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

Precepted by Elise Trudel Cedeño

Current and Upcoming Modules

All Modules

Book Club: J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring: Book I

Join Ms. Elise for a cozy, relaxed Book Club series, where participants comes to our Club meetings with their own reflections and discussion questions about the text. YOU get to guide the magic! In this module, our readings will specifically focus on Book I of The Lord of the Rings. Bring a cozy blanket, a cup of tea, and enjoy!

Book Club: J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring: Book II

Join Ms. Elise for a cozy, relaxed Book Club series, where participants comes to our Club meetings with their own reflections and discussion questions about the text. YOU get to guide the magic! In this module, our readings will specifically focus on Book II of The Lord of the Rings. Bring a cozy blanket, a cup of tea, and enjoy!

Book Club: J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

Join Ms. Elise for a cozy, relaxed Book Club series, where participants comes to our Club meetings with their own reflections and discussion questions about the text. YOU get to guide the magic! Each month, our readings will focus on one of the six Books in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Bring a cozy blanket, a cup of tea, and enjoy!

Book Club: J.R.R. Tolkien's The Return of the King: Book V

Join Ms. Elise for a cozy, relaxed Book Club series, where participants comes to our Club meetings with their own reflections and discussion questions about the text. YOU get to guide the magic! In this module, our readings will specifically focus on Book V of The Lord of the Rings. Bring a cozy blanket, a cup of tea, and enjoy!

Book Club: J.R.R. Tolkien's The Return of the King: Book VI

Join Ms. Elise for a cozy, relaxed Book Club series, where participants comes to our Club meetings with their own reflections and discussion questions about the text. YOU get to guide the magic! In this module, our readings will specifically focus on Book VI of The Lord of the Rings. Bring a cozy blanket, a cup of tea, and enjoy!

Book Club: J.R.R. Tolkien's The Two Towers: Book III

Join Ms. Elise for a cozy, relaxed Book Club series, where participants comes to our Club meetings with their own reflections and discussion questions about the text. YOU get to guide the magic! In this module, our readings will specifically focus on Book III of The Lord of the Rings. Bring a cozy blanket, a cup of tea, and enjoy!

Book Club: J.R.R. Tolkien's The Two Towers: Book IV

Join Ms. Elise for a cozy, relaxed Book Club series, where participants comes to our Club meetings with their own reflections and discussion questions about the text. YOU get to guide the magic! In this module, our readings will specifically focus on Book IV of The Lord of the Rings. Bring a cozy blanket, a cup of tea, and enjoy!

Bridge to the Silmarillion

This course is intended for people who have read Lord of the Rings and are beginners to the Silmarillion. We will re-read various passages from Lord of the Rings that make reference to First Age people, places, and events: the mighty Elf-friends of old, the Exile of the Elves; the Tale of Tinúviel; the story of Eärendil and more. We will whet our appetites and gather some motivating questions that will make a future journey into the Silmarillion easier and more enjoyable.

C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Join Ms. Elise for a cozy and relaxed Book Club as we read and discuss the magic of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Exploring Smith of Wootton Major and Farmer Giles of Ham

In this relaxed, discussion-oriented module, we will explore these two lesser-known short stories by Tolkien. While Smith of Wootton Major takes us to Fäerie in a story full of beautiful imagery and sorrow, Farmer Giles of Ham transports us to a comical medieval world full of unforgettable adventures and characters such as giants, Garm the talking dog, and the arrogant dragon Chrysophylax.

Fairy Tales: Beauty and the Beast

In this module we will explore Beauty and the Beast in different versions and media. We’ll compare other similar stories and discuss its main themes, motifs, and imagery. We will read and view versions from Andrew Lang, the Grimm's Brothers, Disney, and more!

Note: Texts will be provided by the preceptors.

J.R.R. Tolkien's Letters from Father Christmas

Join Ms. Elise for a cozy, relaxed Book Club setting and discuss the joy of Tolkien’s beloved Christmas tale.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit

Join Ms. Elise for a cozy and relaxed Book Club as we read and discuss J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic, The Hobbit.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Return of the King

In Book Club, YOU decide how our sessions go! Come to Book Club with all of your questions, ideas, and experiences and share the joy of Tolkien’s legendarium. What will you discover?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Two Towers

In Book Club, YOU decide how our sessions go! Come to Book Club with all of your questions, ideas, and experiences and share the joy of Tolkien’s legendarium. What will you discover?

The Science of Reading: Teaching Your Kids How to Read

Is your child struggling to learn how to read? Do they have trouble sounding out words, or understanding the meaning of new words? Do you struggle to explain why "one" begins with an o, and not a w? Then come learn more about the Science of Reading!

This introductory module will show you all about the Science of Reading, and why everyone should understand these fundamental linguistic principles throughout their reading journeys (not just kids!). We will discuss the history of the American Reading Wars and how they have impacted reading instruction, what happens in your brain as you learn to read, and how to use systematic, "building-block" approaches in your own home when reading with your little ones. If you're interested in the "why" and "how" of reading, then this module is for you!

The Second Age of Middle-earth

The Second Age of Middle-earth saw the rise and fall of Númenor, the rise and (apparent) fall of Sauron, and the creation of the Rings of Power. This course will look at the events of the Second Age with readings from LOTR (especially Appendix A and B), Unfinished Tales, and the Silmarillion. It will be of particular interest to people who want to know more about the Second Age to be ready for the Amazon Prime series LOTR: The Rings of Power starting in September 2022.

Tolkien’s Invented Languages in The Lord of the Rings

In this puzzle-solving course we will work to piece together Tolkien’s invented languages based primarily on how they are used in The Lord of the Rings. Although much richer linguistic information became publicly available later, this course will look primarily at those aspects of the languages revealed through the main text and appendices of The Lord of the Rings.

Tolkien's Writing Systems

This module will study various writing systems invented or adapted by Tolkien. We will primarily look at the Tengwar and the Angerthas (Cirth) described in The Lord of the Rings but we will also touch on other systems such as the Hobbit runes and other runic variants as well as the Goblin Alphabet from Letters from Father Christmas. Along the way we will introduce some basic phonetics and place Tolkien’s inventions in the context of the writing systems of the primary world.
If you have any questions about the SPACE program, please reach out to [email protected].