Dear Readers,
Some of you may know that I have been writing and speaking about setting up my own Academy for decades. If you are by any chance familiar with what I wrote about this on my old website, posted on forums, or said in conference presentations, you may recall that I never imagined it could be virtual. And yet here it is, and I not only accept that reality, but see many benefits that come with it.
Nonetheless, I would now like to begin to work towards adding a number of physical components to the Academy as well, namely: 1) occasional live meetings in addition to regular virtual ones; 2) a physical base for an Academy library, etc., and 3) awarding a respected degree in Polyliteracy.
In 2024, we can start live meetings in two different ways. First of all, when I travel to major cities, I can give short and relatively informal Shadowing “boot camps” while I am there. I currently do not travel as much as I have in the past, but I will be in New York City this coming May, from about the 13th through the 16th, and will plan on doing this then and there. Secondly, starting the last week of September this year (the week off between 3rd and 4th Quarters), let us plan for a longer and more formal kind of first annual retreat for regular Academy students.
In planning for an annual retreat, I like the idea of initially emulating the Polyglot Conference, which is held in a different country each year. At very least, since the majority of Academy participants are in North America, but there is also a large block from Britain and Europe, we might alternate between sides of the Atlantic, at least until such time as we can make progress on establishing a permanent physical base for an Academy library, etc.
My own personal collection of language-learning books and materials will form the core of this library, on the model of Humboldt-Universitäts Mediathek. As you may know, although many language learning materials from years past are of excellent pedagogical quality, these are rarely preserved in most normal libraries, as they are seen as dated when newer materials come in. One purpose of the Academy library will be to collect and preserve as many different types of materials for as many different languages as possible by both active acquisition and accepting donations, thereby forming a museum of languages and language learning materials. I envision this museum as a place where, on annual retreats, regular Academy students could construct long-term learning plans by sampling and selecting materials for possible target languages; during the rest of the year, it could also be open for others to gain exposure to languages and the means for learning them.
When this physical base is established, it will make sense to have other resources, such as a retreat center, on the same grounds. Where might these grounds be? I am not permanently wedded to where I am now, but it does fit my ideal of a locale that is relatively remote but not of onerously difficult access. So, we might as well begin deep in the woods of northern Minnesota.
With that degree of tangibility and with a continuing core contingent of students, it will then be time to explore how to offer a degree in Polyliteracy, perhaps jointly with some existing institution, perhaps in association with other Academies if the model of what we are doing here spreads, as I hope it will. What will the curriculum for such a degree be like? That will be the subject of the April newsletter.
With best regards,
Alexander Arguelles
