Dear Readers,
First of all, thank you to all the many people who responded to the poll we sent out last month regarding possible new offerings in the Academy as of 1st Quarter 2024. None of the suggestions I wrote about last time were eliminated as enough people expressed enough interest in all of them to warrant pursuing their possibilities further. That is, we will be endeavoring to add something Italian, something Greek, something Hindi/Persian, something Korean, and a Language Tour to our mix. Thus, I would like to write about that process in this month’s newsletter.
If you responded to the poll expressing interest in a particular proposal, please watch for emails regarding that offering over the coming few weeks. Some will be logistical (asking what times suit your best, what you current level or past experience is, etc.) and some will be more substantive (regarding texts to be used and expectations for pacing and progress, etc.). These will not be automatic mailings but rather human-generated postings (thanks, Xing Hao!) working from small lists, so please respond promptly to them. If you need to opt out, just let him know and he will take you off the list so you will not receive further mailings; conversely, if you missed the poll but would now like to be included in the planning for a particular offering, please also just let him know.
I was very happily surprised at how much interest there was for a circle to read and discuss Italian literature. My ideal for all literature reading and discussing circles is to have multiple sections for multiple levels (roughly beginning, intermediate, and advanced reading levels). Currently the one Spanish and two German circles are all rather advanced, but we do have one French circle for those just beginning to read literature, and another (focusing on Montaigne) that is at an intermediate level. Please don’t forget about these “old” literature courses in the enthusiasm for the new Italian one! We will be beginning new books in many of them as of January, but given the nature of these circles, while it is nice to join then, it is not essential to do so at such a point, and we do have people successfully join us mid-way all the time. If you are considering a literature circle but would like to see what one is like before committing to join, you can always ask to attend a session as a guest.
This is even true for many of the language learning circles because the Academy model is for guided self-study in small groups. My purpose is not to teach you languages, but rather to teach you how to teach yourself languages. Apart from interacting with me in our scheduled meetings, participants in all circles form self-supporting contingents that meet to study and practice together. So, we had someone successfully join Sanskrit as a pure beginner during chapter 10 of 15, and he is doing fine. For Old Norse in particular we will, using my “peeling the onion” approach, be beginning a 2nd textbook in January (Gordon’s Introduction to Old Norse), so that would be a good time to join. I have repeatedly seen people who are willing to work a bit harder in order to catch up with the group do so successfully, so if you are interested in a language, please reach out to discuss where we are rather than assuming you need to wait for day one to come around again.
Please think of the Academy as a place where you can explore languages with me as your guide. It is wonderful to finally get to the stage when you can read literature in the original, but when you approach it the right way, the experience of getting there can be just as valuable in and of itself.
On a final note, there was also enthusiastic interest in the possibility of a live retreat or workshop later in the year, so we will begin exploring when and how to do that once 1st Quarter 2024 gets underway.
With best regards,
Alexander Arguelles
