The Mythgard Institute was founded in 2011 as a new online academic center dedicated to promoting the study of imaginative literature and making academic resources more available to fantasy and science fiction fans around the world. In the last two years, Mythgard has established a Master’s degree program in literature and language with a concentration in imaginative literature and Tolkien studies, building an innovative, interactive online classroom that has made it possible for hundreds of students to study with world-renowned scholars.
Now, Mythgard is launching a new program, the Mythgard Academy, through which they hope to make in-depth discussion of people’s favorite works of fantasy and science fiction literature free and open to everyone. The Mythgard Academy program will feature live discussions with Mythgard Institute faculty to which all are invited, free of charge. Recordings of the sessions will be freely available after class, and the supporters will decide what books will be studied.
In order to make Mythgard Academy classes numerous, diverse, and free to everyone, they need your support! Organizing, hosting, and running courses takes a lot of resources and a dedicated team of people, and the hope is that Mythgard Academy can be offered consistently for months and years to come.
In the 2013-2014 academic year, the Mythgard Academy will offer a class session for every $500 that is raised in this campaign. They have already hit their$10,000 goal, allowing them to offer 20 class sessions, either in one long course or in a series of shorter courses (whatever the supporters decide). Imagine if they were to raise $20,000! They could offer 40 class sessions, allowing for a series of courses throughout the year.
Would you like to walk through the Chronicles of Narnia in 21 in-depth class sessions? Interested in embarking on a study of The History of Middle-earth, in 10 class sessions per volume? How about a 6-session class on Frank Herbert’s Dune, or perhaps Richard Adams’s Watership Down? Maybe a 24-session journey through the Harry Potter series, or a 13-session trip through Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files? What about a 5-session reading of Tolkien’s newly-released Fall of Arthur, or even a 20-session course in which we read the medieval Arthurian legends that inspired Tolkien? The possibilities are infinite!
Everyone will be invited to participate in Mythgard Academy courses, but the decisions about which courses are offered will be left to the funders. Everyone who pledges at least $25 to the campaign will receive at least one vote when they hold the election for which courses will be offered next. And the more you donate, the more often you can vote! Those who pledge $100 or more will be appointed to the Council of the Wise, the group in charge of nominating and deciding on the slate of finalists brought to the funders as a whole for the vote. Can’t afford to donate? Help spread the word! The more support they get, the more free classes they can run.
Visit the Mythgard Institute’s IndieGoGo page to pledge your support. The final day to become a funder is September 26!
