Good grief, there is no need for suspicion! Until 2014, Dr. Antonia Ruppel was senior lecturer in the Classics Dept. at Cornell; she is now with the St. James School. The "Cambridge connection” is Cambridge University Press, which is publishing the book.
Due to a delay in the appearance of her volume, Antonia allowed me to use chapters from her manuscript for my elementary Sanskrit students this past fall. I would say the book has a number of fine merits. For my tastes,
sandhi is introduced at too leisurely a pace, but I expect that many teachers will find it suits their students. Certainly everything is very clearly explained. Apart from the sentences devised for practicing new grammar point, the other readings consist
of stanza (lightly modified at first) drawn from works like the Pañcatantra. These would benefit from a bit more context, which could be provided by the instructor (I suggest having the students read the relevant tale in translation) or perhaps on the companion
website.
I have only used it for one term so far, but it seems quite promising to me. Dr. Ruppel is to be congratulated.
Yes, but I am a bit suspicious about it. For example, the website does not reveal who A.M Ruppel is, what her (or his) credentials are, etc. Do you know? Also what is the Cambridge connection?
Elliot M. Stern
552 South 48th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19143-2029
United States of America
telephone: 215-747-6204
mobile: 267-240-8418
emstern@verizon.net
This book comes out in March this year, but there are already
videos at Youtube to support the course, and a lot of other pedagogical materials at
a dedicated website. I haven't seen the book yet, but this all looks promising. The book is priced reasonably.
Has anyone else had a chance to evaluate the book yet?
Best,
Dominik
Professor Dominik Wujastyk
,
Singhmar Chair in Classical Indian Society and Polity
,
University of Alberta, Canada
.
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