eldritchhobbit

Our trek through the The Hunger Games books by Suzanne Collins reaches its finale this January as we begin a month-long exploration of Sunrise on the Reaping in SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) online via Signum University.

May the odds be ever in our favor.

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Speaking of Sunrise on the Reaping, I've been thinking a lot today about the David Hume quote that opens the novel:

“Nothing appears more surprising to those, who consider human affairs with a philosophical eye, than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few; and the implicit submission, with which men resign their own sentiments and passions to those of their rulers. When we enquire by what means this wonder is effected, we shall find, that, as Force is always on the side of the governed, the governors have nothing to support them but opinion. It is therefore, on opinion only that government is founded; and this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military governments, as well as to the most free and most popular.”

Now confirmed! I am delighted to report that in Spring 2026, I'll be offering two standalone (but related) modules with SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) online via Signum University. Each focuses on an important novel related to the same real-life, true-crime unsolved case.

March 2026: Last Seen Wearing by Hillary Waugh: Discovering a Turning Point in Crime Fiction

May 2026: The Secret History by Donna Tartt: Unpacking the "Whydunit" Mystery

Now confirmed! Here are the details of the new three-part online module for SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) that I'll be offering for Signum University in Spring 2026.

Rebellions Are Built On Hope: A Star Wars Series

Over nearly half a century of storytelling, Star Wars has challenged audiences to find their own agency and power in the face of injustice and tyranny. The Star Wars works Andor (2022, 2025), Rogue One (2016), and A New Hope (1977) fit together to provide a story of resistance, resilience, and rebellion built on a deep engagement with history, philosophy, and political thought. Join Dr. Amy H. Sturgis as we consider how Star Wars wrestles with big ideas, invites conversation and action, and inspires hope in unprecedented times.

This SPACE series consists of three hybrid modules:

Module 1 (Only 1 seat left!) (Feb. 2026) covers the series Andor, Season 1 (more info here);

Module 2 (March 2026) covers the series Andor, Season 2 (more info here); and

Module 3 (April 2026) covers the films Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (more info here).

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My half-hour talk "Star Wars and Resistance" is now on YouTube as part of the SPACE Showcase. My talk kicks in around 11 minutes into the Showcase.

This talk is a "sneak peek" into my new three-part online module for SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) for Signum University in Spring 2026.

Watch on YouTube

Rebellions Are Built On Hope: A Star Wars Series

Over nearly half a century of storytelling, Star Wars has challenged audiences to find their own agency and power in the face of injustice and tyranny. The Star Wars works Andor (2022, 2025), Rogue One (2016), and A New Hope (1977) fit together to provide a story of resistance, resilience, and rebellion built on a deep engagement with history, philosophy, and political thought. Join Dr. Amy H. Sturgis as we consider how Star Wars wrestles with big ideas, invites conversation and action, and inspires hope in unprecedented times.

This SPACE series consists of three hybrid modules:

Module 1 (Feb. 2026) covers the series Andor, Season 1 (more info here);

Module 2 (March 2026) covers the series Andor, Season 2 (more info here); and

Module 3 (April 2026) covers the films Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (more info here).

I'm delighted to share that I will be teaching a new three-part online module for SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) for Signum University in Spring 2026.

Module 1 (Feb. 2026) covers the series Andor, Season 1 (more info here);

Module 2 (March 2026) covers the series Andor, Season 2 (more info here); and

Module 3 (April 2026) covers the films Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (more info here).

Watch on YouTube

You're invited to join me in SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) online via Signum University to talk about all five books in The Hunger Games series! The first module has been confirmed to run in September 2025.

What lessons do the Capitol and Districts have to teach us? What warnings should we heed? What road leads from here to Panem? Over the course of five months, participants in these SPACE modules will read and discuss a modern classic of dystopian storytelling, The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.

In this hybrid series, each week will include one lecture and one live discussion. The lectures will examine the inspirations behind, allusions in, and questions posed by that month's novel. In live discussions, participants will share their insights on, interpretations of, and reactions to the story. Together we will consider why this series has spoken to so many readers and explore how its messages remain relevant today.

Here is more information.

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I’m excited to say that in Fall 2025 I will be offering the 12-week online class “Exploring Star Trek” for M.A. students and non-degree-seeking auditors alike at Signum University. I’m delighted to be teaching this course once again!

Here is more information.

My "Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson: Exploring a Gothic Campus Mystery" one-month module with SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) online via Signum University is currently "on the launchpad" for potential launch in the autumn of 2025.

Here is the official description:

"Shirley Jackson is rightly celebrated as a master of Gothic storytelling thanks to her most well-known novels such as The Haunting of Hill House (1959) and We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962). In recent years, however, her earlier novel Hangsaman (1951) has received new attention and critical appreciation from fans and scholars alike.

"Far ahead of its time when it was published, Jackson’s deeply personal Hangsaman is many things: a psychological study of a young woman’s coming of age; a haunting Gothic mystery; a pointed critique of gender roles, family dynamics, and higher education; a meditation on trauma and mental illness; and an ancestor of today’s dark academia storytelling. Shirley Jackson drew inspiration from a variety of sources to craft this remarkable campus novel, from folk ballads and the Tarot, myth and ritual, to a real college campus and an unsolved New England cold case of a missing sophomore student.

"In this module, we will unpack this gem of a Gothic story, following freshman Natalie Waite as she searches for her 'essential self' and discussing why Hangsaman feels freshly relevant and important to many readers today."

Here is more information on the Hangsaman module.

To help launch this module, please go here, log in, and put this module on your launchpad short-list. Thanks!

My "The Hunger Games" module with SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) online via Signum University is currently a candidate for September 2025. This is a proposed first module of five, one for each of the five Hunger Games novels by Suzanne Collins. Each week will include one recorded lecture and one live discussion section. Voting runs through August 1. I hope you will join us as we explore the lessons we may learn from Panem.

May the odds be ever in our favor!

More information is here.

My 12-week graduate course on the Dystopian Tradition will be offered this summer online at Signum University. I'm so glad that this class made; these works, and the conversations they make possible, are more important and relevant than ever.

Pictured is a stack of books including George Orwell's 1984, Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower, Sheri Tepper's The Gate to Women's Country, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, M.T. Anderson's Feed, Kate Wilhelm's Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth's The Space Merchants, Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games, and Mordecai Roshwald's Level 7.

My graduate course on the Dystopian Tradition will be offered again this summer online at Signum University if there's sufficient interest. I hope the class will make, because it seems more relevant than ever.

I'm delighted to say that it's back! My month-long module "Meet The Last Man" module with SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) online via Signum University is currently up for candidacy for June 2025. Voting is open through May 1.

Mary Shelley's novel The Last Man is one of the most relevant books we can read right now, and I'm really looking forward to exploring it with students!

Here is more information.

Watch on YouTube

Starting next week (April 2024), I will be offering the month-long module "Meet The Last Man" with SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) online via Signum University.

Mary Shelley's novel The Last Man is one of the most relevant books we can read right now, and I'm really looking forward to exploring it with students!

Here is more information.

Watch on YouTube

Congratulations to Laurel M. Stevens! It’s been a joy to be Laurel’s M.A. thesis director. Here is the Thesis Theater: Laurel Stevens, "An Awareness of Debts: Dark Academia and its Source-Texts."

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I've taught at Signum University for years, but in addition to offering my classes, I'm now also joining Signum's SPACE Program (Signum Adult Portals for Adult Continuing Education).

I have modules up for candidacy now that I am very excited about! Each will be one month long, with two one-hour meetings per week (one an interactive lecture by me and one a group discussion facilitated by me). All meetings are online. Everyone's invited!

Here's the schedule:

January 2024: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

February 2024: A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand (the first work officially authorized by Shirley Jackson's estate to respond to The Haunting of Hill House)

March 2024: The Last Man by Mary Shelley (a science fiction classic, and the most relevant novel one can read while living in "unprecedented times")

Everyone is invited! For more information, please check out this link: Amy H. Sturgis, Upcoming SPACE Modules

Watch on YouTube

I’m happy to say that my “Teaching Shirley Jackson’s Hangsaman (1951)” post, based on my experience of teaching Shirley Jackson in my graduate Dark Academia course in Fall 2022, is now online at Reading Shirley Jackson in the 21st Century:

Teaching Shirley Jackson’s Hangsaman (1951) by Amy H. Sturgis

I'm delighted to share the details of my Fall 2022 Academia online class at Signum University!

You can see the course page here with updated reading and scheduling information.

I'm also thrilled to add that 3 of the brilliant authors whose works we'll be studying in the Dark Academia course will be holding live Q&A sessions with the class!

Peadar Ó Guilín for THE CALL ('16)

Elisabeth Thomas for CATHERINE HOUSE ('20)

R.F. Kuang for BABEL ('22)

I’m excited to share more information about my Fall 2022 Signum University online class. The course page is coming soon. I’ll be posting links and details!

I’m excited to say that in Summer 2021, I will boldly go where no Signum University prof has gone before!

I will be offering the 12-week online class “Exploring Star Trek” for M.A. students and non-degree-seeking auditors alike. I’m delighted at this opportunity!

I’m pleased to announce that we will have a very special guest at one meeting of the “Exploring Star Trek” Signum University class in Summer 2021: New York Times bestselling author Una McCormack! What a delight this will be!