Lectio (Latin): 1. A picking, selecting. 2. A reading, perusal.
The Lectio format takes a single text and takes a thorough look at it over the course of one day. Any book that can good enough and big enough to reward sustained scrutiny from multiple perspectives could be a good candidate for a Lectio text. Examples of texts that have already been used for Lectios are: Milton’s Paradise Lost, Augustine’s Confessions, Lucretius’s De Rerum Natura. Our next scheduled Lectio will be hosted by Concordia University Irvine on the classic core text Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
In the case of the Metamorphoses, we will divide the text into 11 parts each of which will be assigned to a presenter. Presentations will last no more than 30 minutes, and should allow some time for Q&A and discussion. The presentation format and style is open, but your audience is basically the 11 presenters sitting around a conference table (with maybe a few observers).
If are interested in hosting a Lectio on your campus, please contact Creighton Rosental – Rosental_c@Mercer.edu. In your email, briefly provide your academic bio and interest/experience working with the text. Lectios can only be hosted by ACTC institutional members, but institutions can secure membership at the same time as arranging to host a Lectio.
Details:
- Lectios generally take place on Saturdays with a mixer the night before. All presenters are expected to be present for the full Lectio (roughly 6 hours plus breaks).
- Morning snacks and beverages will be provided, as well as a box lunch. At the end of Lectio, there will be a group dinner at a local restaurant (each person pays for themselves unless other arrangements are made).
- There is a $2000 fee paid to ACTC for organizing a Lectio, which covers administrative costs as well as the travel expenses and honorarium for a discussion leader.
- There is a $50 registration fee for participants, which institutions should use to defer the cost of breakfast, snacks, and lunch.