August 2025 Modules

Struggling to express your ideas clearly? Wondering why your papers aren’t landing the way you’d hoped? Whether you're just starting out or preparing for publication, this tutorial is designed to help you write with clarity, confidence, and impact.

Our preceptors offer individualized support tailored to your goals—whether you're crafting a research paper, polishing a thesis, developing a conference proposal, or navigating the peer review process. We'll help you transform rough ideas into strong arguments, untangle writer’s block, and craft compelling prose that says exactly what you mean (yes, with grammar that sings).

Sessions may include guidance on structure and organization, revision strategies, citation practices (MLA, Chicago, etc.), research methods, and even engagement with literary theory. Our goal is to help you become the academic writer you want to be—ready to participate fully in scholarly conversations and share your work with confidence.

Simply click the blue "vote to reserve your seat" button to set aside a token here: This confirms your interest in working with a tutor/mentor and secures your spot in this tutorial. After you vote, our team will follow up by email and help you get matched to a tutor at a time that works for you.

For this month's module we will explore Boethius’ On the Consolation of Philosophy which Alfred the Great had translated into Old English. This module will translate and comment on this translation and how it adapts the late Roman text to the early medieval context.

Want to read the NT in the original Greek? The Greek translation of the Old Testament? This module’s for you! The first module seeks to introduce learners to the basics of ancient Greek: the alphabet, introduction to the verb system (tenses and moods) and the noun system (the very helpful article, first and second declension). Over several modules, the students will learn the foundations of the language and then students will be able to read texts.

Note: All sessions will be live recorded and shared with all enrolled students afterward for review and to allow those who cannot attend live to still participate in the class.

Zhuangzi is often presented as the second thinker of classical Daoist thought after Laozi, but in terms of impact on East Asian philosophy and fine arts, Zhuangzi is probably the more significant figure. We will read the text together, taking plenty of time to discuss participant interpretations, all within the framework of the preceptor-provided cultural and historical commentary. Zhuangzi is simply delightful, treating weighty topics with a light and humorous touch. Come join us for Free-and-Easy Wandering through this most idiosyncratic of classical Chinese texts!

In this module, you will discover how to make your story's setting a vivid and fully-realized character in its own right! Through fun and engaging writing exercises, you will learn techniques to create immersive environments that grow and change along with your characters. Find out how to use sensory details to create a feeling of place in your story. In workshops, you will have the opportunity to share your novel-in-progress and receive feedback in a kindness-first, supportive environment. In your journal, you will continue to document the process of writing your novel as your story unfolds.

Year of the Novel Note: Anyone is welcome to join our Year of the Novel modules at any time. Each module is designed to stand alone without prerequisites. However, for the richest experience, the carefully planned sequence of modules will carry you from blank page as far as you want toward completing your novel. In a writing journal, you will track your progress and moments of unexpected, joyful discovery as you continue your novel. Whether you are looking to publish commercially or simply writing for yourself, our program is designed to nurture your individual writing journey. Our workshops place kindness first, lifting up excellence and encouraging you to tell your story in your own voice. For more information about our Collaborative Feedback model, check out our video here.

Write Our Hearts

Come for gentle writing. Introspection. Self expression in a circle of caring and community. Come gather virtually in the Cottage in the Woods with Sparrow: she literally wants us to prep food ahead and get away from the family and the dishes for forty eight hours to write our stories. It's so hard to find time for ourselves, so let's intentionally make that time. From Friday evening through Sunday afternoon there will be writing to prompts, conversation, ideas, blocks of free writing time. Does your heart ache to express a private grief on the page? Is your subconscious telling you to rewrite a story? Do you need to rewrite your story?

Here's the plan:
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Friday from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM Eastern
Escape session with community building and prompted writing time
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Saturday from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM Eastern
Recovery session with prompted writing, free writing, and discussion
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Saturday from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM Eastern:
Nap time.
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Saturday from 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM Eastern:
Recovery session continues with optional sharing, prompted writing, and free writing
6p - supper time discussion
More Recovery session sharing and writing
9p - Sweet dreams until tomorrow
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Sunday from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Eastern
Consolation session discussion, prompted writing, and free writing
Wrap up at 4p.
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Our goal is to write our hearts. Is that memoir? Is that a new story just for yourself? Is that a long, long prayer in the form of a poem? Writers might write between sessions as well as during.

You are going to end this amazing experience with something that is uniquely yours. Whether this turns out to be a narrative, creative nonfiction, or a huge list of Be-Happy-Attitudes, this deserves to be on your page, just for you.


Note: For more information about the Collaborative Feedback Method in SPACE, please check out our video here.

Summary of Diane’s Tutorial Project – Creative Writing & Tolkien Studies

Diane is planning a personalized tutorial journey that will begin with a focus on creative writing. This initial phase will allow her to strengthen her writing craft and pursue original fiction projects with the guidance of a preceptor.

Looking ahead, Diane also hopes to explore Tolkien Studies through academic writing. She has multiple topic ideas she’d like to develop into papers or potentially a book-length study on Tolkien. Once her creative writing phase has progressed, she envisions transitioning into this academic work.

Diane will begin with a one-hour Orientation Session to clarify her goals, discuss timeline and tier options, and identify potential preceptor matches for both the creative and academic phases of her project. This orientation will result in a custom “trail map” for her journey through Signum Tutorials.

Whether you're just starting a story or refining a full manuscript, Signum’s Creative Writing Tutorials offer individualized support tailored to your stage in the writing journey.

For fully grown Tree projects—those in advanced stages of revision—we offer developmental editing guidance, reader feedback, and coaching on self-editing strategies. If your project is ready for professional copy editing, we can arrange a special match with a tutor who provides that service.

For projects in earlier stages—those in active drafting or early revision—we provide writing exercises, focused feedback, and skill-building support to help you grow your craft. These tutorials also make an excellent companion to our Creative Writing modules in SPACE, our adult continuing education program: Explore SPACE Creative Writing Modules.

Wherever you are in your writing process, your tutorial sessions will adapt to your goals—and help you take the next step with confidence.

Simply click the blue "vote to reserve your seat" button to set aside a token here: This confirms your interest in working with a tutor/mentor and secures your spot in this tutorial. After you vote, our team will follow up by email and help you get matched to a tutor at a time that works for you.

Note: All Discussion Sessions will be live recorded and shared with all enrolled students afterward for review and to allow those who cannot attend live to still participate in the class.

In the early 10th century, a woman was laid to rest in a lavish ship burial at Oseberg, Norway—one of the richest Viking graves ever discovered. But she was no queen’s consort or mere noblewoman. Her grave goods suggest she was a ruler or religious leader, commanding respect in her own right. In the overtly masculine Old Norse society, women were not simply passive and obedient, sometimes they also found ways to navigate the cultural framework and shape some agency for themselves.

In this class we’ll be moving from the very real, mundane yet essential domain of Norse women – without women’s spinning and weaving the Viking age wouldn’t have existed! – to the more mythical realm of goddesses, Valkyries, spirits, exploring all kinds of social and political roles women would have adopted. Drawing on archaeology, literature, chronicles or laws we’ll attempt to recreate part of the fascinating stories of the great and famous but also forgotten characters that shaped the Viking age and beyond.

The module will follow an 8-session structure as shown below:

Outline	8-Session Structure
Week 1	Lecture 1: The daily life of women: marriage, children, work
	Discussion 1: Discussion about Lecture 1 material
Week 2	Lecture 2: Women and power: queens, avengers, warriors
	Discussion 2: Discussion about Lecture 2 material
Week 3	Lecture 3: The Norse sorceress and prophetess
	Discussion 3: Discussion about Lecture 3 material
Week 4	Lecture 4: Divine images of women /td>
	Discussion 4: Discussion about Lecture 4 material

Blend technology and the humanities in a personalized tutorial designed for the digital age. Whether you’re exploring how digital tools can support literary research, learning data visualization or coding for scholarly projects, or analyzing media forms like film, podcasts, and games, this tutorial adapts to your goals. Engage with fields such as digital text analysis, online publishing, digital archives, adaptation studies, or interactive storytelling. These tutorials are ideal for students building digital portfolios, launching public humanities projects, or investigating how media and meaning converge in modern scholarship.

Simply click the blue "vote to reserve your seat" button to set aside a token here: This confirms your interest in working with a tutor/mentor and secures your spot in this tutorial. After you vote, our team will follow up by email and help you get matched to a tutor at a time that works for you.

Let us continue our journey through the Discworld series!

Over the eight classes we will read the seven books, in publication order, with one book being discussed in each of seven classes. The final class will be built to allow for further discussion of the themes raised in this series.

Access to the texts listed below is desirable. Prior knowledge of at least the majority of the listed texts will be assumed.

Frank Herbert's Dune novels have been adapted for film, television and tabletop and video games. Using a combination of recorded lectures, in-class discussion and exercises, this hybrid module will examine the various adaptations of the novels, including David Lynch's film, the miniseries, Denis Villeneuve's recent films, HBO's Dune: Prophecy as well as various abortive attempts to adapt the novel. We will also explore the influence of Dune upon the gaming industry. Students are encouraged, but not obliged, to rewatch the various films ahead of in-class discussion.

Explore the languages, cultures, and histories of East Asia in a flexible, student-guided tutorial. Whether you're developing your proficiency in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean (including work with characters, kana, or hanja), or delving into literature, philosophy, or cultural traditions, this tutorial supports both focused projects and open-ended inquiry. Your preceptor will help you identify next steps, recommend tailored resources, and support your growth—whether you’re practicing conversation, studying classical texts, analyzing a film, or preparing a research paper. Ideal for language learners, culture enthusiasts, or anyone looking to engage deeply with East Asia's rich intellectual and artistic legacy.

Simply click the blue "vote to reserve your seat" button to set aside a token here: This confirms your interest in working with a tutor/mentor and secures your spot in this tutorial. After you vote, our team will follow up by email and help you get matched to a tutor at a time that works for you.

The Hieroglyphics series will present students with a basic understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs, grammar, and knowledge about how to proceed with further study. In this sequence of courses we will discuss how to translate steles that you are likely to encounter in museums, as well as their cultural significance. As student progress, the class will tackle more complex translation. Each one-month module builds on the previous one, so students ready to learn Hieroglyphics will communicate with our Director and Professor Gaffney to make the right placement for everyone.

Travel through time and across cultures in a tutorial designed to deepen your understanding of the past and its relevance today. From ancient civilizations to modern revolutions, from folklore and foodways to empire and migration, these tutorials support students in historical research, cultural analysis, and interdisciplinary exploration. Work with a preceptor to develop your historical writing, prepare a presentation, or structure a long-term project. Whether you’re focused on a specific region, era, or theme, this tutorial helps you bring clarity, context, and curiosity to your study of history and culture.

Simply click the blue "vote to reserve your seat" button to set aside a token here: This confirms your interest in working with a tutor/mentor and secures your spot in this tutorial. After you vote, our team will follow up by email and help you get matched to a tutor at a time that works for you.

Join us as we continue learning (advanced) basic Japanese, focusing on the areas of reading and listening comprehension, with some attention to speaking and writing. Over the course of this module series we will work our way through the Genki II textbook, building upon the foundation built from the Genki I text. 一緒に日本語を勉強しませんか

Recorded Series: All sessions of this series are being recorded and provided afterwards to enrolled students in order to support the learning of the group.

Note: Our mini modules are special month-long group experiences designed for a small and intimate group of 2 to 4 students for the cost of 1 Token. As soon as we get enough interested students who reserve their seat, we schedule the class with the group and fly!

In this series of modules, you will get familiarized with basic Japanese vocabulary and structures. Using a communicative approach, you’ll learn basic expressions, start to learn the hiragana script, and recognize katakana and kanji in a fun and interactive way. We will also explore Japanese culture in general. いっしょに日本語を学びましょう！

This course is for those who have an interest in Japanese culture and wish to continue our study of Japanese. We will continue using Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji, and covering grammatical structures. Through use of conversational Japanese, we will continue to explore how the language is used in anime, manga, and music.

Japanese is a language of great nuance and depth. This module will open the door to that world and build a foundation for greater insight into Japan's culture and its people.

In this series we’ll study Japanese using different tools such as videos, games, and different exercises. We’ll explore different aspects of Japanese culture and work on more complex vocabulary, grammar, and sentence patterns. We’ll also watch lots of videos, play games, and read graded readers among other things.

Note: Japanese Through Culture is for students who already have a basic level of Japanese.

Whether you’re beginning a new language, reviving a dormant one, or diving deep into the history and structure of how languages work, this tutorial offers personalized guidance for your journey. With one-on-one support from experienced preceptors, you can build practical language skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking), pursue advanced grammatical or syntactic analysis, or explore historical linguistics and philology. From modern languages to ancient tongues, from Quenya to Latin, this tutorial supports projects in translation, language acquisition, comparative linguistics, and the cultural contexts that shape language use. Bring your goals—scholarly or conversational—and let your linguistic curiosity flourish.

Simply click the blue "vote to reserve your seat" button to set aside a token here: This confirms your interest in working with a tutor/mentor and secures your spot in this tutorial. After you vote, our team will follow up by email and help you get matched to a tutor at a time that works for you.

German Book Club: Advanced Beginner or Intermediate Level

One of the best methods for language learning is to read and discuss a text with friends in a relaxed setting. One can discuss the subject matter from a “literary” perspective, focusing on themes, character development, narrative styles, or from a “language-learner” perspective, focusing on new words, idioms, or syntax. Both discussion types allow us to get to know a text intimately. If one of your foreign languages is Modern German, consider joining SPACE’s German Book Club for a month, where we read German short stories or books and meet twice a week to discuss them—in either English or German!

This module is aimed at the advanced beginner or intermediate level and seeks to meet the intellectual interests of the participants. Every month, the preceptor (Isaac Schendel) chooses a new text based on student interest and German level. Examples include: the novels of Hermann Hesse, the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, or the fairy tales of Johann Karl August Musäus. Feel free to send in any suggestions and be sure to bring along some Kaffee und Kuchen.

This fifth unit of Signum SPACE’s Latin in a Year sequence expects students to be familiar with active verb conjugations in all six tenses; nouns and adjectives in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd declensions; and personal, reflexive, and demonstrative pronouns. During this fifth month, students will work through five chapters of Wheelock’s Latin, completing the grammar and material in the first half of the textbook (through Chapter 20) in the process. This segment covers relative pronouns, all passive indicative verb forms, and fourth declension noun endings. This unit also provides a sound review and a good starting point for students who completed the Latin I MA class at Signum University and wish to continue the study of Latin at a comparatively gentler pace.

Explore the craft, impact, and meaning of literature through a personalized tutorial in Literature & Storytelling. Whether you're analyzing a classic novel, developing a comparative study of myths and epics, or researching contemporary fiction, our preceptors will help you deepen your understanding of narrative, genre, theme, and interpretation. Tutorials can focus on literary analysis, theory, close reading, or creative-critical intersections. Whether you’re preparing for graduate school, crafting a paper, or simply diving deeper into your favorite texts, this tutorial invites you to read widely, think critically, and grow as a literary thinker.

Simply click the blue "vote to reserve your seat" button to set aside a token here: This confirms your interest in working with a tutor/mentor and secures your spot in this tutorial. After you vote, our team will follow up by email and help you get matched to a tutor at a time that works for you.

Bring your skills and passions to life with a hands-on, project-based tutorial in Music, Performance & Applied Skills. Whether you're composing, performing, researching music history, developing educational workshops, or exploring connections between music and literature, your preceptor will support your creative or academic goals. These tutorials may include performance coaching, guided practice, composition feedback, or structured reflection on process and technique. This space also supports interdisciplinary learners blending music with language, culture, or storytelling. Whatever your background, this tutorial celebrates your craft and helps you grow.

Simply click the blue "vote to reserve your seat" button to set aside a token here: This confirms your interest in working with a tutor/mentor and secures your spot in this tutorial. After you vote, our team will follow up by email and help you get matched to a tutor at a time that works for you.

This series of modules introduces you to the vocabulary and grammar of Old Norse, preparing you to read medieval sagas, eddic poetry, and even Viking-Age runic inscriptions. Each one-month module builds on the previous one, so students ready to learn Old Norse will communicate with our Director and Professor Anderson to choose the right placement for everyone.

Note: All sessions will be live recorded and shared with all enrolled students afterward for review and to allow those who cannot attend live to still participate in the class.

Delve into the big questions that shape our understanding of the world—across traditions, thinkers, and texts. In a tutorial on Philosophy, Theology & Religious Studies, you’ll engage with classic and contemporary ideas in metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics, epistemology, or theology. Explore religious texts, spiritual traditions, or the interplay between philosophy and literature. Whether you're preparing for seminary or graduate study, developing an academic paper, or pursuing your own intellectual inquiry, this tutorial offers personalized guidance as you reflect, reason, and wrestle with the deepest dimensions of human thought.

Simply click the blue "vote to reserve your seat" button to set aside a token here: This confirms your interest in working with a tutor/mentor and secures your spot in this tutorial. After you vote, our team will follow up by email and help you get matched to a tutor at a time that works for you.

Primary Project:

Trevor is planning a 4-month Tier 1 engagement to prepare a paper for publication in JTR or Mythlore. He envisions monthly sessions focused on reviewing drafts, receiving critical feedback, and improving the paper's academic quality. The monthly structure is also intended to provide accountability and steady progress, which he finds motivating.

Secondary Project (if the first goes well):

Trevor is also considering a second, more informal project—a popular or inspirational-style book that explores Tolkien’s views on Faery and their significance for modern readers. This project would be more reflective and broadly accessible than the academic paper. He’s unsure whether it fits under Tutorials and wonders whether a suitable preceptor might need to be someone with strengths in public writing, mythopoeia, or spiritual/inspirational interpretation of Tolkien rather than strictly academic.

Additional Notes:

1. Trevor appreciates the recording policy for sessions, as he finds it helpful for reviewing dense or rapid discussions.
2. He has updated his availability in preparation to begin.
3. He is open to working with different preceptors across months depending on the phase of his work.

Embark on a personalized journey through Tolkien's legendarium with our Tutorial in Tolkien Studies, where you'll explore the depths of Middle-earth alongside expert mentors who share your passion. Whether you're delving into Tolkien’s work for the first time or building on years of scholarship, our tutorials adapt to your goals—supporting everything from foundational reading to advanced academic projects.

Work one-on-one with a preceptor to analyze the linguistic foundations of Quenya, to develop a paper on the ethical dimensions of The Silmarillion, or to prepare a presentation for Mythmoot. Possible areas of focus include language and philology, narrative theory, theology, adaptation studies, or the broader mythic and historical influences that shaped Tolkien’s work.

Through personalized guidance, thoughtful feedback, and collaborative exploration, you'll learn to apply diverse literary lenses, engage meaningfully with existing scholarship, and develop compelling arguments—perhaps even toward publication or conference presentation. These tutorials build on Signum’s long-standing commitment to Tolkien scholarship and connect you with a vibrant, global community of fellow explorers in the world of Middle-earth.

Interested in expanding your focus to the wider circle of the Inklings? Our tutorials also welcome projects on C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, Owen Barfield, and related authors. If you're examining themes like friendship, mythopoeia, theology, or imaginative fiction across the Inklings’ works, we’d love to support your journey.

Simply click the blue "vote to reserve your seat" button to set aside a token here: This confirms your interest in working with a tutor/mentor and secures your spot in this tutorial. After you vote, our team will follow up by email and help you get matched to a tutor at a time that works for you.

Many people do not realize the variety of language structures and strange language phenomena that exist in the world's languages. This class will introduce a number of features that can be found across the globe. These include object agreement, verbs that necessarily encode the shape of items, ergativity, discourse particles, languages with 20 grammatical gender classes, pronoun hierarchies, circumfixes and infixes, and the complex systems of taboo words that arise in some languages. We will look at a number of these, at what is rare, common, surprising, but all of which are real. Language families from Africa, the Caucasus, Siberia, Australia, and the Americas.

The module will follow an 8-session structure as shown below.

Outline	8-Session Structure
Week 1	Lecture 1: Introduction to languages, English, linguistics, and glossing
	Discussion 1: How to we make sense of English and what else to expect in the world's languages?
Week 2	Lecture 2: Agreement, ergativity
	Discussion 2: Problem set and identifying parts of unusual phenomena
Week 3	Lecture 3: Evidentiality, Genders
	Discussion 3: Noun class, word gender exercise
Week 4	Lecture 4: Taboo language and word classes, and shape
	Discussion 4: Word class and shape puzzle