: color symbolism in fantasy and heraldry
Gold as an element: gold and other fantastic elements and materials like mithril, octarine, meteorite metal, unobtanium, or the list of semi-precious gems in Tolkien's "Errantry"...
The Golden Age: in fantasy and myth, of fantasy as a genre

Digging for Gold in the Archives:
Primary and secondary materials about the Inklings and other fantasy authors in the archives at Marquette University, the Wade Center, Oxford University, and other locations
Fan material and society archives
Materials in collections at the University of Illinois, especially the Center for Children’s Books
Archives, libraries, writing, and research IN fantasy

Mythcon 48 Souvenir Program Book, front and back covers, available for purchase in our Store.

Guests of Honor

William Fliss, Archivist at the Marquette University Special Collections and Archives
William Fliss has been an archivist at Marquette University in Milwaukee since 2003. An ardent Tolkien fan since childhood, Bill assumed the dream job of being curator for Marquette’s J. R. R. Tolkien manuscript collection in January 2012. Since 2013, he has presented bi-monthly public showings of original Tolkien manuscripts, drawing visitors from all over the United States and Canada. Since 2014, Bill has taught an annual Honors Seminar at Marquette on The Lord of the Rings, incorporating Tolkien’s manuscripts into the instruction. A native of Wisconsin, he received a master’s degree in history and a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In his free time, Bill is currently completing a doctorate in U.S. History from Marquette.

Laura Schmidt, Archivist at the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College
Laura Schmidt graduated with a BA in English literature and history from Wheaton College in 2003, and a master’s degree in archives and records management from the University of Michigan’s School of Information in 2005. The degree she values most highly however might be the Doctor of Hobbit Letters (DhL) she received from the American Tolkien Society in 2003.

She has served as archivist for twelve years at The Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College, and also volunteers as the historian at a local historical society and as a church librarian. She is the author of Using Archives: A Guide to Effective Research (Society of American Archivists, 2011), and has spoken extensively on the Wade Center and its seven authors over the years.

Location

Mythcon 48 was held at the St. John’s Catholic Newman Center at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois, and our primary room and board options were dorm rooms and suites, all in the same building with programming and meals. We had air-conditioning and free wi-fi; there are a limited number of parking spaces available at $30 for the weekend. It turned out to be a great location!

Please visit our Room & Board page for more details and purchase options.

Getting There

The University of Illinois tells you how to get to campus or, from Champaign County's website: getting to Champaign - you can drive, fly (American Airlines currently serves the Champaign-Urbana airport; after June 8, 2017, United Airlines will, too), take a train (Champaign is on the Chicago-Carbondale track), take a bus (Greyhound), or a combination of those options (shuttle from O'Hare or Midway Airports in Chicago). There are also other interesting things to do in the area, some of which you can read about here.