WEA Courses

J. M. Turner and Italy: a Long Love Affair 1 meeting on Saturday 30/10/2021. 10:00am - 4:00pm Tutor: Diana Matthews

J.M.W. Turner loved all aspects of Italian life and culture, the climate, the art and architecture and its great classical inheritance, making no less than seven visits to his ‘land of bliss’. This study day covers why Turner felt so deeply about the culture of Italy and the effect it had on his work, especially the ambitious oil paintings he exhibited annually and the beautiful water colours which were engraved for publication, all helping to spread his reputation among collectors and publishers and leading to the creation of works still loved today.

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Unarmed and Dangerous: British Peace Campaigners in the First World War 7 meetings on Mondays starting 01/11/2021. 7:00pm - 9:00pm Tutor: Symon Hill

This is a chance to explore stories of people who are often overlooked – and who some would rather forget. We will explore opposition and resistance to World War One, from conscientious objectors who refused to fight to women peace activists who held an international peace congress in the Netherlands, from religious groups that split over the war to soldiers who mutinied. We will focus on Britain, although international comparisons and influences will also be mentioned.

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Charles Darwin: the Development of his Brilliant and Dangerous Idea 6 meetings on Wednesdays starting 03/11/2021. 2:00pm - 4:00pm Tutor: John Fletcher

Charles Darwin was a modest, somewhat conventional Victorian gentleman whose ideas changed the way we see the world and the way we see ourselves. The theory of 'Evolution by Natural Selection', co-originated by Alfred Russel Wallace at almost exactly the same time, does not just explain the origin of species, it shows how order and design can arise in the natural world without the need for a creator.

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Napoleon, the Arts and the Cult of Personality 6 meetings on Thursdays starting 04/11/2021. 10:00am - 12:00pm Tutor: Dalila Castelijn

On the 200th anniversary of the death of Napoleon Bonaparte we shall study Napoleon’s relationship with arts. Artworks were commissioned to enhance his image and to cultivate patriotism and revolutionary ideas. Art was looted during military campaigns to enrich French collections. During the course we shall examine David’s paintings and Canova’s sculpture, architectural projects and Sevres porcelain.

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Elizabethan and Jacobean Houses and Their Families 1 meeting on Saturday 06/11/2021. 10:00am - 4:00pm Tutor: Adam Smith

The century after 1550 saw many newly wealthy families, who had often benefitted from the dissolution of the monasteries, create splendid new country houses such as Longleat to show their wealth and power. These houses were increasingly influenced by ideas from the Renaissance. We will see how these houses reflected their owners’ lives and aspirations, including the Cecil family as chief ministers to Elizabeth I and James I, builders of great houses including Burghley and Hatfield.

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Female Suffrage: a County Perspective 6 meetings on Tuesdays starting 09/11/2021. 7:00pm - 9:00pm Tutor: Margaret Simons

Women’s suffrage had been a hotly debated subject for over 50 years prior to the passing of the Representation of the People Act on the 6th February 1918. However, the vote was only extended to women over 30 and then only if they met the £5 property qualification. In this course we explore this journey from the Berkshire perspective, using local press coverage and suffrage literature to establish the progress of the movement within a contextual framework and follow its progress until legislation finally gave women franchise equality.

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Archaeology, Art and Life in Roman Britain 5 meetings on Wednesdays starting 10/11/2021. 10:00am - 12:00pm Tutor: Sandra Smith

What did the Romans ever do for us? The Romans first invaded Britain under Julius Caesar in the first century BC, but it is the Emperor Claudius who sent an army to subdue the British Isles. In this course we will investigate Roman customs, religion, engineering, politics and art in order to understand the spectacular contribution they made to modernising Britain and enhancing its cultural life. We will study engineering and planning marvels, such as their road system, fortress network and new towns and cities.

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Stonehenge 1 meeting on Saturday 13/11/2021. 10:00am - 4:00pm Tutor: Michael Pengelly

The Stonehenge landscape as seen today, took around 1,500 years to develop by people of different cultures and beliefs This day school will attempt to unravel the competing theories that exist on its purpose and offer a view of why it is where it is; the stages of its development; and its place in British prehistory. In addition, Stonehenge will be considered in the wider context of the spread of farming from the so-called fertile crescent in modern day Iraq throughout Europe and the associated appearance of similar megalithic monuments.

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History of Philosophy 3: Anselm and Aquinas 1 meeting on Saturday 20/11/2021. 10:00am - 4:00pm Tutor: Karim Esmail

This Study Day will consider some of the key elements in the thought of two great medieval philosophers, Anselm and Aquinas. We'll consider Anselm's famous and widely discussed ontological argument for God's existence in his Proslogion. We'll also consider Aquinas on God, on some fundamental features of the world, and on human will and intellect.

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Wagner, the Last Great Works 1 meeting on Saturday 27/11/2021. 10:00am - 4:00pm Tutor: Robin John

Wagner holds a unique place in the history of opera and was a major influence on those who came after. He was fascinated by myths and their ability to explore life's deep questions. His early operas were derivative in style and unsuccessful. But beginning with 'The Flying Dutchman', he started to build his own style, and this and later operas are based on ancient myths which he moulded into his own versions to create his 'music dramas'.

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High Art and Low Life: Musical Diversity in 18th Century London 1 meeting on Saturday 04/12/2021. 10:00am - 4:00pm Tutor: Tony Short

Eighteenth-century London witnessed many profound musical and social changes. Beginning with the last works of Purcell, we will trace the century’s astonishing shifts of musical opinion as far as Haydn’s last symphonies, written in London in 1795. From around 1710, the next four decades were dominated by Handel, renowned for his operas and oratorios. Then came the famous Bach–Abel concerts, noted for introducing the very latest symphonies.

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Steam, Steel and New Horizons: How the Victorian Railways changed Life in Britain 10 meetings on Tuesdays starting 11/01/2022. 10:00am - 12:00pm Tutor: Richard Marks

Victorian Britain created the world's first railway network which changed the way Britons lived, worked and played forever. In this course we will examine the impact of the Victorian railways upon people's daily lives. We shall look at how the railways made branded goods available across the country at affordable prices from the tip of Cornwall to the far north of Scotland. We shall examine how the building of the railways impacted upon people's lives and property and how working for the railway companies created opportunity for all.

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Rossini and the Tradition of Bel Canto 10 meetings on Wednesdays starting 12/01/2022. 10:00am - 12:00pm Tutor: Robin John

Rossini is mostly known today for his comic opera 'The Barber of Seville' and the much-played overtures from 'The Thieving Magpie' and 'William Tell', but his contribution to opera was much broader than that. A child musical prodigy, he was famous by age 20 and dominated the Italian opera scene in the early decades of the 19C, composing both comic and serious operas, the latter being rarely performed today. With audio and video excerpts from his operas, this course will chronicle Rossini's life and his influence over 19C opera and the 'bel canto' era.

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Egyptian Art Revealed 10 meetings on Wednesdays starting 12/01/2022. 2:00pm - 4:00pm Tutor: John Billman

After the pyramids, some of the most memorable images of ancient Egypt are provided not by royal monuments, but from the art of the tombs of private (albeit elite) officials who served the pharaoh. In this course we will explore a range of tomb images from the Egyptian New Kingdom. We will discuss specific elements within these scenes, identify canonical iconography, typical Egyptian artistic techniques and discuss the purpose and symbolism of such scenes.

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Origins of Development of the Villa, from Antiquity to today 5 meetings on Thursdays starting 13/01/2022. 10:00am - 12:00pm Tutor: Dalila Castelijn

From ancient times onwards the villa has provided a retreat from the strains of daily life and a way of getting close to nature. The course will consider the origins and evolution of the villa as a specific architectural form affording a variety of styles and a variety of functions. Palladio’s La Rotonda, Earl of Lord Burlington’s Chiswick House and Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye are some of the villas we will survey.

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