WEA Courses

Ancient Egypt : Amarna and the Boy King 6 meetings on Mondays starting 02/11/2020. 6:00pm - 8:00pm Tutor: John Billman

Ancient Egypt is known for cultural continuity and traditions that endured for three millennia.  One such tradition of a polytheistic approach to religion was challenged in the eighteenth dynasty of the New Kingdom.  The pharaoh Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten and established a new form of divine kingship based on the sun-disc the Aten to the exclusion of other gods.  This monotheistic revolution was accompanied by a radical change in the style and iconography of Egyptian art and the rapid construction of a new capital at el-Amarna.  This course explores the r

 Information and Booking >
Ancient Egypt : Hieroglyphs for False Beginners 6 meetings on Wednesdays starting 04/11/2020. 6:00pm - 8:00pm Tutor: John Billman

This is a hieroglyphs and Middle Egyptian course for those with basic-level prior knowledge whether recent or some time ago.  The course will consolidate and advance previous elementary study of the language with a combined focus on characters, grammar and short texts.  After a review of previous material studied we will read a selection of short extracts of funerary texts centered around the offering formula and additional tomb scenes, broadly covering the material in chapters 2-3 of Collier and Manley "How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs".  This is designed as a direct follow-

 Information and Booking >
Octavia Hill and the Founding of the National Trust 3 meetings on Fridays starting 06/11/2020. 10:00am - 11:30am Tutor: Margaret Simons

2020 marks the 125th anniversary of the founding of the National trust and as such is an appropriate time to find out why such an institution was deemed necessary at the end of the 19th century. Of the three founders, Octavia Hill was the only female and already a social reformer of significance; using her as our focus, we will consider not only the origins and purpose of the trust in its early years, but her life and work. In addition, we will also discover the connection she had with Reading.

This course will be delivered online.

 Information and Booking >