Luciani introductio

Salvete iterum!  As we near the beginning of our marvelous time together, I want to highlight a few things about my course, which as I indicated in my first blog post, will be about Lucian's Verae Historiae.  You may note a continuity between this and recent posts from my colleagues about the opportunities you all have from getting to know one another and the importance of learning from one another, not just from your teachers.  Your learning will also be enhanced by ideas that connect with what you're learning in other classes.  For example, we will have a chance to practice transliteration of Greek names found in our text, strengthening your knowledge of the alphabet so you get more out of your Greek class, led by your wonderful Didaskalos Cogan.

We are going to read Lucian's "True Story".  It's not very long, though you will not be expected to have read it by the first day of class.  We will begin by answering a variety of prompts that bring out your creative writing.  Our project, which is writing a sequel of Lucian's account, will provide us with enough structure to help you avoid writer's block.  However, once you've read the text, I think you'll find, working entirely within this framework, that you actually have quite a bit of freedom to write about things that interest you.  There should even be room for an anachronism here and there.

If writing is not your thing, the text alone is something you should look forward to.  It is very different from other ancient literature that you've read!  What's the point of being in Ashland (the Center of the Universe) if we can't take a journey into space?  There are a number of ways to inspire you to work with one another, but hearing about a crew figure out how to get out of a whale (that they've been inside for well over a year) has to be one of the better ones.  Just as Lucian was once visited by the personification of Eloquence in his sleep, you will witness the spirit of Imagination descending upon you.

Curate,
Magister Burgess