In the summer of 2016 William Turpin (Swarthmore College), Jen Faulkner (East Longmeadow High School) and Larry Swain (Bemidji State University) will offer another free online Medieval Latin translation course, using the Zoom video conferencing program.  This summer we will read the “Life of Patrick” by Muirchú, and Patrick’s “Confession,” which are written in relatively straightforward, intuitive Latin.  User-friendly editions (with a lot of vocabulary help) are or will be posted (see below).
 
The course is aimed above all at those 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 more accomplished Latinists with an interest in medieval Latin. The intention is to replicate the experience of a student in (say) a college Latin class at the early intermediate level, minus the quizzes, tests, and continuing assessment; there is no mechanism for awarding credit or certificates of attendance. The most immediate model, in fact, may be an informal reading group: the basic premise is that a small community of interested participants can both encourage and enhance what is essentially a private encounter with a text. 
 
Zoom will allow eight active participants (i.e. people who may wish come online to translate a particular section of text) and an unlimited number of auditors, who will be able to submit questions and comments using the messaging function. The sessions will also be archived on YouTube. We will provide a webpage for interested participants to sign up for particular sections of the text; such participants will then be invited to translate and to raise questions or comment as seems appropriate. The instructors and other active participants will offer assistance and comments as necessary, just as in an ordinary class with participants sitting around a table. 
 
Sessions will begin on Sunday, June 5, at 2PM Eastern time.  General information about the course and subsequent online “discussions”  can be accessed by joining the Google Plus “Community” entitled “Medieval Latin (Summer 2016): St. Patrick: Muirchu, Vita S. Patricii and Patrick’s “Confessio.”  (https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/106839324668039713380).   The Google Plus page has a link to a webpage for the course, where you can find the texts and sign-up sheet for joining one of the weekly sessions as active participant (or go straight to https://sites.google.com/a/swarthmore.edu?tab=m3)
 
Active participants will need a webcam and to install Zoom (which is free and easy to install); observers will find the link posted on the Google Plus page shortly before the session begins.  
 
Questions may be addressed directly to wturpin1@swarthmore.edu.