Need help picking books for Co-op

[Heather in MT]

I am helping to start a classical education co-op group and we are studing the time frame from the fall of Rome to about 1600. My dilema is picking literature books for the rhetoric level for this time period. Could you please tell me your favorite picks for this time period and what you think would work best for a group setting. We plan to get through about 4 to 5 books in the 30 weeks of class.

Thank you for any help you can give me.

[SonshineLearner]

Hi Heather,

I don't have an answer for your question, but I did want to chime in and say that I'd love to have a spot for all those who are "leaders" in co-ops to chat about different ideas ;) If you're interested in that... pm me...

 

We're doing a co-op, but it's for all ages... SOTW for the younger years, The All American History for junior high, and MFW for Highschool. ;)

[Lori D.]

Here are two recent past threads; the first, Middle Ages Lit Reading List -- give me your suggestions, has lots of great ideas, and in the second, Middle Ages Literature, I gave a more detailed review of a few of those works in response to a question on those specific works. You might also check out some of the Q&A guided worldview discussion guides from The Great Books, or the Medieval British Lit program from Lightning Literature for more ideas or to use as a resource. Both are from Christian authors/publishers, and so are apt to be fairly conservative for a co-op setting.

 

Not having done a literature co-op before, I am somewhat at a loss as to which books would work well for a co-op setting, but some of the works listed are more "accessible" (easier to read, high interest) reading-wise (Farmer Giles of Ham, for example, compared to Piers the Plowman), and some are shorter in length (such as Beowulf, individual Canterbury Tales, or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight).

 

Have a super co-op! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited May 13, 2011 by Lori D.

[Julie in MN]

One of my ds's favorite books from his book club this year was A Single Shard. It would be a lighter read for rhetoric, but I just thought I'd throw that one out there.

[Heather in MT]

Thanks Lori I will check those out.

[TerriMI]

How about authentic original sources that really give a feel for what went on in the Middle Ages, and what the main influences were? Like these:

 

Athanasius' On the Incarnation

 

Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy

 

Augustines' Confessions

 

Dante's Divine Comedy

 

Geoffery's The History of the British Kings

 

There you've got 5 books with 5 different genres: theology, philosophy, the first autobiography, great literature, and a political history. These are all very readable, well-written, and really interesting.