What's New at SeumasU September 2022
It's spring here in Australia, though the first few days of it have been rainy, windy, and cooler than expected. I've been enjoying this term of teaching immensely, which is a pleasure to say. I've also been joyously working away on various writing things: the new Galilaiathen reader, Cassandra (my LLPSI reader), and my paid church-history writing project which is coming close to completion. I hope and plan to make consistent progress on Galilaiathen and then release a print version in the new year, but I don't promise that. However, I have done 7 nice chapters so far and feel like it's progressing well so far. You can get hold of current recensions of Galilaiathen and Cassandra by supporting me on patreon.
New Classes
There's lots of classes on the schedule at SeumasU this term, about which I'm excited as always, but also really hope that you'll find something that suits your interests.
For Introductory Greek, there's 101, two cohorts of 102, 104. Beyond that we have interest courses in 1 Samuel, Plato (Meno), "the Optative", and with Isaac there's Harry Potter in Greek, and an intermediate RPG course.
If there's enough interest, I will consider putting yet another 101 cohort on, as this class is already almost full.
I'll also be running a 5-week conversational class on Europe/African time.
Lastly, for Greek I've decided to offer a new type of class. It's not being conducted in Greek, which is my usual practice, but it's designed to be a bit more accessible for that reason. We'll be reading continuously through Greek Patristic authors, and students will be involved in producing Steadman-style reader's editions of key early church theological texts together. Because of all those factors, if you have an interest in Greek patristics and want to get involved, I'd love to have you join!
For Latin, I'm offering a new beginner's 101, a post-Familia Romana course on Gesta Romanorum, and then two reading classes, on Melanchthon, and Proba (who wrote a christian cento built off Vergil).
Gaelic at SeumasU?
I am exploring some options to add a Gaelic class or two to future SeumasU offerings. This is still a tentative plan at this stage, but I'm excited by the possibilities.
2023 sneak previews...
My 2023 plans are still shaping up, obviously, but my choices are generally guided by three principles: what brings me joy in Latin and Greek, what aren't other people doing, and what will help people most develop their own language abilities. I'm pretty committed to teaching Eudocia, which will be my first foray into teaching Greek verse. I have in mind to read Calvin on Prayer in Latin, and I'm hoping to bring back some favourite courses, including Latin prose writing, and RPG courses.
That's all from me for now. Thanks for all your support and for reading this newsletter!
Seumas