January 2026 Modules

For this month's module we will explore Cynewulf's Elena. In Early Medieval English literature, there are only two poets writing in Old English whose names we know: (1) Caedmon (technically he didn't know how to write, others wrote for him copying his oral compositions---almost all of which is now lost to us); and (2) Cynewulf.

Little is known of Cynewulf other than he had monastic training and was likely a monk. It is debated as to whether he was an eighth, ninth, or tenth century writer. Previously we had a module that worked with his poem known as "Christ II" by modern scholars and with "Fates of the Apostles".

This particular module will work with his translation and adaptation of an early Christian saint's life, The Life of St Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great. A lot of great stuff occurs in this tale -- come join us!

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.

The Vikings (ca. 800-1100) would be impossible to understand without the geography and society that produced them. In this module, we will explore the intricate social and political frameworks that shaped Viking Age Scandinavia and investigate the interplay between kinship, community hierarchies, and power dynamics that underpinned Norse society.

Topics include the general context of Scandinavian history, social order, the importance of thing assemblies, the influence of chieftains and kings in regional power struggles, but also lesser discussed aspects such as the roles of women. By integrating primary sources such as chronicles, law codes, sagas as well as the latest archaeological findings and research methods, we will develop a nuanced understanding of how the Norse functioned and what enabled them to exert far-reaching influence across Europe and beyond.

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

Outline	8-Session Structure
Week 1	Lecture 1: Ancient Scandinavia and the Beginnings of the Viking age
	Discussion 1: Discussion about Lecture 1 material
Week 2	Lecture 2: Social structures and daily life
	Discussion 2: Discussion about Lecture 2 material
Week 3	Lecture 3: Chieftains, kings and warriors
	Discussion 3: Discussion about Lecture 3 material
Week 4	Lecture 4: Women, children and the Sámi people
	Discussion 4: Discussion about Lecture 3 material

Want to read the NT in the original Greek? The Greek translation of the Old Testament? This module’s for you! We continue our study introducing 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.

This series of modules would be for students who want to learn how to read Biblical Hebrew. The course would include some speaking, listening, and writing skills as well. But people who learn Biblical Hebrew do so in order to read it, so reading and comprehension skills would take primary focus.

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.

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.

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

Come join us for a stunning coming-of-age fantasy anime that follows the story of Violet Evergarden, a former soldier who finds forgiveness, healing, and self-worth through the unassuming power of writing letters. In this module, we will discuss how Violet Evergarden functions as a postwar recovery and travel story, as well as the anime’s use of Victorian and post-World War I aesthetics to tell Violet’s unusual yet unforgettable tale.

This module explores the fifth book in the series: Sunrise on the Reaping (2025).

Series Outline:

What lessons do the Capitol and Districts have to teach us? What warnings should we heed? What road leads from here to Panem? Over the course of five months, participants in these SPACE modules will read and discuss a modern classic of dystopian storytelling, The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.

In this hybrid series, each week will include one lecture and one live discussion. The lectures will examine the inspirations behind, allusions in, and questions posed by that month's novel. In live discussions, participants will share their insights on, interpretations of, and reactions to the story. Together we will consider why this series has spoken to so many readers and explore how its messages remain relevant today.

Students will be asked to read one book over the course of each month in whatever format they choose. All of these novels are available in print, ebook, and audio format.

(Warning: The Hunger Games series include descriptions - for a young-adult audience - of substance abuse, physical abuse, violence, and death.)

Series Outline:

• Module 1: The Hunger Games (2008)

• Module 2: Catching Fire (2009)

• Module 3: Mockingjay (2010)

• Module 4: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2020)

• Module 5: Sunrise on the Reaping (2025)

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.

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.

The eighth month of Latin in a Year must, at last, celebrate the subjunctive. By this point, continuing students should be familiar with most noun forms, the active and passive indicative forms of many Latin verbs, basic pronouns and clause constructions, and a range of smaller grammatical uses. With this background established, students can expect to learn the regular subjunctive forms and may begin to explore a range of more fluid translations.

This module covers chapters 28-30 of Wheelock’s Latin: - 28: Subjunctive Mood; Present Subjunctive; Jussive and Purpose Clauses - 29: Imperfect Subjunctive; Present and Imperfect Subjunctive of Sum and Possum; Result Clauses - 30: Perfect and Pluperfect Subjunctive; Indirect Questions; Sequence of Tenses

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.

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.

Middle High German (MHG) is the umbrella term for the German dialects used in the Holy Roman Empire from about 1050 to 1350. Its written form was the language of the court, and most MHG poetry embraces chivalric intellectual interests—adventure, romances, and courtly love! Come join us this month to begin learning Middle High German, and you’ll learn how to read some of the greatest monuments of medieval literature—The Nibelungenlied, Gottfried von Strassburg’s Tristan und Isolde, Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival, the poems of the Minnesänger (courtly poets)—in the original language!

This module requires absolutely no modern German, but you may find that the course awakens that bit of “school German” you remember from high school. We will begin with the first text in our textbook, An Introduction to Middle High German: an excerpt of Berthold von Regensburg’s sermon Von den siben planêten (“On the seven planets”). After that, we will continue through the textbook, reading as many texts as the student interest demands.

We will begin with a short presentation on the grammatical features of Middle High German and what separates German from other Germanic languages (the so-called High German Consonant Shift). After a general introduction and an example of “how to read MHG like a philologist”—slowly, word-by-word, and relaxed—we will begin reading!

I do not anticipate that we will complete all reading texts in the textbook before the end of the month, but we will read as much as we are able. Generally speaking, it takes about three months to read Middle High German competently, but after completing the sequence, students should be able to participate in SPACE’s Readings in Middle High German series. Middle High German offers tons of adventure, including Heroic Epic (Das Nibelungenlied, Kudrun), Crusader Epic (König Rother, Willehalm), Arthurian Romance (Parzival), and the Tristan story (Tristan und Isolde). Completing this sequence will prepare students for their journey into a new and large world of medieval literature.

Ready to begin learning Old English? This series of modules introduces students to the vocabulary and structure of the earliest recorded form of the English language. One year of modules prepares the student to read texts from over a thousand years ago! Each one-month module builds on the previous one, so students ready to learn Old English will communicate with our Director and Professor Swain to make 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.

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.

In this module we'll work together to create individual goals, projects, and action plans for the year to come and establish a journaling system to keep you accountable. We'll also cover techniques that I've found helpful and figure out how they best apply to you individually.

Each session will begin with a 15–20-minute mini-lecture on the session’s topic followed by examples from my own life. We will then take however long is needed for Q&A and discussion on the topic. The rest of the session will be a workshop format where we will share with one another the results from your own work on the previous session’s topic and “assignment”.

To get the most out of this class, expect to spend 1-2 hours outside of each class session and be prepared to share your personal goals and projects in class so that we can help each other refine and reach our goals. As this is a SPACE module, there are no requirements. But it is encouraged that you take 1-2 hours or so between sessions to work through your implementation of what was talked about in the previous session.

This module will be divided into three main parts:

Outline	8-Session Structure
Part 1: Introspection	Session 1: Establishing Your Foundation (alt. Finding Your Why): Pillars + Roles
	Session 2: Pursuing Excellence: Arete
	Session 3: Reviews + Plans: Annual, Quarterly, and Monthly
Part 2: Planning	Session 4: Habits + Goals
	Session 5: Projects + Tasks
	Session 6: Reviews + Plans: Annual, Quarterly, and Monthly
Part 3: Action	Session 7: Taking Action: Weekly and Daily
	Session 8: Following Through: Tools, Tips, and Techniques

Module description from Dr. Sara Brown (Lecturing Preceptor):

In this triad of modules we explore Volume 3 of The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien: Three-Volume Box Set, edited by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond. All are welcome to join the class whether new to the series or continuing from a previous module!

JRR Tolkien one of those rare authors whose poetry is as accomplished as his prose writing. Up to this point, though, those who wished to focus primarily on Tolkien’s poetry had to access a significant number of books and online resources to do so, as they were scattered far and wide. But now for the first time, a collected volume of Tolkien’s poetry is available, and it is a Tome of Significant Size!

In this hybrid course, we will read and discuss a selection of these poems, enjoying them for their aesthetic appeal as well as analysing them for Tolkien’s style, use of language, and the poetic forms he employed. This is a hybrid course, in which one class per week will be a lecture and the second class will be group discussion.

There are so many poems in these volumes that the intention is to spread the course over several months. If you can’t make one or more of the months, feel free to dip in and out as suits you!

Module description from Dr. Sara Brown (Lecturing Preceptor):

In this triad of modules we explore Volume 3 of The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien: Three-Volume Box Set, edited by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond. All are welcome to join the class whether new to the series or continuing from a previous module!

JRR Tolkien one of those rare authors whose poetry is as accomplished as his prose writing. Up to this point, though, those who wished to focus primarily on Tolkien’s poetry had to access a significant number of books and online resources to do so, as they were scattered far and wide. But now for the first time, a collected volume of Tolkien’s poetry is available, and it is a Tome of Significant Size!

In this hybrid course, we will read and discuss a selection of these poems, enjoying them for their aesthetic appeal as well as analysing them for Tolkien’s style, use of language, and the poetic forms he employed. This is a hybrid course, in which one class per week will be a lecture and the second class will be group discussion.

There are so many poems in these volumes that the intention is to spread the course over several months. If you can’t make one or more of the months, feel free to dip in and out as suits you!

Module description from Dr. Sara Brown (Lecturing Preceptor):

In this triad of modules we explore Volume 3 of The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien: Three-Volume Box Set, edited by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond. All are welcome to join the class whether new to the series or continuing from a previous module!

JRR Tolkien one of those rare authors whose poetry is as accomplished as his prose writing. Up to this point, though, those who wished to focus primarily on Tolkien’s poetry had to access a significant number of books and online resources to do so, as they were scattered far and wide. But now for the first time, a collected volume of Tolkien’s poetry is available, and it is a Tome of Significant Size!

In this hybrid course, we will read and discuss a selection of these poems, enjoying them for their aesthetic appeal as well as analysing them for Tolkien’s style, use of language, and the poetic forms he employed. This is a hybrid course, in which one class per week will be a lecture and the second class will be group discussion.

There are so many poems in these volumes that the intention is to spread the course over several months. If you can’t make one or more of the months, feel free to dip in and out as suits you!

The witch is one of the most contentious figures of the present day: from victim of persecution to stock character to magical practitioner the witch embodies our fears and desires. In the Anglosphere, the witch has been actively reimagined since at least the late nineteenth century. This module tackles some popular myths associated with the witch, explores their origins, and ask how these myths are used today.

Are witches always female? Why do they fly on broomsticks and wear pointy hats? And where does a witch’s magic come from? The module answers these and other questions using a mix of historical, esoteric, literary and critical texts that get to the crux of how witches are depicted in fiction and history, and what witches themselves have to say about that.