Couple of Star Wars ones:

The Climate of Middle-earth by Huinesoron on 2014-01-02 15:22:00 UTC Reply

Um.

So.

The Climate of Middle Earth (sic), by 'Radagast the Brown, Rhosgobel, nr. Carrock, Mirkwood, Middle Earth'.

Someone (well, some wizard) has created climate models for Middle-earth in the Second Age - and written a paper on it. He's even uploaded what attempt to be Cirth (Dwarvish) and Tengwar (Elvish) versions - though, sadly, they seem to be created just by changing the font, so the Tengwar version in particular doesn't make the blindest bit of sense.

Several aspects of the Middle Earth simulation are discussed, including the importance of prevailing wind direction for elvish sailing boats, the effect of heat and drought on the vegetation of Mordor, and the rain-shadow effects of the Misty Mountains.

I am sorely tempted to work on a Quenya translation of this - or at least of the Abstract. Hmm...

Sorry, getting distracted. So, apart from the fact that this is awesome (it is, right?), are there any other examples of scholarly papers which treat fictional worlds as real? Anyone? This is pretty fun.

hS

Couple of Star Wars ones: by the Irish Samurai on 2014-01-03 00:02:00 UTC Reply

There's the Endor Holocaust Theory, which basically states that all life on the moon of Endor would cease to exist after the events of Return of the Jedi.

Then there's a rebuttal to that theory. That article doesn't appear to exist online anymore, but a pdf download can be found by clicking on the appropriate link on this webcomic page.

I haven't read either one for a while, so I can't remember how 'scholarly' they actually are, but thought that they might be of interest.

I think you've understated the case a little. by Huinesoron on 2014-01-03 16:52:00 UTC Reply

The EH article is only one of the massive collection of Star Wars Technical Commentaries. Seriously, it's huge.

It also reminded me of the Turbolaser Commentaries, which I suspect are someone's attempt to fill a hole in the SWTC...

hS
Cool theory, but jossed. :( by Ekyl on 2014-01-03 16:41:00 UTC Reply

Apparently the canon outcome is a bunch of X-Wings flew around and destroyed all the debris and stuff after the battle.

Not necessarily. by Huinesoron on 2014-01-03 16:46:00 UTC Reply

Not only is that point raised in the theory itself ("The trouble with any attempt by the rebels to do something about the explosion is that the combined mass of the rebel fleet is equal to only a tiny speck of the Death Star's surface."), but the place I've seen that outcome most recently - one of the X-Wing graphic novels - only shows the immediate aftermath of the destruction. Sure, the Rebels made an effort to intercept the debris... but what happened after they realised it was totally impossible to stop the Holocaust?

And even if they did - it wouldn't have helped. Again from the FAQ:

Does it matter whether the bulk of the station was vaporised?

No. Material that is turned to vapour does not vanish. Vapour cools rapidly by radiating its heat to space and also by conducting heat to air once it hits the atmosphere. The result of this cooling is that the vapour would recondense as solid soot, like water precipitating as snowflakes. Indeed the margins of the Death Star II explosion appeared sooty before many of the ground troops noticed the fireball. Therefore some condensation began to occur only seconds after the detonation. In any case the explosion shows numerous large tumbling solid fragments, each of which alone is sufficient to cause a global mass-extinction event. In summary, there are two extreme alternatives, and a mixture of intermediate possiblities in between: (1) big solid chunks of the DS impacting on the surface and throwing up fallout dust; or (2) huge volumes of metallic vapour condensing in the atmosphere to give a similar amount of dust.

And yes, it covers being annihilated into energy (gamma-ray burst) and even being displaced into hyperspace, too.

hS

Interesting and true, but... by Ekyl on 2014-01-04 19:44:00 UTC Reply

What I meant was I'm pretty sure some canon bigwig (maybe Lucas himself? He likes to squash anything actually /interesting/ about Star Wars) stepped in and definitively stated there was no Endor holocaust no matter what should've happened. So we can theorise about the should-haves but that doesn't matter much if someone in charge of what's canon or not puts their foot down on it.

I could be remembering wrong, of course.

Mordor is Texas. Not surprised. ;) (nm) by Ekyl on 2014-01-02 22:14:00 UTC Reply
Ach, Quenya is hard work. by Huinesoron on 2014-01-02 16:24:00 UTC Reply

All that time and I'm only one paragraph in...

I Lúrë Endoressë

Sintë Quettar

Hyalin sinessë, tanan ar quetin pa handë emma i lúrëo Endoressello; Quendi, Casari, ar Periandi (ar á enyalië Istari ve ni!) marë tás. Haris nóressë pan tanan yando emmar i lúrëo Vinya Endoressë i Firyiva, ar Yára Endoressë, írë ulundor turner Endor andanéya.

Fun stuff.

hS
Not precisely what you're after, but... by wobblestheclown on 2014-01-02 16:22:00 UTC Reply

Umberto Eco's latest book, The Book Of Legendary Lands, is intimately concerned with the geography of the fantastic and the fictional. I'd say it was worth a read whatever your opinion on its relevance to the topic at hand was. =]