Our friends at the Mythgard Institute continue to pull out the stops when it comes to innovative education with the announcement of two new summer offerings. The first is a web-based college-prep writing course, wherein students will choose to study either The Fellowship of the Ring or books 1 – 3 of the Harry Potter series. Writing Tutorial tudents will meet each week with a writing instructor who will guide them in crafting their papers. The second opportunity is in the form of an on-campus Mythgard Summer Camp, which will take place at Washington College, home of Tolkien Professor Corey Olsen. Again, there will be a Tolkien-themed option and a Harry Potter-themed option. Students who choose the Tolkien camp will study Fellowship of the Ring July 26 -28, while those who choose Harry Potter will look at Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban July 19 – 21. See the press releases below for complete details:
Mythgard Academy offers unique college writing prep – and auditing – experiences for Summer 2012
Hartly, DE. – This summer, Mythgard Institute is launching a new program: the Mythgard Summer Academy. The Academy is an online, intensive, non-credit-bearing literature and writing program for students of all ages. Students in Mythgard Academy courses will engage in live, interactive classes with celebrated scholars, delving into the works of fantasy that they love and respect most. The Academy program is flexible and convenient. Since these courses are delivered completely online, no travel is required; students participate in live classes and tutorials from home.
Two course tracks will be offered during the summer focusing on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and J.K. Rowling.
Participants in “The Lord of the Rings I: The Road Goes Ever On” will read carefully through The Fellowship of the Ring. We will discuss Tolkien’s elaborate framing of the story and look at the growth and development of the story from its first chapter through the increased seriousness and darkness of the story that follows as well as the characters and peoples whose stories Tolkien tells along the way. Taught by Dr. Corey Olsen, this course will be offered as six class sessions and will run from July 9th through July 25th.
Students in “Hogwarts 101: Exploring Harry Potter, Years 1-3″ will consider the first three Harry Potter novels – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s (or Sorcerer’s) Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – through the lenses of literature, history, philosophy, and popular culture studies. Participants will investigate the magical worlds and deeper meanings of the Harry Potter saga. Taught by Dr. Amy H. Sturgis, this course will also be offered as six class session and will run from July 2nd – July 18th.
There are two different ways for students to participate in the Mythgard Summer Academy: Mythgard Summer Academy with Writing Tutorials and Mythgard Summer Academy Auditing. Writing Tutorial students (primarily high-school and college students) looking for college writing prep will also be matched with personal writing instructors who will hold individual tutorial sessions every week to discuss students’ writing in addition to participating in our online fantasy literature courses. Auditing students will have access to live as well as recorded class sessions but will not be expected to complete the writing assignments.
Enrollment for both Mythgard Summer Academy classes is open now for all forms of enrollment and is available online.
The Mythgard Institute in an online institute that offers challenging, engaging classes, taught by world-class teachers and leading scholars in order to provide students with new opportunities to study works by authors like Tolkien, Rowling, Gaiman and more seriously and with academic rigor, either for their own enrichment or towards the achievement of a degree. The Institute offers literature courses at the master’s level and offers concentrations in areas such as Tolkien studies, medieval literature, and fantasy literature. The Mythgard Institute is in the process of acquiring full certification and accreditation, and expects to be able to award MA’s in English literature by the spring of 2013.
Mythgard Academy offers unique on-campus experiences to high-school students
Hartly, DE. – In conjunction with its online course offerings, the newly-launched Mythgard Academy is offering two new summer camp experiences for high school students. The Mythgard Academy Summer Camp provides students an immersive, 48 hour on-campus experience at Washington College in Chestertown, MD. Led by Dr. Corey Olsen and Dr. Amy H. Sturgis, the weekend sessions offer an ideal opportunity for rising high school students to preview the college life.
Two camp themes based on the worlds of J.K. Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkien will be available this summer.
The Harry Potter Summer Camp Experience offers students a chance to go further into the world of Harry Potter. Taught by Dr. Amy H. Sturgis, this on-campus experience will allow students to delve into the works of J.K. Rowling and will let students compare and contrast the book and film versions of Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban. This camp will be offered Friday, July 19 – Saturday, July 21.
The Lord of the Rings Summer Camp Experience offers students a chance to journey into The Fellowship of the Ring – in person. Taught by Dr. Corey Olsen, this on-campus experience invites students into J.R.R. Tolkien’s world and asks students to compare the adaptations of the original text and Peter Jackson’s film. This camp will be offered Friday, July 26 – Saturday, July 28.
Students in both camps will be asked to critically assess their favorite films and then present college-level writing by way of new media – blogs, photo essays and video. Instruction on collaborative, mobile writing by way of iPads (either provided by Mythgard or students’ own) will be presented to students. A culminating student-led discussion session will familiarize participants with not only higher education classroom conversation but also the expectations of real instructors.
Enrollment for both Mythgard Academy Summer Camp sessions is open now and available online.
The Mythgard Institute in an online institute that offers challenging, engaging classes, taught by world-class teachers and leading scholars in order to provide students with new opportunities to study works by authors like Tolkien, Rowling, Gaiman and more seriously and with academic rigor, either for their own enrichment or towards the achievement of a degree. The Institute offers literature courses at the master’s level and offers concentrations in areas such as Tolkien studies, medieval literature, and fantasy literature. The Mythgard Institute is in the process of acquiring full certification and accreditation, and expects to be able to award MA’s in English literature by the spring of 2013.
