Originally Posted by
Helena Handbaskets
In the U.S., at least, until the movies came out, it seems to me to have been most typical that a fan of Tolkien would have encountered his books in college / university. At least for my own generation, and the one just prior, it seemed to me that reading Tolkien was characteristically a college experience. Not, of course, that he was unknown to those who never attended, nor that he was universally read by those who did. But my perception is that in the U.S., before the movies were made, there probably was a correlation between a college education and familiarity with Tolkien in particular.
FWIW when I was in high school in the U.S.A, Tolkein was taught in the 9th grade, non-honors track literature classes. Never saw mention of it, either in classes or around campus, in college. My first thought on seeing the phrase in your title was that it somehow referred to the EU.
David-A, your remarks bring to mind a story from one of Bill Bryson's books in which he describes how the most unlikely (to him, at least) folks in England are apt to be experts in medieval language, or botany or some other specialized learning that one would never find in a person in comparable employment in America.