WEA Courses

Nutrition and Health: Science, Food and Marketing 8 meetings on Mondays starting 25/09/2017. 2:00pm - 4:00pm Tutor: John Fletcher

Navigate the nutrition maze in this wide ranging assessment of food and related health messages. The science of nutrition will be introduced in the context of everyday foods and in light of the information that we receive from researchers, governments, commercial organisations and the media. The health of the individual and of the nation depends on the information that we believe and the choices that we make.

Photo - Food Pyramid by BruceBlaus - Wikimedia Commons

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The Architecture of France 10 meetings on Tuesdays starting 26/09/2017. 10:00am - 12:00pm Tutor: Keith Hasted

France has been an extraordinary crossing point in European architecture - Romanesque pilgrimage churches en-route to Santiago, Gothic style fanning out from the Île-de-France, Renaissance ideas arriving at Fontainebleau and the Louvre, the Sun King’s Versailles creating envy in Europe’s royal courts, and the Paris of Garnier’s Opéra and Eiffel’s Tower leading on to the twentieth century and Le Corbusier. This will be a fascinating survey.

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The Civilizations of South America 10 meetings on Tuesdays starting 26/09/2017. 2:00pm - 4:00pm Tutor: Diane Davies

Learn about the great civilizations of South America, which culminated in the Inca Empire, cultures notable for their artistic and technological achievements in textiles, ceramics, metallurgy and monumental architecture. This course will review the history of human adaptation to the South American Continent from the earliest Paleo-Indian arrivals through to the Inca Empire and the consequences of the Spanish Conquest.

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Symbolist Art: Love, Fear, Death and Desire 10 meetings on Thursdays starting 28/09/2017. 10:00am - 12:00pm Tutor: Dalila Castelijn

Born in the 1880s out of a wish to reject the objective representation of the world, the Symbolist movement stood for art which reflected emotions and ideas through colour line and composition. Symbolist themes of love, fear, death and desire will be explored in the works of Gustave Moreau and Puvis de Chavannes, Edward Munch and Jan Toorop, Paul Gauguin and Gustav Klimt. 

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Women Writing Across the Centuries 10 meetings on Thursdays starting 28/09/2017. 10:30am - 12:30pm Tutor: Shirley Roberts

There is a huge body of writing by women. We shall look at a range of texts covering all the genres, demonstrating the power and strength of women's perspectives and concerns. We shall start with Sappho's fragments, and move through the medieval work of Marie de France and Christine de Pizan, the Renaissance rhetoric of Elizabeth I and the Restoration drama of Aphra Behn, before considering women's parity in the modern novel and short story, with works by Angela Carter, Margaret Atwood and Rose Tremain.

Photo - Margaret Atwood by Frankie Fouganthin - Wikimedia Commons

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The Extremes of Georgian Travel: The contrasting lives of John Morritt, landowner and Olaudah Equiano, slave 1 meeting on Saturday 14/10/2017. 10:00am - 4:00pm Tutor: Adam Smith

This will be a revealing look at the lives of travellers from the opposite ends of Georgian society. Olaudah Equiano was born in West Africa, seized as a slave and transported to the Americas where he, eventually, bought his freedom. John Morritt was a wealthy landowner from Yorkshire who undertook an extensive tour of the Ottoman Empire in the 1790s.

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Beyond the Planets: The Music of Gustav Holst 1 meeting on Saturday 28/10/2017. 10:00am - 4:00pm Tutor: Gwyn Parry-Jones

Gustav Holst is often seen as a ‘One-Work-Wonder’ – known solely for his hugely popular Planets Suite. But there is considerably more - brilliant works for wind band, the magnificent Hymn of Jesus and folk-inspired suites to rival Vaughan Williams. Learn more about this fascinating man, his key contribution to the English Musical Renaissance, and his connections with Reading.

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Paul Nash and British War Artists: Creativity in Time of Conflict 1 meeting on Saturday 04/11/2017. 10:00am - 4:00pm Tutor: Ann Danks

The art produced as a result of the First and Second World Wars changed forever the public’s perception of both the conflicts and the art world. In this course we will explore a variety of War Art and discover the artists who found expression and inspiration in such troubled times. We will focus especially on the work of Paul Nash, an official War Artist in both wars, but also cover examples from artists such as Stanley Spencer, John Piper, Graham Sutherland and Henry Moore.

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The Impact of the Russian Revolution in Britain: 1917 to the early 1920s 1 meeting on Saturday 11/11/2017. 10:00am - 4:00pm Tutor: Kerry Renshaw

The Russian cataclysm of 1917 had an immediate and lasting effect in Britain. We will look at the wild excitement at the early news, the reactions of the press and the intellectuals, the diplomatic and strategic disruption for a British government at war, the fear among the Establishment of possible upsurge here, and the many conflicting responses inside the labour movement.

Photo - Revolutionary Communist by rksmb.org - Wikimedia Commons

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Horace Walpole and Strawberry Hill 1 meeting on Saturday 25/11/2017. 10:00am - 4:00pm Tutor: Glenis Kerr-Elliott

Born in 1717 Horace Walpole built Strawberry Hill, the seminal house of the Gothic revival. Son of Sir Robert Walpole, he went on The Grand Tour to Italy to buy pictures and met John Chute of The Vyne. His house and garden became an early focus of tourism, contrasting with the Palladian villas along the Thames. Enjoy the story of his passion for building and collecting the finest artworks.

Photo - Strawberry Hill by Chiswick Chap - Wikimedia Commons

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We Need to Talk About Donald: Trump, America and the World 1 meeting on Saturday 02/12/2017. 10:00am - 4:00pm Tutor: Robert McKeever

In 2016 Donald Trump, a billionaire property developer with no political experience, defeated the establishments of both Democratic and Republic parties to become the 45th President of the United States. This Study Day explores the Trump victory, who supported him and why. It will move on to explore his unorthodox performance as President and his impact on the World.

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The Making of Modern Reading: 1945 to Today 10 meetings on Mondays starting 08/01/2018. 10:30am - 12:30pm Tutor: Margaret Simons

Reading in the 21st century is a very different town from the one that emerged following the years of post-Second World War austerity. The town quickly shed much of its Victorian character, not so quickly lost its renowned ‘3Bs’ (beer, bricks and biscuits) and as we shall discover entered a period of transition before ambitious plans created the vibrant town we know today.

Photo - Thames Valley Park by Don Cload - Wikimedia Commons

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The Concerto: A Matter of Dispute? 10 meetings on Mondays starting 08/01/2018. 2:00pm - 4:00pm Tutor: Gwyn Parry-Jones

Music for soloist with – or against – the orchestra? Whatever your view, the concerto as a musical form enjoys one of the longest pedigrees, from the baroque to the present day. It has everything: drama, lyricism, conflict and resolution - and some of the world’s greatest music. We encounter a host of masterpieces and listen to some of their outstanding exponents.

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From Aristotle to Aquinas: Philosophy Ancient to Modern 10 meetings on Mondays starting 08/01/2018. 2:00pm - 4:00pm Tutor: Richard Playford

This course will focus on two of the most important philosophers in the history of Western thought: Aristotle and Aquinas. We will begin with an overview of Aristotle's philosophy looking at his key texts in ethics, politics and metaphysics. Along the way we will compare his views with those of Plato and Socrates and examine some of their key areas of disagreement. We will then explore how Aquinas expanded on and developed Aristotle's philosophy and used his metaphysical schema in his famous 'five proofs for the existence of God.'

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Masterpieces of Art Nouveau 10 meetings on Tuesdays starting 09/01/2018. 10:00am - 12:00pm Tutor: Dalila Castelijn

Join us for an introduction to the art and architecture produced in Europe between 1890 and the First World War. Inspired by the natural world, artists aimed to create works appropriate for the modern world and established a style based on sinuous lines, elongated forms and the use of exotic materials. Mucha and Gaudi, Horta and Beardsley, Tiffany and Toulouse-Lautrec are among the artists to be considered.

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