May 2026 Modules

Discover essential aspects of everyday life in the world of the Norse! In this module we'll be exploring the rich cultural and religious life of the Scandinavian communities between the 8th and 11th century, trying to figure out what their cultural products can tell us about their mindset. We'll have a look at cosmogonical and eschatological concepts from Norse myth, funeray archaeology, the runic writing system and how it evolved, as well as the fascinating art styles that adorned objects ranging from small cups and sword pommels to the front doors of Christian churches. While the first two modules of the Viking age cluster would be recommendable, fell free to join the course regardless.

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

Outline	8-Session Structure
Week 1	Lecture 1: Norse myths and beliefs
	Discussion 1: Discussion about Lecture 1 material
Week 2	Lecture 2: Death and afterlife
	Discussion 2: Discussion about Lecture 2 material
Week 3	Lecture 3: Runes and runestones
	Discussion 3: Discussion about Lecture 3 material
Week 4	Lecture 4: Viking art styles
	Discussion 4: Discussion about Lecture 4 material

This two-module series introduces friends who are ready to try writing to some tools of the craft. Nearly a century ago, Dorothea Brande wrote Becoming a Writer — a guide to discovering writing that really hasn’t been outdone since! We use Brande’s guidance, journaling, writing experiments, and writing prompts to discover the individual student’s optimal writing conditions and strengths as well as to develop their repertoire of skills and techniques. The cohort will build trust in each other and the always-supportive Collaborative Feedback Method as they optionally share their pieces and read encouragingly for each other.

Module 1 Course Outline:

Week One
• Ourselves and Our Dreams; the Writing Journal
Week Two
• I want your story to THRIVE
Week Three
• I like, I notice, I wonder
Week Four
• Conditions of Excellence
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Discover the seasonal heartbeat of Japan through its annual celebrations in this 8-session journey, where you’ll explore the profound beauty of cherry blossom viewings, the exhilarating chaos of summer festivals with booming taiko drums, the quiet reverence of autumn moon gazing, and the cozy tradition of hot citrus baths at winter’s end, all while uncovering the deep cultural meanings and seasonal mindfulness woven into each timeless custom.

This class is taught in English and is a perfect fit for curious travelers planning a trip who want to move beyond the guidebook and connect with the "why" behind the festivals; the cultural enthusiasts who find joy in understanding how traditions bind a community to its environment and history; and the anime, manga, or film fans who have seen these celebrations in stories and now want to explore them more. Ultimately, it's for anyone seeking to add a layer of mindful seasonality and structured beauty to their own year, discovering how Japan's annual rhythms of celebration, reflection, and renewal can resonate anywhere in the world.

This is a reading-only module series for students of Japanese language who would like to improve their kanji recognition, vocabulary, and general reading skills in the language. The class is designed so new students may join at any point.

We will select a reading and take turns reading it together, word-by-word, sentence by sentence. Short stories, poetry, essays, manga, newspaper articles, blog entries and so on are all sources for material that we can draw upon, always keeping in mind that our selections should be suitable for Japanese language learners of intermediate level (approximately JLPT N4-to early N3 level, or having completed the first two Genki textbooks).

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

Ready to continue reading Old English texts but looking for a lighter pace and additional linguistic support? This series of Intermediate Old English Readings provides a guided pathway into the same rich body of prose and poetry explored in the Advanced Old English Series, while offering a more gradual reading pace and expanded instructional support.

Each module focuses on a selected Old English work drawn from a range of genres, including biblical retellings, allegorical poetry, homiletic prose, and other representative texts from the Old English canon. Modules are designed as stand-alone readings, allowing students to join in any month. Throughout each module, Dr. Isaac Schendel works with participants to build reading fluency, reinforce grammar and vocabulary, and explore the literary, historical, and cultural context of each text.

This series is intended for students who have completed a beginning Old English sequence or who possess equivalent familiarity with core grammar and foundational vocabulary. Students should be prepared to work through authentic Old English texts with guidance, dictionary support, and collaborative discussion, but full comfort with advanced poetic conventions or complex syntax is not required.

Required texts vary by module. Please consult the specific monthly module listing for text and edition information.

This module introduces you to the grammatical structure of a programming language. It's designed to give you the mental framework to learn any programming language more easily; though the syntax of programming languages can differ, the basic principles are the same. You'll learn about building blocks like variables, objects, and functions, and common patterns like if statements, switches, and for loops. And you'll put it all together and write your first simple program.

Note: Two class sessions will be considered lab sections, one in the middle of the month and one at the end. They will give you dedicated time to ask questions about your own projects, and explore topics we may not have covered in class.

The Secret History, the 1992 debut novel of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Donna Tartt, has its own secret history, including an origin story at an actual college campus and inspiration from a real-life missing person case. The celebrated novel opens with the murder of a Classics student by his eccentric and close-knit group of college friends. The tale then unfolds as an inverted mystery, a “whydunit” rather than a “whodunit,” a narrative that interrogates the nature of obsession, beauty, and education.

Featuring ingredients of the campus novel, the coming-of-age story, and the New England Gothic, The Secret History has long been hailed as a modern classic, and now it’s been rediscovered by a new generation of readers who consider it a foundational text of Dark Academia storytelling. Why does this mystery have such staying power? How does it serve as a turning point in genre history? And how do its haunting themes relate to us and our search for knowledge today? In this module we will explore the fictional Hampden College and peel back the literary layers of The Secret History.

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

Outline	8-Session Structure
Week 1	Lecture 1: The Secret History as Memory
	Discussion 1: Part 1 of The Secret History
Week 2	Lecture 2:The Secret History as Mystery
	Discussion 2 Part 2 of The Secret History
Week 3	Lecture 3: The Secret History as Tragedy
	Discussion 3: Part 3 of The Secret History
Week 4	Lecture 4:The Secret History as Influence
	Discussion 4 Themes and Takeaways

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！

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.

How do films tell stories — not just through dialogue and plot, but through images, sound, and structure? This short course introduces students to the language of cinema, exploring how film techniques such as framing, editing, mise-en-scène, sound design, and performance work together to create meaning. Through close analysis of carefully selected clips, students will develop the tools to “read” a film, learning about the choices that shape interpretation and audience response.

Taught by Maggie Parke, whose work engages deeply with adaptation and visual storytelling, the course will draw on popular examples including The Fellowship of the Ring as our central case study piece, other well-known adaptations, and also original screen stories. We will examine how cinematic language transforms narrative across mediums. This class is designed for students from any background, and it is a viewing and discussion-based course offering an accessible yet rigorous introduction to film analysis, sharpening both critical insight and appreciation for the craft of storytelling on screen.

*Note: Since this module is about visual interpretation of a scene, parts of it may not be accessible for visual/sight or hearing impaired.

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.

Old High German (OHG) is a group of Germanic dialects spoken in the Holy Roman Empire from the 6th to the 11th centuries, and although it does not have the same breadth of literature as Old English, it still boasts a number of fascinating texts, such as the alliterative poems Muspilli and Das Hildebrandslied and rhymed poems like Das Ludwigslied and Otfrid of Weissenburg’s Evangelienbuch. The language is necessary for a complete understanding of Germanic Philology, and the corpus offers important material for students of mythology, folklore, comparative literature, religious studies and medieval culture.

Every iteration of this module takes into consideration the language skills and interests of the students, and each month will focus on different texts and progress at a different speed. Anything from the Merseburger Zaubersprüche to the works of Notker Labeo is open for our enjoyment and edification.

Prerequisites: Participants should be familiar with at least one Germanic language (for example: Old English, Old Norse, Middle High German or Gothic).

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.

“It is no use trying to account for things in Fairy Land; and one who travels there soon learns to forget the idea of doing so…”

Let us wander into George MacDonald’s dreamlike Phantastes, the first fantasy novel for adults! Having just come of age, Anados wakes to find himself swept into the fairy realm. Wandering through its sun-dappled woods, he is hunted by his own sinister shadow. Compelled to face malevolent trees, questing knights and living statues, Anados will come face-to-face with his own mortality, emerging forever changed…

Rich with lyrical prose and fantastic imagery, Phantastes takes you on a journey like no other, which will stay with you far beyond its end.

How did a small, persecuted Jewish sect from a remote province transform the greatest empire the world had ever known? The Roman Empire's conversion to Christianity is one of history’s most influential moments that reshaped the very soul of the West. This eight-lecture journey traces the often turbulent process that turned a pagan empire into the foundation of medieval Europe. We’ll move beyond simple tales of conversion to explore a gripping story of clashing worldviews, political opportunism, spiritual fervor, and astonishing adaptability.

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

Outline	8-Session Structure
Week 1	Session 1: I A World of Many Gods: Pagan Rome Meets a Jewish Sect
	Session 2: The Offensive Faith: Why Christianity Was Different
Week 2	Session 3: Seeds in the Cracks: Growth and Adaptation in the Second and Third Centuries
	Session 4: The Imperial Convert: Constantine and the Cross of Victory
Week 3	Session 5: From Faith in Caesar to Caesar's Faith: The Christian Empire Takes Shape
	Session 6: City of God vs. City of Man: Collapse and Reinvention
Week 4	Session 7: The Christian Landscape: Rites, Rivalries, and the Erasure of Paganism
	Session 8: The Imperial Church: Justinian's Dream and the Legacy of a Baptized Rome

Although they were never completed in his lifetime, JRR Tolkien wrote what he considered his three "Great Tales" of the Elder Days and intended them to be a significant part of his wider Silmarillion. These Tales are The Tale of Beren and Lúthien, The Children of Húrin, and The Fall of Gondolin. Some parts of these Tales can be found within the published version of The Silmarillion, but the more recently available individual books provide additional and extensive details for each story.

In this course, we will have a ‘read-along’ discussion of The Tale of Beren and Lúthien. Each session we will consider our close reading of a section of the story, examining Tolkien’s use of language and narrative structure, as well as exploring ideas about what each Tale tells us about Tolkien’s secondary world.

Access to a copy of The Tale of Beren and Lúthien will be necessary, and you may find having a copy of The Silmarillion very useful.