(Recorded Course) Special Delivery - Letters Among Friends with Kevin O'Brien (Survey, Modern, Writing)

NOTICE: This is an older course recorded with Adobe Connect and/or Vimeo recordings. We are currently working to replace the recordings with new Zoom recordings.  Please don't hesitate to email us at homeschoolconnections@gmail.com with any questions.

How to get the most out of Special Delivery - Letters Among Friends with Kevin O’Brien:

  • Then have a notebook ready and available for class notes each recorded session.

  • Do the assignments, quizzes, and any extra work assigned for that week. Parents can grade any essay questions, or they may purchase Instructor Access for Kevin O'Brien to grade the essay questions.

  • Once the course is completed to the parent's and professor’s satisfaction, there is a Certificate of Completion at the end to be filled in for your records.

 

Instructor: Kevin O’Brien

Instructor Email: kevin@classeswithkevin.com 

Total Classes: 6

Suggested Credit: 1/2 semester credit literature

Suggested Grade Level: 9-12th grade

Course Description: Fr. James V. Schall said the following about letters: “The letter is unique because, in its purest form, it deals with the person to whom we send it and with his or her relation to us. … The letter is a claim against time and distance … a letter is also a preparation to see face to face, something that requires not just sight, but inner sight … So there continues to be, I am convinced, something of a solemnity, the solemnity of anticipated joy, about good letters.”  In this course, we will study this most intimate form of non-fiction, from the Epistles of St. Paul to emails written by close friends. The greatest writers have written the greatest letters and from them, a deeper understanding of the world and of God can be opened up to us.  

Course Outline (week by week):

  1. The Epistles of St. Paul

  2. Letters and the Spiritual Life

  3. The Letters of JRR Tolkien

  4. The Letters of Flannery O’Connor

  5. CS Lewis - Letters to Malcolm

  6. "Letter from Birmingham Jail" - Martin Luther King

Course Materials: Handouts in the form of pdfs provided by the instructor.  Students may also choose a collection of letters to read and report on for a Final Project.  A list of Final Project works to choose from will be provided by the Instructor.

Homework: Reading, quizzes and Final Project.  Expect about two hours of homework per week.