Welcome to SPACE, our adult continuing education program which offers interactive monthly courses for personal enrichment! Learn more here.
April 2025 Modules
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Advanced Old English Series:
Readings in Poetry
Candidate
As soon as we obtain enough interest in this class we will be in touch to work out a meeting time that works for the group.
Thank you for keeping your Blackberry availability up to date!
Welcome to the Readings in Poetry page for the Advanced Old English Series in which students explore, in alternating months, a work of prose and then a work of poetry to introduce students to the breadth and depth of Old English texts available for study. Each month Dr. Swain surveys the group to see what they want to tackle next from month to month.
Precepted by
Dr.
Larry Swain
A History of the Vikings:
The Viking Diaspora
Cluster
Candidate
Hybrid
As soon as we obtain enough interest in this class we will be in touch to work out a meeting time that works for the group.
Thank you for keeping your Blackberry availability up to date!
From TV shows to computer games, the Vikings still manage to capture our imagination and ensnare us in an odd mix of fact and fiction. But who were they really? This new series aims to take a deep dive and provide challenging perspectives about the real Norse characters that shaped medieval Europe.
In this module we will walk (or sail!) in the footsteps of the Norse to discover how they changed and were changed by the worlds they encountered. In Britain, the great army conquered three kingdoms, intermingled with the local populace and forced the development of Wessex which would ultimately coalesce English unity. The assault on Ireland left monasteries devastated, but the Vikings also founded vital trade centres like Dublin and got involved in local wars. The raids in the Carolingian empire distrupted trade routes and eroded imperial power, ultimately leading to coopting the Norse into what would become the duchy of Normandy. To the East, the Rus reached the Byzantine empire where they formed elite guards, the Russian steppes beginning the process of state formation, as well as the far Muslim world they supplied with slaves. To the West, the troubled seas led them to settle the proto-democracy of Iceland, explore Greenland and even the coast of Canada. Through their travels, the course of medieval history was fundamentally altered by the Viking diaspora.
The module will follow an 8-session structure as shown below:
In this module we will walk (or sail!) in the footsteps of the Norse to discover how they changed and were changed by the worlds they encountered. In Britain, the great army conquered three kingdoms, intermingled with the local populace and forced the development of Wessex which would ultimately coalesce English unity. The assault on Ireland left monasteries devastated, but the Vikings also founded vital trade centres like Dublin and got involved in local wars. The raids in the Carolingian empire distrupted trade routes and eroded imperial power, ultimately leading to coopting the Norse into what would become the duchy of Normandy. To the East, the Rus reached the Byzantine empire where they formed elite guards, the Russian steppes beginning the process of state formation, as well as the far Muslim world they supplied with slaves. To the West, the troubled seas led them to settle the proto-democracy of Iceland, explore Greenland and even the coast of Canada. Through their travels, the course of medieval history was fundamentally altered by the Viking diaspora.
The module will follow an 8-session structure as shown below:
Outline | 8-Session Structure |
---|---|
Week 1 | Lecture 1: Norse kings in Britain and Ireland |
Discussion 1: Discussion about Lecture 1 material | |
Week 2 | Lecture 2: Assault on the Frankish Empire |
Discussion 2: Discussion about Lecture 2 material | |
Week 3 | Lecture 3: From Varangians to Russians |
Discussion 3: Discussion about Lecture 3 material | |
Week 4 | Lecture 4: The Atlantic Way: Iceland, Greenland, Vinland |
Discussion 4: Discussion about Lecture 3 material |
Precepted by
Dr.
Irina Manea
Book Club: Sequels of Dune
Candidate
As soon as we obtain enough interest in this class we will be in touch to work out a meeting time that works for the group.
Thank you for keeping your Blackberry availability up to date!
The saga of Dune is far from over...
Across two months, we will read Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's completion of Frank Herbert's Dune saga. Whether you are a new or continuing student in our Dune book club, all are welcome to join this class. Connect with book lovers, compare to Herbert's originals, and share your insights.
Let the spice flow!
Month 1: Hunters of Dune
Month 2: Sandworms of Dune
Across two months, we will read Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's completion of Frank Herbert's Dune saga. Whether you are a new or continuing student in our Dune book club, all are welcome to join this class. Connect with book lovers, compare to Herbert's originals, and share your insights.
Let the spice flow!
Month 1: Hunters of Dune
Month 2: Sandworms of Dune
Precepted by
Dr.
Julian Barr
Creative Writing: Workshop
Candidate
Meeting Tuesdays at 9:00 PM Eastern in the following pattern:
April 1st, 30 minute introductions and community time
April 8th, 90 minute Collaborative Feedback session
April 15th, 2 hour Collaborative Feedback session
April 22d, 2 hour Collaborative Feedback session
April 29th, 2 hour Collaborative Feedback session.
April 1st, 30 minute introductions and community time
April 8th, 90 minute Collaborative Feedback session
April 15th, 2 hour Collaborative Feedback session
April 22d, 2 hour Collaborative Feedback session
April 29th, 2 hour Collaborative Feedback session.
We will meet to blend learning, discussion, and playing games with reading, appreciating, and commenting on one another’s work as it is submitted for peer review. Writers are encouraged—but never required—to submit new pieces in any state of draftiness or readiness up to 2,000 words each week for peer reading and feedback. Our Collaborative Feedback method, developed here at Signum University, asks us to comment at the author's comfort level through a structured reader (not editor) response. We gather to encourage the story that the author wants to tell. Our philosophy of kindness first might just turn around your previous experience of writing groups.
A seat has been reserved in this module for any writer (especially a beginner) of marginalized identity to support them finding their voice. Please simply write to [email protected] to identify yourself if you wish to join the class.
Note: For more information about the Collaborative Feedback Method in SPACE, please check out our video here.
A seat has been reserved in this module for any writer (especially a beginner) of marginalized identity to support them finding their voice. Please simply write to [email protected] to identify yourself if you wish to join the class.
Note: For more information about the Collaborative Feedback Method in SPACE, please check out our video here.
Precepted by
Dr.
Carol Oliver