Virtual History and Literature Seminars
MIDDLE SCHOOL - HIGH SCHOOL 

​Beloved teacher, Hugh Gardner, will share his passion for literature and historical games. Seminar-styled courses are designed for curious history buffs and will be sure to engage, teach and entertain all participants.

Hugh Gardner, a former military intelligence analyst, has been teaching history for over 20 years primarily to home-schooled and gifted students. Hugh is known for his dynamic and interactive lectures. Through his love of continual learning and discovery, extensive bibliographies, superior replica, reproduction and authentic period weapons, accoutrements, and artifacts, as well as posters, maps, music, artwork and historical games, Hugh brings history to life. 

Maximum Enrollment: 10 students
Method: Virtual, synchronous, and live

Course / Seminar	Dates / Times	Description	Ages	Register
Literature Seminar: ​GK Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday and Charles Williams' The Place of the Lion $280	June 15 - 19 8:45 am - ​noon EST	​G. K. Chesterton was one of the most prolific, profound, and paradoxical writers of the 20 th century. Chesterton fearlessly delved into every subject that came to the attention of his powerful intellect. His works are always provocative in the best spiritual and philosophical senses of the word. Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday has been hailed as a surreal comic masterpiece, a work of genius, and often laugh-out-loud funny and an immense joy to read! Charles Williams was a lay theologian, a playwright, a medievalist, and a novelist, as well as a poet. He was a close friend of C. S. Lewis and a member of the famous Oxford literary reading and discussion circle (along with J.R.R. Tolkien) known as the Inklings. Williams delved into esotericism for part of his life, searching for hidden truths, this part of his life is reflected in the series of strange, densely written, “metaphysical thrillers” he wrote – which, though difficult, are richly rewarding. We will read and discuss The Place of the Lion, a fantastic novel about the “ideas” that lay beyond our visible world. Notes: This seminar requires that students have read The Man Who Was Thursday and The Place of the Lion before the first day of class. This course needs four more registrants to be confirmed and will run virtually.  ​	​13 - 17	Register
​Literature Seminar: ​​J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings  ​$280 ​3 spots left	​June 22 - 26 ​8:45 am - ​noon EST	Journey into the world of J.R.R. Tolkien, the Master of Middle Earth. Explore his fascinating childhood and adolescence, his many enduring friendships, especially his close relationship with C.S. Lewis, his horrific World War experiences, and his inspirational relationship with his wife and family. Discover Tolkien’s intense love of language and languages and the amazing panoply of literature and mythology that influenced him, his celebrated academic endeavors, and his intense faith in God. Learn how all of these are reflected in his majestic work, The Lord of the Rings. Notes: Students are required to have read The Lord of the Rings before the first day of class.​ This course is confirmed and will run virtually. ​	​13 - 17	Register
World History: The Great War 6 weeks $1800 3 weeks $900 ​	June 29 -   ​August 7 8:45 am - noon EST	This seminar-style, in-depth study of The Great War stresses primary sources and utilizes superior replica, reproduction, and authentic period weapons, accoutrements, and artifacts, as well as posters, maps, music, artwork, and historical games to gain an in-depth understanding between the geography and history of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Students examine the relationship among social, economic and geopolitical developments across time and place starting with the Napoleonic Wars and ending with the Treaty of Versailles. ​Students will learn to interpret historical events through primary-source analysis and to defend their opinions both orally and through written analyses. Students will also develop their ability to write substantive, coherent, and precise historical papers that are informative, analytical, and thesis-based. Topics of study to be covered include:  Origins of World War “Invasion Literature” The Battles of 1914  The New Weapons The Western Front: Trenches, Technology, and Tactics  Introduction to Air Warfare The Naval War The United States and WWI  Global War (including the Middle East and Africa) Versailles and “The Peace” in Europe and the Middle East Dates: 1 credit: June 29 - August 7 (6 weeks) 1/2 credit: June 29 - July 17 (3 weeks) ​No class on Friday, July 3 Time: Lecture: 9:00 am - 12:00 noon EST If taking the course for credit, students will be expected to complete independent research in the afternoons. For 1/2 credit option, 1 paper, and for the full credit option, 2 papers We will schedule two days where students who would like to will be able to come in person to see the replica, reproduction, and authentic period weapons and artifacts. * Ideaventions Academy rising 7th or 8th grade students, or exceptionally gifted students, may take this class with permission. Must be in at least 7th or 8th grade to take the course for credit. Email admissions@ideaventionsacademy.org	14 - 17	Register​​​
​​Historical Games Workshop* $455	​August 10-14 9:00 am - ​3:30 pm EST	Explore the world of classic historical board games! This workshop includes dozens of games from: Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, The Celtic, Saxon and Viking Worlds, The Middle Ages of Europe and the Middle East, and 2000 Years of Asian History. Participants will discover how games easily traveled through the centuries and transformed from culture to culture. For example, Seega (Egypt) becomes Petteia (Greece), which transforms into Latrunculi (Rome), which morphs, in part, into the Hnefatafl Family of games found in the Celtic and Viking worlds. All of these games are eventually surpassed in popularity by the Chess Family of games which flow into Europe from the Middle East and Asia. There are multiple versions of some games, since our knowledge of most of these games is imperfect, and different designers envision the games differently. In fact, one of the challenges for your students is comparing and contrasting the same game idea, both from different cultures and from different modern designers. *Notes: ​There will be some reading required before and during the workshop. The workshop begins each day with a ~45 minute historical lecture before moving to the games themselves. This course is confirmed will only run in person. If we are still under "Stay at Home" orders, the course will be cancelled and you will be refunded in full. Maximum enrollment is 10 students.	12 - 17	​Register

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TUITION AND FEES

• Tuition varies per seminar or workshop and is listed above. 
• Register at the link by the course.
• ​Full payment is due May 15th. 
• Please see Terms and Conditions for details.

Withdrawals and Refunds:

• If you need to withdraw from a course, please send an email to info@ideaventions.com requesting the withdrawal. We will not process withdrawals from voicemails.
• Refunds can be processed 3 weeks before the start of camp. The refund amount will be the amount paid minus a 5% fee to cover what we are charged for credit card payments and the cost to try to fill the spot.