WEA Courses

Archaeology is all around us if you know what it looks like. The principles and practice of archaeology will be explored with ample opportunity to handle artefacts, as well as practical sessions on flint and pottery recognition. The archaeology of Reading and its surrounding district will be examined and placed into its wider context. No previous experience of archaeology is necessary and after the course participants should have the skill set necessary to carry out independent research.

After lecturing on China for many years, Charles Tyzack, in his final class for the WEA, looks at some permanent themes in Chinese history and culture. These include the continuing influence of Confucianism, the elements of national identity and the relationship between the state and the people. China’s changing relations with other parts of the world will be considered and we will ask in what ways this vast and influential country may develop in the future.

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In a follow up to our survey course on American Art, this short series of classes will investigate the contribution made by American artists in the 20th century. We will concentrate on the explosion of modernism in the USA, from its slow beginnings before the First World War to a full flowering in the art of the 1940s. Post war American art movements such as Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism and Conceptual Art will be explored, with a detailed investigation of the works of Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and the minimalist sculptors of the 1960s.

The world is a very mobile place and full of natural disasters. Geology explains all and we will explore everything from volcanic eruptions to how rocks are formed and mountains made, to earthquakes and tsunamis. This is the how, what and why of some frightening and magnificent events that have shaped, and continue to shape, our planet.

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Sometimes wrongly dismissed as superficial, Rachmaninov nonetheless remains one of the world’s best-loved composers. Yet the popularity of his best-known pieces has eclipsed other masterpieces such as the ‘All-Night Vigil’ and ‘The Isle of the Dead’. We shall review a cross-section of characteristic works, and assess the circumstances which led to his flight from Russia and the launch of a career as one of the leading pianists of his day.