Welcome to SPACE, our adult continuing education program which offers interactive monthly courses for personal enrichment! Learn more here.

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Advanced Greek Readings: Gospel of John 1

Find yourself in need of a refresher for your Greek skills? Come join us for reading the Gospel of John in the original Greek! This module will review grammar where needed, discuss the latest lexical tools, touch on textual issues, but mostly work through this text at a relaxed pace.
Precepted by Dr. Larry Swain

Art History – A Thousand Stories

Whenever we see a painting or a sculpture we might think many different things; we might wonder why we like or dislike it; what is its meaning; and why the artist created it in that way.

In this series we will explore different art periods, movements, and artists. We will discuss the context, symbolism, style, and what each of these periods/ movement/ artists tells us today.

Some of the questions we will ask during these modules are: what is art? How is art different from arts and crafts? What is the purpose of art? Why are some art pieces famous? What are some of the most prominent styles? Why are some artists, such as Vincent Van Gogh, so popular today but not during their own time? How and why do we relate to different pieces in different ways and with different emotional responses?

Each module stands on its own and no previous knowledge of Art History is required. The idea is to engage with the different topics from different lenses and to share different ideas and opinions about them.
Precepted by Pilar Barrera

Beginning Greek Series of 12

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.
Precepted by Dr. Larry Swain

Beginning Greek 10 Continuing Series

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.
Precepted by Dr. Larry Swain

Beginning Greek 11 Continuing Series

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.
Precepted by Dr. Larry Swain

Beginning Greek 12 Continuing Series

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.
Precepted by Dr. Larry Swain

Beginning Greek 2 Continuing Series

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.
Precepted by Dr. Larry Swain

Beginning Greek 3 Continuing Series

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.
Precepted by Dr. Larry Swain

Beginning Greek 4 Continuing Series

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.
Precepted by Dr. Larry Swain

Beginning Greek 5 Continuing Series

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.
Precepted by Dr. Larry Swain

Beginning Greek 6 Continuing Series

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.
Precepted by Dr. Larry Swain

Beginning Greek 7 Continuing Series

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.
Precepted by Dr. Larry Swain

Beginning Greek 8 Continuing Series

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.
Precepted by Dr. Larry Swain

Beginning Greek 9 Continuing Series

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.
Precepted by Dr. Larry Swain

Bible as Literature: Minor Prophets

This module explores the Minor Prophets. What is a prophet? How was a prophet expected to "operate" in the Ancient World? How do Hebrew prophets compare to prophets from other traditions in their world? What is the message of the prophets? These questions and more will be addressed in this module. Those with Hebrew, Greek, or Latin are welcome to use their skills in this module, though these are not required.
Precepted by Dr. Larry Swain

Bible as Literature: The Gospels in the Their Contexts

This module considers the gospels in their contexts; addressing their genre, the communities to whom they are addressed, their origins, early tradition and legend about how they came to be, comparisons of their literatures to other Hellenistic and Near Eastern ones, the synoptic problem, and related issues.
Precepted by Dr. Larry Swain

Intermediate Greek Readings Series

This series will help introduce students to the breadth and depth of Greek texts available for intermediate-level study. Each month, Dr. Larry Swain surveys the group to see which text students are most interested in exploring next.

Some of the texts we could explore in a given month include:
Stump the Swain: Easy Classical Greek Readings
Easy Koine Greek Readings
Advanced Greek Readings: Gospel of Matthew
Advanced Greek Readings: Gospel of John Series
Advanced Greek Readings: Paul's Letter to the Galatians

Note: Please refer to the Required Texts section on a month's iteration page to see which texts the group has decided upon for a given month.
Precepted by Dr. Larry Swain

Intermediate Latin Readings Series

This series will help introduce students to the breadth and depth of Latin texts available for intermediate-level study . Each month, our preceptors survey the group using the Intermediate Latin Series survey form to see which text students are most interested in exploring next.

Some of the texts we could explore in a given month include:
Latin: The Vulgate Gospel of Matthew
Latin: Plautus' Miles Gloriosus (the Braggart Soldier)
Latin: Augustine's Confessions
Intermediate Latin Readings: Catullus
Intermediate Latin Readings: The Vulgate Bible 1
Intermediate Latin Readings: The Vulgate Hester
Intermediate Latin Readings: Caesar’s Gallic Wars
Intermediate Latin Readings: Martial’s Epigrammata
Intermediate Latin Readings: Gesta Romanorum
Intermediate Latin Readings: Horace
Advanced Latin Readings: Cicero's Pro Archia Oration
Advanced Latin Readings: Aesop's Fables
Advanced Latin Readings: Hobbitus Ille
Advanced Latin Readings: Silius Italicus' 'Punica'
Advanced Latin Readings: Vergil's Aeneid in a Year

Note: Please refer to the Required Texts section on a month's iteration page to see which texts the group has decided upon for a given month.

Intermediate Latin Translation: The Vulgate Psalms

Designed for students who have completed an introductory Latin textbook and wish to explore real Latin texts at a gentle pace, this class will walk students through a selection of Psalms from the Latin Vulgate, adapting the quantity of texts and homework to meet the needs of the enrolled students. We will parse passages and read the psalms clause by clause, moving somewhat slowly to allow ample time for grammatical review as students test different translation techniques and absorb new abbreviations, grammatical quirks, and irregular or new forms.

Note: Students who took this module in 2023 are welcome to repeat it; the 2024 module will feature different psalms than its predecessor.
Precepted by Dr. Faith Acker

Medieval Drama: Staging the English Bible

Late medieval English drama brought episodes from The Bible to life in days-long festivals of pomp and pageantry—but what these plays really show us is the day-to-day lives of ordinary men and women of the Middle Ages. With a mixture of lavish spectacle, slapstick comedy, and intimate poignancy, these plays populate the biblical world with familiar figures of the medieval city-life: shrewd workmen and cunning criminals; disgruntled wives and worried husbands; the friends, family, and neighbors of the playwrights and performers.

This course looks at a sampling of plays from the great civic drama cycles of York, Chester, Coventry, and elsewhere, including Noah’s Flood, The Second Shepherd’s Play, Herod’s Slaughter of the Innocents, The Crucifixion, The Harrowing of Hell, and The Last Judgement. The works presented here offer both a grand history of the world from Creation to Doomsday, and locally-rooted, vernacular versions of a text then otherwise available only in Latin. Knowledge of Middle English is not required since this course will use the modern-spelling edition by Prof. A. C. Cawley. Scholarly online Middle English versions, however, will also be made available for students wishing to practice their skills in that area.
Precepted by Dr. Liam Daley

The Life and Legend of St Nicholas

Who was the real historical figure behind Santa Claus? In this module, we will read aloud the earliest biographical sources about fourth century bishop, St Nicholas of Myra. Your preceptor will facilitate discussions of Nicholas' historical context and examine the development of his legend. Together, we will examine Byzantine stories of Nicholas' benefaction and miracles, his role as patron saint of seafarers, students and merchants (among others), and how he came to embody the tradition of gift-giving in Christendom. A wonderful end-of-year treat!
Precepted by Dr. Julian Barr
If you have any questions about the SPACE program, please reach out to [email protected].