Reading Three Post Modern Novels: Wide Sargasso Sea, Foe, Flaubert’s Parrot
Wide Sargasso Sea was written as a prequel to Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 novel, Jane Eyre; J. M. Coetzee reinvents Daniel Defoe’s 1719 Robinson Crusoe adventure story, and Julian Barnes novel is an attempt by a fictional biographer to write about the French … More details …
Ancient Sparta
The Spartans had a reputation that has lasted through the centuries: even today people use the term ‘Spartan’ as a descriptive. But who were they and what were they really like? This course outlines how Spartan society was organised, including … More details …
Bayeux Tapestry and Other Early Medieval Treasures
This six week course will focus on 6 early medieval objects including the Bayeux Tapestry and the Winchester Bible. Current knowledge of the making and history of each object will be discussed in detail. The Bayeux Tapestry is due to … More details …
Jon Singer Sargent and fellow artists
After the scandal of “Madame X” (1884), Sargent had to flee Paris. This course surveys what he did next, how he settled in London, and became the most sought-after portrait painter of his day. We also consider his surprising later … More details …
The Elements of Music
The Elements of Music is an illuminating full-day lecture with Ben England that reveals how the art of music is grounded in the patterns of the natural and scientific world. Through vivid examples and engaging explanations, Ben explores how vibration, … More details …
The Art of Revolution
An overview of the art and the artists involved in creating art relating to revolutionary moments in history. We shall investigate how artists depicted revolutions and how these images resonate and influence. How do these images report true event and … More details …
Playful Printmaking
Try a variety of different printing processes to make weird and wonderful artworks! We can make stencils, draw onto and into foam blocks or simply press an inked object onto paper. Small printing rollers, sponges, brushes, cardboard and found objects … More details …
From Sun Worship to Saving the World
It is abundantly clear that in our insatiable search for growth, mankind is radically changing the world in which we live. We only have one planet (despite Elon Musk’s dreams of colonising Mars), and we are in danger of damaging … More details …
The Origins of Us: the deep evolutionary story of our bodies
How did we come to be here? How did our bodies, our five senses and our exceptional brains evolve? Life emerged on our planet about 3.8 billion years ago as tiny sea dwelling bacteria: in a very real sense these … More details …
North (1975) Seamus Heaney
“North”, published in 1975 is divided into two parts. The first contains poems which are more symbolic in nature, taking themes such as the myth of Hercules and Antaeus, the bog bodies of Northern Europe, the Vikings and other historical … More details …
Napoleon Bonaparte: Hero and Saviour of the French Nation or Destroyer of French liberty ?
From revolutionary general to imperial icon, Napoleon Bonaparte reshaped Europe’s political landscape. This course will follow Napoleon through his military campaigns, seizure of power and imperial impact within France and across Europe. We will consider how Napoleon navigated revolutionary ideals, … More details …
Selected novels of Thomas Hardy
This six week course will look at two novels by Thomas Hardy. Starting with The Mayor of Casterbridge (1866) we will consider concepts including ideas of tradition and modernity, time and history, the urban and the rural and ideas of … More details …
Archaeology of the Natufian Culture – Leaving the Garden of Eden
The Natufian Culture marks perhaps one of the most extraordinary transformations of our ancient human culture. Dating to just after the last ice age (15,000 years ago) archaeological evidence shows that the culture enabled (perhaps) the first sedentary population prior … More details …
Antoni Gaudi, ‘God’s Architect’
The centenary of Gaudi’s death will be celebrated in 2026. Everything about Gaudi is larger than life including his death. Knocked down by a tram, the shabbily dressed architect was mistaken for a tramp and failed to receive medical treatment. … More details …
Central Asia – a melting pot or a divided region?
In this course we will explore the fascinating and enigmatic area sometimes referred to as the wild and opaque “black hole” in the heart of Asia. For millennia forming a cultural trading crossroads along the Silk Road, with unmatched prosperity … More details …