Update May 23, 2013: How to Register:
Prof. Turpin writes:
We make progress! Anyone interested in participating (or “auditing”) should join the Google Plus “Community” for “Medieval Latin (Summer 2013): The Gesta Francorum. To do this:
1.Create a Google account if you don’t already have one.
2.Create a Google Plus account (just Google “Google Plus”, or click on the Plus sign on your Google page.
3. Go to “Communities” (in the left-hand column of your Google Plus home page) and search for “Medieval Latin, Summer 2013”
4. Send a request to join the community from within Google Plus.
If that doesn’t work please send and email to wturpin1@swarthmore.edu. For assignments, texts, supporting material, refer to the original website; the link is in the original posting above.
Many thanks to Chris Francese for posting these announcements.
Update from Prof. Turpin May 9, 2013 on recordings and how to register:
It turns out that using Google hangouts in any kind of large-scale way means that the sessions get stored on Youtube automatically, unless we go in and delete them, which we presumably won’t. So I think we’re going to try to adjust to this brave new world and deal with that fact.
There’s no actual registration, in any formal sense; just keep an eye on the website for a signup for people willing to come online and translate and be in the discussion.
In the summer of 2013 Professors William Turpin (Swarthmore College, Classics) and Bruce Venarde (University of Pittsburgh, History) will be offering a free online Latin translation course, meeting on Google Hangout. The class will meet once a week starting on Monday, June 3, at 8-10 p.m. EST and will continue for perhaps ten weeks. We will be translating and discussing the Gesta Francorum, an anonymous first-hand account of the First Crusade written in relatively straightforward medieval Latin.
William Turpin, Swarthmore College
The course is intended for students who have completed a year or so of classical Latin at the college level, or the equivalent in high school. It should also be suitable for those whose Latin may be a little rusty, or for those new to medieval Latin. Google Hangout will allow eight active participants (i.e. people who may wish to translate a particular section of text) and an unlimited number of auditors (who will be able to submit questions and comments by email).
All are welcome, as active participants or as auditors. For more information, including a text of the Gesta Francorum edited for student use, go to:
https://sites.google.com/a/swarthmore.edu/medieval-latin-summer-2013-the-gesta-francorum/
What a great idea, and I was just thinking that I needed a review of Latin. I would like to participate as an on-line auditor.
Valeatis,
Mona Logarbo
I would also like to participate in this program!
Valete!
Robin Henley
Thanks for this opportunity; what a great idea! Do you want us to sign up as auditors or just show up?
To anyone interested in participating: at the moment I’m just imagining that the 8 “participant” slots (for people willing to take their turn at translation) would be available each week on a first-come, first-served basis. I don’t want people to feel they have to commit to the whole course, and I don’t want others to feel excluded. If there’s a lot of demand, we could ask people to change places with any auditors who would like to join in as participants.
I would be happy to receive emails from people who think they will be interested, whether as participants or auditors, if only to have some sense of the level of interest.
William Turpin
I would be interested as well. Do I just click the link at the date and time indicated?
I too would like to throw my hat in as an auditor. This is perfect timing as I’m refreshing after a XLV year absence. Thank you for offering this as an in linea free course !!!
Valete
Harlan Woodring
I am definitely interested! I will be away on vacation for one of those Mondays and at Dickinson reading Ovid for another. But otherwise I will “tune in” as an auditor and a participant if so needed (and I can figure out the technology!).
I would be delighted to be involved in some way as well, it sounds a very interesting idea.
I’d be interested in participating, either as a active participant or auditor as space is available.
Will the google hangouts be recorded and available for later viewing? I’d like to participate as an auditor but I live in a timezone that would make it impossible to watch the sessions in real time.
I would like recorded sessions too, for later viewing.
Thanks for all the interest; we’re working on a good interface for seeing who wants to be involved actively (i.e. translating and discussing online).
I’m afraid we’re (so far) reluctant to make actual recordings. I would imagine it might deter potential participants: we all make mistakes, but we don’t want them recorded for world-wide viewing, even if only a tiny number of people would actually care. And certainly neither Prof. Venarde or myself are comfortable with that idea.
Rightly or wrongly we’re trying something much more modest than anything massive and online: we’re trying to replicate as best we can the experience of our classrooms and reading groups: being a room with a small number of interested readers, practicing our language skills and talking about issues raised by the text.
For what it’s worth, I think the combination of an accessible Latin text with supporting resources (vocabulary, audio, grammar review exercises) should work quite well for purposes of self-study. And of course we would welcome occasional visitors for whom the time (the real time) is right.
I would like to participate as well, either as an active participant or as an auditor. Wonderful idea!
I am very excited that this is being offered. I’d love to participate, but since there’s such a limit on size I’m happy to audit. Especially since I have more experience with Latin than this is geared towards.
I also love the idea of audio recordings being offered. It would be a wonderful and beneficial extra challenge.
I am interested in this, just because I like medieval Latin. Maybe I should audit, since I teach? What is not clear, however, is how to participate. Could you provide explicit instructions for how to register, for those of us unfamiliar with joining a Google hangout?
It turns out that using Google hangouts in any kind of large-scale way means that the sessions get stored on Youtube automatically, unless we go in and delete them, which we presumably won’t. So I think we’re going to try to adjust to this brave new world and deal with that fact.
There’s no actual registration, in any formal sense; just keep an eye on the website for a signup for people willing to come online and translate and be in the discussion.
William
I would love to join as either a student or an auditor.
I would like to join as an auditor.
We make progress! Anyone interested in participating (or “auditing”) should join the Google Plus “Community” for “Medieval Latin (Summer 2013): The Gesta Francorum. To do this:
1.Create a Google account if you don’t already have one.
2.Create a Google Plus account (just Google “Google Plus”, or click on the Plus sign on your Google page.
3. Go to “Communities” (in the left-hand column of your Google Plus home page) and search for “Medieval Latin, Summer 2013”
4. Send a request to join the community from within Google Plus.
If that doesn’t work please send and email to wturpin1@swarthmore.edu. For assignments, texts, supporting material, refer to the original website; the link is in the original posting above.
Many thanks to Chris Francese for posting these announcements.
Looking at this for my son, an upcoming high school senior, whose Latin IV teacher has recommended that he skip Latin V and move into the Latin VI/AP Latin course in the fall. He’s just begun working on translations – maybe Cicero – in the last month or so. I’m looking for a way for him to practice, practice, practice translating in preparation for his fall coursework. Does your class sound like a fit? I’ve never studied Latin (outside of vocabulary work) so don’t know how to assess. Any feedback is welcome.
Yes and no. The Latin of the Gesta is much easier than Cicero. And Medieval Latin does things differently from Classical Latin. In a perfect world we would have courses at both levels of difficulty, and cater to classicists as well as medievalists. Maybe next year.
your son is welcome to take a look, and wouldn’t be the only hs student. Part of my thinking was that all of us can use a break from all that intricate classical syntax, and just read a good story for once, especially in the summer.
W