Robin Anne Reid is a scholar of literature who has specialized in feminist studies and

Tolkien studies ''Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review'' is an academic journal publishing papers on the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. The journal's founding editors are Douglas A. Anderson Douglas Allen Anderson (born December 30, 1959) is an American ...

. She was a professor of English at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

until her retirement in 2020.

Biography

Robin Anne Reid took her B.A. and M.A. at

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...

in 1979 and 1981, followed by an MA at Middlebury College in 1984. She completed her Ph.D. at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...

in 1992. She has taught courses at both undergraduate and graduate level on topics in literature including fantasy and Tolkien. She began her career at Western Washington University in 1979, moving successively to Boise State University in 1985 and Olympic Community College in 1989. She then served as a professor of English from 1993 at

. She retired in May 2020, refusing the title of "Professor Emerita", and using instead the description "independent scholar". In a 2022 article, she described herself as "A Queer Atheist Feminist Autist". She studied feminism for some ten years and then switched to

. She has also written on fantasy and science fiction more widely, such as on

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

. Reid's work on

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

and his

Middle-earth Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the '' Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth i ...

writings includes papers and a bibliographic essay on

Tolkien and race J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings have often been accused of embodying outmoded attitudes to race. However, scholars have noted that he was influenced by Victorian attitudes to race and to a literary tradition of monsters, and tha ...

. She has written on homosexuality in Tolkien's text and fan responses to it. With Judy Ann Ford, she has contributed to scholarly analysis of Peter Jackson's film interpretation of ''The Lord of the Rings''.

Reception

Reviewing Reid's book ''Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy'', K. A. Laity wrote that it is an "immense, glossy reference book ... aimed at the library market", with a scope spanning both academic and fan sources. Benjamin Lawson writes of Reid's ''Ray Bradbury: A Critical Companion'' that it succeeds in being useful to the general reader, having been designed as an introduction for young adults. Lawson finds the "Alternative Perspectives" section at the end of the analysis of each of Bradbury's books "the chief novelty and sophistication" of this particular ''Companion''. In the space of three pages each, these sections give an update on recent theory, including in some cases

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures us ...

or "more daringly" queer theory.

Books

Authored

* 1997: ''

: A Critical Companion''.

Greenwood Press Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as G ...

. * 2000: ''

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery fictio ...

: A Critical Companion''.

Edited

* 2009: ''The Encyclopedia of Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy''.

. * 2009: ''The Green Book of Westmarch''. (with Judy Ann Ford). Resources gathered for the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

Summer Institute.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Robin Anne Year of birth missing (living people) Nationality missing Living people Tolkien studies Science fiction studies Feminist writers Atheist feminists Queer feminists Atheist writers Queer writers Queer women American LGBT academics American LGBT writers People on the autism spectrum 21st-century American LGBT people 21st-century American writers 21st-century American women writers Western Washington University alumni Middlebury College alumni