Wade Center lecture series examines visions of justice in fantasy works

On Thursday, Feb. 26, the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College presents second lecture in the 2026 Wade Center Hansen Series.

Throughout much of the 20th century, the literary establishment frequently dismissed works of fantasy as insignificant, juvenile, and less worthy than more modern and realistic works. But the authors of the Marion E. Wade Center knew better. For them, such works were never just fantasy. Fantasy mattered to them, both as a high form of art and as a means of practicing their faith.

Several of the Wade authors defended fantasy literature in their essays and literary criticism, and — as many critics and scholars have noted — they turned to genre fiction again and again to express themselves creatively, explore their deepest convictions, and “steal past [the] watchful dragons” of religiosity.

What scholars haven’t fully considered, however, is the relationship between these authors’ writings and their conceptions of justice.

In these three lectures, Dr. Jim Beitler, English professor and director of the Marion E. Wade Center, looks to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Dorothy L. Sayers, G.K. Chesterton, and George MacDonald with questions of justice in mind.

With the help of these “Fantastic Five,” audience members will see that fantasy’s otherworlds have much to teach about rights and wrongs, just and unjust societies, and what it means to give people their due.

“The Hammer of God: Sub-creation and Divine Justice” will feature a lecture by Beitler and a response by Dr. Vince Bacote, theology professor and director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics, at 7 p.m. in the Wade Center's Bakke Auditorium, 351 E. Lincoln Ave. in Wheaton. The series is free and open to the public.

Fantasy stories always present visions of justice. As sub-creators conjure mythical creatures, strange lands, invented cultures, and new languages, they also offer depictions of the just society, of right and wrong, and of what it means to render to everyone his or her due.

But not all fantastical visions of justice are created equal, and the writings of the “Fantastic Five” offer resources for interpreting these visions well.

In the second lecture, they will mine the authors’ essays and stories for insights about how to read fantasy literature with questions of justice in mind.

Bakke Auditorium is located on the northwest corner of campus at the intersection of Washington Street and Lincoln Avenue. Parking is located in the lot on the east side of Washington Street. For more information, contact the Wade Center at (630) 752-5908 or wade@wheaton.edu.