No doubt you’ve attended more webinars, video classes, and other online events by now than you ever thought possible. It’s inspiring to see how quickly and creatively everyone moved their jobs, lectures, doctor’s visits, church services, and school rooms online.
And now the virtual 2020 Mythologium is coming up fast. But the Mythologium is much more than just a webinar. This conference is a two-and-a-half day immersion into the latest research by dozens of mythologists, with live discussion sessions following each panel, plus poetry and writing exercises to help you process your own responses in real-time. We find this format deliciously rich for sharing ideas, sparking new ones, and coming together as a tribe.
But how will the Mythologium translate to cyberspace? Here’s a preview of what lies ahead.
Logistics
- The Mythologium will run all day on Friday July 31st and Saturday August 1st, and half the day on Sunday August 2nd.
- During some sessions the whole group will be together, during some sessions we’ll run two parallel tracks, and sometimes we’ll do smaller breakout groups so everyone can be on video. The good news is that we’ll record all panel sessions so you can catch up afterwards on any presentations you missed due to double booking.
- For writing exercises, you’ll need your favorite writing supplies. We’re partial to paper and pens (Joanna loves Moleskine journals and Pilot Juice retractable gel), but you do you. Hammer and chisel, typewriter, finger-paints — whatever medium helps you express your ideas, make sure to have it handy.
- We will build in coffee, snack, and meal breaks so you can stretch and rest your eyes from the computer screen, so assemble the snacks and drinks you’ll need to keep you going ahead of time.
- Speaking of drinks, plan on a virtual happy hour. Lay in some of the gifts of Dionysus if you’d like to partake in a convivial beverage.
- Make sure you’ll have a quiet place and/or headphones so you can hear well.
- We’ll be streaming quite a bit of video and audio, which means network bandwidth. For the best experience, you might want to turn wifi off on any devices you don’t need that weekend — and sweet talk your housemates into using cell service while you’re online.
What happens next
- Registration closes on July 15. You can register anytime at: myth2020.com/register
- Between July 15 and July 31, you’ll receive printed conference materials in the mail, with some goodies thrown in for fun, and all the information you need to log in.
- Spread the word to all your mythophilic friends! Share this post, follow us on social media, and if you haven’t already, join our email list at: myth2020.com
We couldn’t be more excited to present the Mythologium as a virtual conference and retreat. We are counting the days until we gather online!
