Public Relations Class Creatively Campaigns for J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Dorothy Sayers

Dr. Christie Kleinmann implements findings from ‘Inklings Project’ fellowship into the classroom

In a blend of literature and strategic communications, public relations professor Dr. Christie Kleinmann is implementing the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Dorothy Sayers into her classroom through a fellowship program she joined in 2024. 

Kleinmann was selected as one of 13 fellows in the worldwide Inklings Project, a fellowship diving into the works of the renowned group of English writers in the 1930s and 1940s. One of the primary responsibilities of professors in the cohort is to find creative ways to implement the Inklings’ works into their course materials. 

Drawing from her fellowship, Kleinmann transformed the Inklings’ literary works into engaging subject matter for her students to create a full PR campaign around. She tasked her class to generate interest in the writers among the Belmont community. 

“We work with clients a lot in our PR curriculum here, but we’ve never had anything quite as interdisciplinary as this,” said Kleinmann. “This involves public relations, communications, marketing, English, media, and each aspect requires a different viewpoint. That makes this project unique for us.” 

The Groups — Tolkien, Lewis, Sayers 

The class divided into three groups, each tasked with generating and executing a PR campaign around one of the Inklings — one focused on Tolkien, one on Lewis and the other on the lesser-known Sayers. Some campaign strategies students developed included: 

• Creating social media accounts 

• Hosting and marketing WELL Core events on campus for students 

• Drafting press releases and pitching them to institutions such as podcasters, the Belcourt Theatre and the Inklings Foundation 

• Recording podcasts 

• Crafting audience personas 

• Partnering with campus organizations 

• Planning and executing a scavenger hunt 

“In class, it can be hard to write stories and press releases about things we have to make up,” said junior PR major Lily Rosen of the Tolkien group. “It’s nice to have something so real to work with and apply the things we are learning in class to a subject like this.”

Wisdom to Wonder 

The class structure follows what Kleinmann calls a “wonder to wisdom” approach.  

“The way to captivate students and people that aren’t familiar with these works is to use the wonder found in all three of the authors’ works as the lure to get people in,” said senior PR major Eva Campos of the Lewis group. “From there, you can show that each author has so much great material to teach you about life and about yourself.” 

The approach presented different challenges for each group based on the author they are focused on. 

For senior creative and entertainment studies major Lucy Benish, working with Dorothy Sayers meant introducing students to an author most were unfamiliar with. Her group not only had to describe her works but also convey who she was. 

“She’s considered the black sheep of the Inklings,” said Benish. “As the only female, she wasn’t fully recognized as part of the group. We had to find the balance between presenting her identity while not letting that take away from the validity of her work — we knew we didn’t want her story to overpower her novels.” 

Oppositely, Campos’ and Rosen’s groups had to navigate audiences’ preconceptions about their authors and their devotees. 

For Campos, presenting Lewis meant creatively strategizing how to showcase the author’s ability to speak on heavy, polarizing issues through whimsical means. 

“It was honestly a cool challenge,” she said. “He has so much commentary about major world issues like war, religion, politics and having enemies in general. It was fun to apply his fictional stories to issues we are still experiencing today to help us be more objective in the way we look at hard things.” 

One of the biggest challenges for the Tolkien group was making him relatable to audiences that typically view his works and fans as too fantastical or nerdy. 

“We hosted an event where Dr. Barry Ballinger from architecture discussed Tolkien's idea of a ‘secondary world,’” said Rosen. “He talked about how anything we do creates a separate world from the real world, just as Tolkien’s writings created a new world separate from our own. Not only is it about creating, but we should also think about how to make that world better.”  

The Payoff 

The Inklings experience offered students lessons extending beyond the traditional classroom. 

“It was the most well-rounded idea of PR, not just writing,” said Benish. “Even though it was a writing class, we were really involving everything — connecting with people, pitching, hosting events, writing, researching and more.” 

In merging classic literature and modern communications strategies, Kleinmann and Belmont’s PR department is showcasing the kind of experiential learning that sets Belmont’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences apart from other universities. 

The program is creating PR professionals who can think creatively across disciplines while mastering practical skills, as evident by Campos, Benish and Rosen.