April Neal Kluever, Sørina Higgins, Sara Legard contributing While circling the skies, the Signum Eagle spotted with his far-seeing eyes some unlikely associates gathering in Virginia in a rather hobbitish sort of way, complete with lots of food and hairy feet. So the Eagle swooped down and pecked at them until they revealed what they…
by David A. Maddock Hello, my name is Dave and I am a language dilettante. Phew, that felt good to confess. Over the past five years I’ve dabbled in Classical Greek, Latin, Esperanto, Italian, Irish, Spanish and Welsh—spending an average of an hour a day on language study over that time. (Yes, I keep a…
by Dan Kinney Dr. Corey Olsen is the president and founder of Signum University, as well as an active faculty member: Since the school’s creation, Dr. Olsen has taught classes almost every session, ranging from Tolkien studies to medieval literature. This fall, he is revisiting Lewis & Tolkien, previously offered in Spring 2012. Dan Kinney had a…
by Katherine Sas As reported previously by the Eagle, quite a few Mythgardians were looking forward to Mythcon 45. Conference attendee Katherine Sas reports from the field with a roundup of the activities enjoyed from the Mythgard crew at the recent event. Signum University had a strong presence at the 45th annual Mythcon. Held August…
by Kelly Orazi This Fall, Signum University welcomes prominent scholar Douglas Anderson in The Roots of the Mountain, a new course offering a unique look at the fantasy tales that came before and shortly after Tolkien. There is no one better suited to the task of teaching this course than Dr. Douglas A. Anderson, independent scholar and…
by Ryan Joy Dr. Amy H. Sturgis is the newly appointed Department Chair of Literature and Language at Signum University. She teaches a range of courses that include detective fiction, Harry Potter, dystopian literature, and gothic stories. Ryan Joy “sat down” electronically with Dr. Sturgis for a brief Q&A session regarding her upcoming class for the…
by Andrew Higgins Tolkien in the New Century: Essays in Honor of Tom Shippey. Edited by John Wm. Houghton, et al. McFarland. June 24, 2014. Eglerio! Tolkien lovers and explorers have rejoiced this summer with a group of books that I am sure have been on countless Kindles and read on beaches and by many pools.…
Interview with Brandon Young As a critically acclaimed and internationally-known artist, illustrator, and storyteller Jef Murray wears many hats. His illustrations of the characters and scenes we find in Tolkien, Lewis, and George MacDonald have a capacity for capturing the ineffable. This is why I like to call him, simply, The Wizard. For he is a Wizard,…
Features Signumites Excited about Mythcon Mythmoot III: Ever on… Dr. Sturgis Goes to LonCon 3 News & Announcements Fall 2014 Mythgard Institute Classes The Fall term is just around the corner, and registration is now open. There are three classes being offered in the autumnal trimester, two revived favorites and a new course sure to entice…
While myriad Mythgardians are migrating to Massachusetts for Mythcon, only one is braving the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention in London (a/k/a, “Loncon 3”) from August 14 – 18. Dr. Amy H. Sturgis, who will once again be offering her two-part “History of Science Fiction” courses in the upcoming Fall and Spring trimesters at Mythgard (see description below),…