Patrick Lyon

The long and tangled history of cinematic attempts to bring the world of Middle-earth to the big screen is full of fascinating what-ifs, insurmountable setbacks, and ultimately a slew of good, bad, and utterly bizarre movies as a result. In this module we will dive deep into the cinematic adaptations of Middle-earth and watch our way through the Gene Deitch Hobbit (1966), the Rankin/Bass Hobbit (1977), the Bakshi Lord of the Rings (1978), the Rankin/Bass Return of the King (1980), and the Peter Jackson Trilogies over the course of a month, meeting for discussion of each film's cinematic and adaptational merits (or lack thereof). We will also cover some of the film versions that almost happened (such as John Boorman's completed script) and the complicated history behind the production of the films that did come to light. There is a lot of material to cover, but where there's a whip, there's a way.

Beginning Quenya aims to take students with any level (or no level) of previous language experience and introduce them to the quest to learn Quenya, Tolkien's most developed invented language.

The first module of Beginning Quenya will introduce students to the pronunciation and basic inflections of the language, with a dose of vocabulary and basic sentence translation as well as an introduction to the Tengwar system.

Future modules will eventually bring students to a more complete understanding of the language with the aim of eventually diving into "primary source" Quenya and Tolkien's numerous Quenya poems, and even into student compositions in Quenya itself!

Each module of the course will be structured around a weekly lecture and practicum, with a pre-recorded lecture released to the students at the beginning of each week, explaining new concepts and giving (optional) exercises to aid in student mastery of each topic. These lectures will be followed by a weekly discussion section/practicum, where each section can work through problems, clarifying questions, and practical exercises as a group to reinforce each lesson.

Optional learning resources will be provided for the students each week, but the most important part is to simply listen to the lectures and take part in the practicum sessions!

How do you pick up the threads of an old life? Come and take a deep dive, attempting to do just that, as we look into the life of the maker of Middle-earth! This series will go on an adventure through the life of Tolkien over three months through the lens of the newly revised and expanded Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. As the module follows the narrative presented in Tolkien's own words in his letters, the class sessions will allow for discussions of Tolkien's thoughts and problems as he raises them --- as well as the chance to read and discuss selections of his creative works along the way.

Throughout the course, we will be discussing the events of Tolkien’s life in tandem with the letters and filling out a more complete picture of the man through his work, his personal life, and his creative endeavours. Names, places, and stages of history can all too easily become abstractions on a page but, in this course, we will see the way in which Tolkien's personal environment was intimately connected to his works, and how it shaped the life of the man behind the legendarium.

You can join us for the whole series or just jump in a month at a time as we explore the newly revised and expanded Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien!

How do you pick up the threads of an old life? Come and take a deep dive, attempting to do just that, as we look into the life of the maker of Middle-earth! This series will go on an adventure through the life of Tolkien over three months through the lens of the newly revised and expanded Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. As the module follows the narrative presented in Tolkien's own words in his letters, the class sessions will allow for discussions of Tolkien's thoughts and problems as he raises them --- as well as the chance to read and discuss selections of his creative works along the way.

Throughout the course, we will be discussing the events of Tolkien’s life in tandem with the letters and filling out a more complete picture of the man through his work, his personal life, and his creative endeavours. Names, places, and stages of history can all too easily become abstractions on a page but, in this course, we will see the way in which Tolkien's personal environment was intimately connected to his works, and how it shaped the life of the man behind the legendarium.

You can join us for the whole series or just jump in a month at a time as we explore the newly revised and expanded Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien!

How do you pick up the threads of an old life? Come and take a deep dive, attempting to do just that, as we look into the life of the maker of Middle-earth! This series will go on an adventure through the life of Tolkien over three months through the lens of the newly revised and expanded Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. As the module follows the narrative presented in Tolkien's own words in his letters, the class sessions will allow for discussions of Tolkien's thoughts and problems as he raises them --- as well as the chance to read and discuss selections of his creative works along the way.

Throughout the course, we will be discussing the events of Tolkien’s life in tandem with the letters and filling out a more complete picture of the man through his work, his personal life, and his creative endeavours. Names, places, and stages of history can all too easily become abstractions on a page but, in this course, we will see the way in which Tolkien's personal environment was intimately connected to his works, and how it shaped the life of the man behind the legendarium.

You can join us for the whole series or just jump in a month at a time as we explore the newly revised and expanded Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien!

How do you pick up the threads of an old life? Come and take a deep dive, attempting to do just that, as we look into the life of the maker of Middle-earth! This series will go on an adventure through the life of Tolkien over three months through the lens of the newly revised and expanded Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. As the module follows the narrative presented in Tolkien's own words in his letters, the class sessions will allow for discussions of Tolkien's thoughts and problems as he raises them --- as well as the chance to read and discuss selections of his creative works along the way.

Throughout the course, we will be discussing the events of Tolkien’s life in tandem with the letters and filling out a more complete picture of the man through his work, his personal life, and his creative endeavours. Names, places, and stages of history can all too easily become abstractions on a page but, in this course, we will see the way in which Tolkien's personal environment was intimately connected to his works, and how it shaped the life of the man behind the legendarium.

You can join us for the whole series or just jump in a month at a time as we explore the newly revised and expanded Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien!

How do you pick up the threads of an old life? Come and take a deep dive, attempting to do just that, as we look into the life of the maker of Middle-earth! This series will go on an adventure through the life of Tolkien over several months through the lens of the newly revised and expanded Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. As the module follows the narrative presented in Tolkien's own words in his letters, the class sessions will allow for discussions of Tolkien's thoughts and problems as he raises them --- as well as the chance to read and discuss selections of his creative works along the way.

Throughout the course, we will be discussing the events of Tolkien’s life in tandem with the letters and filling out a more complete picture of the man through his work, his personal life, and his creative endeavours. Names, places, and stages of history can all too easily become abstractions on a page but, in this course, we will see the way in which Tolkien's personal environment was intimately connected to his works, and how it shaped the life of the man behind the legendarium.

You can join us for the whole series or just jump in a month at a time as we explore the newly revised and expanded Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien!

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.

One of the most crucial elements of education for millennia was teaching the ability to harness the potential of the memory. From the time of Homer until the 19th century, bards and bureaucrats both would have used established methods to organize and categorize their thoughts and remember crucial pieces of information. The legendary memories of men from Homer to Cicero to Shakespeare had less to do with their unique genius and more to do with their application of ancient methods of memorization, that can still be learned today. In this module, students will learn the ancient memorization techniques that allowed bards to recite thousands of lines of poetry and Shakespeare's actors to perform dozens of complicated monologues, and discover its applications to life in the 21st century.

Homer's Iliad is the foundational text of Western Literature, focusing on powerful perpetual problems of human life and experience: the desire for glory, the destructiveness of war, the struggle against overwhelming fate, the complex and powerful bonds of family, and the unexpected value of pity. Its impact can hardly be underestimated, as the list of its direct descendants stretches from "The Aeneid" to Milton's "Paradise Lost" and beyond, and the works that it has inspired are too many to count. Whether you are a newcomer or an old friend of the text, there is always something new, arresting, strange, and poignant to be found in the story that started it all. Come join in the exploration!

How did cinema develop from a curiosity of the early 20th century to the multi-billion dollar industry it is today?

The story of the rise of filmmaking as both mass entertainment and an art form is a tale of epic proportions that is still in the making. From Victor Fleming to Tarantino and John Ford to Spielberg, the medium of film has turned into the backbone of modern storytelling. Just as the novels of Dickens and Cervantes captured the attention and imaginations of generations of audiences, the classics of cinema will provide food for thought and discussion for generations to come. Take a deep dive with us into the greatest and most fascinating movies that cinematic history has to offer as we make an Odyssey through the stories that made film the art form that it is today. Join in with our analytical discussions led by a professional film critic and movie podcaster, and together we will explore the enduring quality of the best that film has to offer.

For the first module of this series, "The Story of Cinema: A SPACE Odyssey," we will be exploring some of the most unique and innovative space and science fiction films in history:

• Class 1: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
• Class 2: Star Wars (1977)
• Class 3: Alien (1979)
• Class 4: Blade Runner (1982)
• Class 5: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
• Class 6: Minority Report (2002)
• Class 7: Interstellar (2014)
• Class 8: Arrival (2016)

While Shakespeare is famous for his plays, he also wrote more than 150 sonnets, which display his wit, his charm, his insight, and his unparalleled talent for turning a phrase and playing into double-entendres. Join us as we scan and analyze the whole compendium of Shakespeare's sonnets from beginning to end, exploring the nuances of each individual poem as well as the wide sweep of personal love and loss in his own life explained between the pages of Shakespeare's poetry.

To give each of the sonnets their due, this will be a non-sequential series in which each month, we will cover some of the sonnets, their structure, history and inspiration behind them. No previous knowledge of sonnets is required.

Note: Each module in the series will enrich the understanding of the overall sonnet project, but students will be able to enter into any of the modules of this series independent of each other without needing the context of the previous class.