Dr. Faith Acker

This module will explore a range of English sonnets, some familiar and some more obscure, looking at the wordplay of all and exploring the contexts and reception of these poets or their authors where known. In the second half of the month, we will also explore the versatility of the sonnet form, looking at adaptations, variations, and the effects thereof.

The first of the two essential questions raised in Babylon 5, “Who are you” demands that listeners and respondents consider the nature of their own mortality and personhood, delving deeply into their multifaceted identities. This four-week seminar explores the responses to this question as given by six core members of the Babylon 5 universe and considers its presentation as a core Vorlon question, examining the world of Babylon 5 as a space of introspection and self-discovery.

Sir Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy is widely regarded as a modern classic, has been described by The New Statesman as “the most ambitious work since The Lord of the Rings,” and has been adapted onto stage, radio, and screen. The series is also deep and complex, drawing from a rich array of literary, philosophical, and theological ideas.

In this three-module series we will read, successively, the three novels in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, juxtaposing each with selected materials that will allow us to read Pullman’s work both on its own and in conversation with other works. Students can join one, two, or all three modules. There are no prerequisites.

• Module 1: His Dark Materials in Context: The Golden Compass (a.k.a. Northern Lights) (October 2023)

• Module 2: His Dark Materials in Context: The Subtle Knife (December 2023)

• Module 3: His Dark Materials in Context: The Amber Spyglass (January 2023)

Sir Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy is widely regarded as a modern classic, has been described by The New Statesman as “the most ambitious work since The Lord of the Rings,” and has been adapted onto stage, radio, and screen. The series is also deep and complex, drawing from a rich array of literary, philosophical, and theological ideas.

In this three-module series we will read, successively, the three novels in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, juxtaposing each with selected materials that will allow us to read Pullman’s work both on its own and in conversation with other works. Students can join one, two, or all three modules. There are no prerequisites.

• Module 1: His Dark Materials in Context: The Golden Compass (a.k.a. Northern Lights) (October 2023)

• Module 2: His Dark Materials in Context: The Subtle Knife (December 2023)

• Module 3: His Dark Materials in Context: The Amber Spyglass (January 2023)

Sir Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy is widely regarded as a modern classic, has been described by The New Statesman as “the most ambitious work since The Lord of the Rings,” and has been adapted onto stage, radio, and screen. The series is also deep and complex, drawing from a rich array of literary, philosophical, and theological ideas.

In this three-module series we will read, successively, the three novels in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, juxtaposing each with selected materials that will allow us to read Pullman’s work both on its own and in conversation with other works. Students can join one, two, or all three modules. There are no prerequisites.

• Module 1: His Dark Materials in Context: The Golden Compass (a.k.a. Northern Lights) (October 2023)

• Module 2: His Dark Materials in Context: The Subtle Knife (December 2023)

• Module 3: His Dark Materials in Context: The Amber Spyglass (January 2023)

This course is for those who have had beginning Latin and are ready to move on into reading and translating classical Latin authors.

This series will help introduce students to the breadth and depth of Latin texts available for intermediate-level study . Each month, Dr. Faith Acker and/or Dr. Larry Swain surveys the group using the Intermediate Latin Series survey form to see which text students are most interested in exploring next.

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.

Designed for students who have completed an introductory Latin textbook and wish to explore real Latin texts at a gentle pace, this class will cover the translation of selected passages from Caesar’s Gallic Wars. We will parse passages and read Caesar’s prose slowly to allow ample time for grammatical review as students try new translation techniques, and familiarise themselves with Caesar’s prose.

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 Martial’s Latin epigrams, adapting the quantity of texts and homework to meet the needs of the enrolled students. We will parse passages, review grammar and vocabulary, and translate these poems, moving somewhat slowly to allow ample time for grammatical review as students test different translation techniques and absorb new and irregular forms and devices.

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 Hester from the Latin Vulgate, adapting the quantity of texts and homework to meet the needs of the enrolled students. We will parse passages and work through Hester 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.

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.

In this month-long introduction to the formal study of Latin, students will learn the basic principles of Latin translation, learn to conjugate Latin verbs in the present tense and decline Latin nouns in the 1st and 2nd declensions, and practice translating sentences and short Latin passages. The first step in Signum SPACE's Latin in a Year sequence, this module covers chapters 1-4 of Wheelock's Latin.

In the tenth month of Latin in a Year, students will continue to learn applications for the subjunctive mood, practice spotting and translating deponent verbs, and study the paradigms for some of the most common irregular Latin verbs. Students will continue to translate short sentences and longer passages throughout the month. This module will cover chapters 34-37 in Wheelock’s Latin.



This module covers chapters 34-37 of Wheelock’s Latin::
- 34: Deponent Verbs; Ablative with Special Deponents
- 35: Dative with Adjectives; Dative with Special Verbs; Dative with Compounds
- 36: Jussive Noun Clauses; Fio
- 37: Conjugation of Eo; Constructions of Place and Time

Latin in a Year continues, in its penultimate month, with additional forms and uses of participles and subjunctives as well as a handful of useful constructions and forms that function in slightly irregular ways. Covering the final three chapters in Wheelock’s Latin (38-40), this module reviews many earlier constructions and introduces a few new forms and functions.



This module covers chapters 38-40 of Wheelock’s Latin::
- 38: Relative Clauses of Characteristic; Dative of Reference; Supines
- 39: Gerund and Gerundive
- 40: -Ne, Num, and Nonne in Direct Questions; Fear Clauses;Genitive and Ablative of Description

Having worked through a complete introductory Latin textbook, students taking Latin in a Year will now be able to translate many easier Latin passages with speed and accuracy, and will be able to work through more advanced texts with the aid of a good grammar book and dictionary.

In this culminating month, students will translate textbook passages specifically designed and annotated for student practice and also attempt some simplified Classical and Ecclesiastical texts that draw upon their current knowledge base. A celebration of student accomplishments, this conclusion to the Latin in a Year series will let students review recent grammar and vocabulary and sample a variety of texts that they may enjoy working through in the future.

Students taking this module will learn to decline Latin nouns in the 3rd declension and conjugate Latin verbs (including sum/esse) in the imperfect and future tenses, applying these new skills to sentences and short Latin passages. The second part of Signum SPACE's Latin in a Year sequence, this module covers chapters 5-7 of Wheelock's Latin.

Having experienced first- and second-conjugation verbs in the previous two months, students will spend much of this month learning the forms for third- and fourth-conjugation verbs, interspersed with demonstrative and personal pronouns and some irregular adjectives. The third segment of Signum SPACE's Latin in a Year sequence, this module covers chapters 8-11 of Wheelock's Latin.

This fourth unit of Signum SPACE's Latin in a Year sequence expects students to be familiar with present, imperfect, and future forms of all regular verbs (and sum/esse); nouns and adjectives in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd declensions; and demonstrative and personal pronouns, using these new forms to translate sentences and short Latin passages. Building on these skills, students will learn the perfect active system of verbs (including pluperfect and future perfect), reflexive pronouns and possessives, several ablative forms, and numerals. As ever, students will translate sentences and short Latin passages as they apply and learn these and previous grammatical techniques. This module covers chapters 12-15 of Wheelock's Latin.

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.

This sixth unit of Signum SPACE’s Latin in a Year sequence expects enrolling students to be familiar with all grammar and vocabulary from the first half of the Wheelock’s Latin textbook (see list below). Students will gain additional familiarity with passive verb forms, learn fifth declension noun endings, and begin the study of participles.



This module covers chapters 21-23 of Wheelock’s Latin:
- 21: Third and Fourth Conjugations: Passive Voice of the Present System
- 22: Fifth Declension; Ablative of Place Where; Summary of Ablative Uses
- 23: Participles



Latin grammar assumed:
- Understanding of stems, endings, cases, agreement, and parts of speech
- Knowledge of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th declension endings for nouns and adjectives
- Knowledge of regular Latin verb conjugations in all indicative tenses (present, imperfect, future, perfect, pluperfect, future perfect), both active and passive, and the imperative forms
- Ability to recognize conjugations of of “sum” and “possum”
- Familiarity with ego, tu, is, hic, ille, iste, idem, qui, and reflexives
- Awareness of Latin numerals
- Acquaintance with ablatives of means, accompaniment, manner, time, agent, separation, and place from which, as well as genitive of the whole and use of genitive and ablative with cardinal numerals

This seventh unit of Signum SPACE’s Latin in a Year sequence expects students to be familiar with active and passive verb conjugations in all six tenses, nouns and adjectives in all declensions, major pronoun systems, and participles. In Month 7, students will work through four chapters of Wheelock’s Latin, learning new forms of known adjectives, discovering new ways to translate dative and ablative nouns and selected passive verbs, and studying new uses for the infinitive.



This module covers chapters 24-27 of Wheelock’s Latin:
- 24: Ablative Absolute; Passive Periphrastic; Dative of Agent
- 25: Infinitives; Indirect Statement
- 26: Comparison of Adjectives; Declension of Comparatives; Ablative of Comparison
- 27: Special and Irregular Comparison of Adjectives

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

Building on a general knowledge of all major noun and verb forms, students will be ready, in the ninth month of Latin in a Year, to explore some grammatical constructions that build upon subjunctive verb forms and to apply techniques from comparative adjectives to more complex adverb formations. Students will work through three chapters of Wheelock’s Latin and continue developing translation techniques by working through textbook sentences and short Latin passages.



This module covers chapters 31-33 of Wheelock’s Latin::
- 31: Cum Clauses; Fero
- 32: Formation and Comparison of Adverbs; Volo, Malo, Nolo; Proviso Clauses
- 33: Conditions

Designed for absolute beginners as well as past Latin scholars who want to review at relative leisure, Signum’s 12-module Latin in a Year series surveys core Latin grammar and basic classical vocabulary. Each month, students will tackle new grammatical concepts and paradigms, learn new vocabulary, and practice translating short sentences and longer passages. Optional homework is available for the overzealous. Each one-month module builds on the previous one, so students with prior experience are encouraged to communicate with our Director and Professor Acker to find the right entry point. See the list below for some general guidelines of what material is explored over the course of each module.

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We will be offering this series next in January 2024, starting at Month 1.
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Month 1: Overview of nouns and verbs (present active verbs, 1st and 2nd declension)
Month 2: Adding new tenses (imperfect and future active) and a new declension (3rd)
Month 3: 3rd and 4th conjugations (existing tenses) and new pronouns
Month 4: New verb tenses (perfect system) and more pronouns; numerals
Month 5: Passive verb forms; 4th declension nouns; more pronouns
Month 6: 5th declension, but mostly participles
Month 7: Comparatives, superlatives, and some irregular forms
Month 8: Basic subjunctives
Month 9: Irregular verbs and conditions
Month 10: Subjunctives, deponents, datives, and more irregular verbs
Month 11: (more) finicky grammar
Month 12: Basic readings
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The Latin in a Year series of Modules allows students to continue their study of Latin in SPACE. This series, however, is also available to students who have past Latin experience and who want to pick up the series partway through or reinforce a previous concept. See the list below for some general guidelines, and consult with SPACE staff or the Latin preceptor if you would like to see a more detailed description of each module or to figure out the best possible starting point for you!

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Month 1: Overview of nouns and verbs (present active verbs, 1st and 2nd declension)
Month 2: Adding new tenses (imperfect and future active) and a new declension (3rd)
Month 3: 3rd and 4th conjugations (existing tenses) and new pronouns
Month 4: New verb tenses (perfect system) and more pronouns; numerals
Month 5: Passive verb forms; 4th declension nouns; more pronouns
Month 6: 5th declension, but mostly participles
Month 7: Comparatives, superlatives, and some irregular forms
Month 8: Basic subjunctives
Month 9: Irregular verbs and conditions
Month 10: Subjunctives, deponents, datives, and more irregular verbs
Month 11: (more) finicky grammar
Month 12: Basic readings
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When the weight of grammatical forms and memorization would benefit from time to practice and process, the Latin Readings for Advanced Beginners modules offer respite from the regular Latin in a Year program on an ad hoc basis. As appropriate to their skill levels, Latin in a Year students (other scholars are welcome too!) will spend one month reading selected passages from selected textbooks, Latin readers, and (when appropriate) intermediate Latin texts to support their current grammatical skills. The difficulty level and recommended grammatical knowledge for each module will typically be based upon the progress of one or more existing Latin in a Year cohorts, but the SPACE staff or module preceptor will be happy to provide more information.

This module offers a series of Latin readings that review material covered in many traditional Latin I courses (including Signum's own Latin I graduate course and the first five Latin in a Year SPACE modules). Students will read selections from selected textbooks and Latin readers and attempt two short literary passages. All readings will be provided, though access to a Latin grammar book and a basic Latin dictionary may be beneficial.

Latin grammar assumed:
- Understanding of stems, endings, cases, agreement, and parts of speech
- Knowledge of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th declension endings for nouns and adjectives
- Knowledge of regular Latin verb conjugations in all indicative tenses (present, imperfect, future, perfect, pluperfect, future perfect), both active and passive, and the imperative forms
- Ability to recognize conjugations of of “sum” and “possum”
- Familiarity with ego, tu, is, hic, ille, iste, idem, qui, and reflexives
- Awareness of Latin numerals
- Acquaintance with ablatives of means, accompaniment, manner, time, agent, separation, and place from which, as well as genitive of the whole and use of genitive and ablative with cardinal numerals

This module offers a series of Latin readings that review material covered in many traditional Latin courses (a little more than Latin I but not the full span of Latin II). Students will read selections from selected textbooks and Latin readers and attempt two short literary passages. All readings will be provided, though access to a Latin grammar book and a basic Latin dictionary may be beneficial.

Latin grammar assumed:
- Understanding of stems, endings, cases, agreement, and parts of speech
- Knowledge of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, and 5th declension endings for nouns and adjectives
- Familiarity with comparative and superlative forms of regular adjectives
- Knowledge of regular Latin verb conjugations in the subjunctive, indicative, imperative, and infinitive moods, in all relevant tenses, both active and passive
- Ability to recognize conjugations of of “sum” and “possum”
- Familiarity with ego, tu, is, hic, ille, iste, idem, qui, and reflexives
- Awareness of Latin numerals
- Familiarity with Latin participles
- Acquaintance with ablatives of means, accompaniment, manner, time, agent, separation, and place from which, as well as genitive of the whole, use of genitive and ablative with cardinal numerals, and ablative absolute.

This module offers a series of Latin readings that review material covered in many traditional Latin courses (a little more than Latin I but not the full span of Latin II). Students will read selections from selected Latin readers and attempt two or three short literary passages, as time allows. All readings will be provided, though access to a Latin grammar book and a basic Latin dictionary may be beneficial.

For the December 2022 iteration, we will revisit some of the carols and passages introduced in the inaugural Translation Techniques for Beginning Latin Students course in December 2021, allowing students who have pursued the full Latin in a Year series to see just how far they have come in their 12 months of study.

Latin grammar assumed:
- Understanding of stems, endings, cases, agreement, and parts of speech
- Knowledge of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, and 5th declension endings for nouns and adjectives
- Familiarity with comparative and superlative forms of regular adjectives
- Knowledge of regular Latin verb conjugations in the subjunctive, indicative, imperative, and infinitive moods, in all relevant tenses, both active and passive
- Ability to recognize conjugations of of “sum” and “possum”
- Familiarity with ego, tu, is, hic, ille, iste, idem, qui, and reflexives
- Awareness of Latin numerals

Do you have a general idea or old class paper that you’d like to refresh for an academic conference? This module is for individuals who are interested in turning a past or current research project into an abstract (proposal) and script or outline for a 20-minute conference paper. Bring some past writing (or a bunch of notes) to our first meeting, and we will brainstorm possible venues; wrangle past writing into conference-accessible outlines; draft and peer review abstracts; and write or outline some paragraphs or sections for oral delivery. Everyone is welcome, but this class is specifically designed for novice conference presenters who have a specific topic (or past paper) in mind and would like directed guidance and weekly accountability during the revision and preparation process.

Renaissance clergyman John Donne was a prolific scholar and poet. His verses follow many different poetical forms and vary widely in tone from the solemn and devout to the seductive and sensual. In this module, we will study Donne’s Holy Sonnets, a sequence of poems that blend meditations on the divine with vivid but sometimes irreverent imagery. Here we will discuss selected sonnets individually and the full collection in some of the different arrangements and forms in which it was read and copied in the seventeenth century. Along the way, we will look at the connotations and complexities of words and particular lines, identify biblical and other allusions, and delight in the language of these complex and thought-provoking Renaissance sonnets.

This module looks at arguably the greatest of Shakespeare's Tragedies--King Lear. Resolving to divide his kingdom between his daughters, the aged king banishes his closest allies from court, leaving himself and his realm prey to the self-interest and cruelty of those who remain. The course examines this tragedy of betrayal, madness, and family grudges act by act but also supplements these close studies of Shakespeare's text with discussions of the two variant early editions (in Quarto and Folio formats), a brief overview of Shakespeare's sources (Geoffrey of Monmoth's History of the Kings of Britain and Holinshed's Chronicles), and an examination of Nahum Tate's infamous happy-ending adaptation (the only version of the play staged for next 150 years). Expected weekly reading/listening: approx. 50-70 pages (spread across two hours of class).

This 6-module series will work slowly through the 24 books of Homer’s Odyssey. Each week we will read one book of the Odyssey aloud together, comparing editions and language and then discussing translation choices, plot development, character and setting descriptions, and overall themes. With two hours to spend on each book, students can enjoy a slow reading pace, little to no homework, and lots of class discussion.

This 6-module series will work slowly through the 24 books of Homer’s Odyssey. Each week we will read one book of the Odyssey aloud together, comparing editions and language and then discussing translation choices, plot development, character and setting descriptions, and overall themes. With two hours to spend on each book, students can enjoy a slow reading pace, little to no homework, and lots of class discussion.

This 6-module series will work slowly through the 24 books of Homer’s Odyssey. Each week we will read one book of the Odyssey aloud together, comparing editions and language and then discussing translation choices, plot development, character and setting descriptions, and overall themes. With two hours to spend on each book, students can enjoy a slow reading pace, little to no homework, and lots of class discussion.

This 6-module series will work slowly through the 24 books of Homer’s Odyssey. Each week we will read one book of the Odyssey aloud together, comparing editions and language and then discussing translation choices, plot development, character and setting descriptions, and overall themes. With two hours to spend on each book, students can enjoy a slow reading pace, little to no homework, and lots of class discussion.

This 6-module series will work slowly through the 24 books of Homer’s Odyssey. Each week we will read one book of the Odyssey aloud together, comparing editions and language and then discussing translation choices, plot development, character and setting descriptions, and overall themes. With two hours to spend on each book, students can enjoy a slow reading pace, little to no homework, and lots of class discussion.

Although a priest, Renaissance poet John Donne was on paper a playboy, a quality the first publishers of his poems sought to downplay by censoring scandalous words, leaving some verses out of the collection, and placing the raciest poems they included near the end of the volume. While the publishers may have found these difficult to align with his staid churchman persona, Donne’s earliest readers collected these poems with joy, sharing them in private verse collections and prioritising his most sensual poetry over his complex religious lyrics. In this module we will read and discuss eight of Donne’s most popular amorous verses, paying particular attention to his puns and allusions, superficial treatment of women, and beautiful literary structures and styles. (Warning: this module is not for the faint of heart: Donne is just as explicit as Shakespeare! Think carefully before inviting your parents to join you.)

This month-long introduction to reading Latin overviews core grammatical concepts, trains students to use dictionaries and grammatical aids, and highlights some Latin derivatives in English vocabulary. For the inaugural December instance of the course, we will read extracts from the Gospel of John in the Latin Vulgate and explore some Latin hymns and carols. .