Everything stops for Tea! A Social History of Drinking Tea
It was during the 18th century that the rituals of tea drinking were established. William Hogarth’s famous conservation pieces, recording upper middle-class life, often focused on tea drinking. In the Victorian era it was J.J. Tissot who captured the nuances … More details …
Introduction to the Arts and Crafts Movement
This course is fully booked. Please contact us if you would like to be placed on the waiting list for any cancellations. “With the arrogance of youth, I determined to do no less than to transform the world with Beauty. … More details …
Goodbye Mutti? German politics during the Merkel years and beyond
After the upheaval of the social and economic reforms enacted by the Schröder government, Angela Merkel seemed the voice of reason, and Germans didn’t mind her wooden demeanour. Her handling of the financial and migration crises as well as the … More details …
Against the Odds: how women writers found their voices and got published
Virginia Woolf said that ‘Intellectual freedom depends upon material things.’ We shall explore this concept as it applies to women writers in Britain from the 17th to the early 19th century. Using a mix of literary texts we shall focus … More details …
Women of the Classical World
By using a range of sources from the ancient world including grave markers, legal disputes and letters, it is possible to bring to life a range of Greek and Roman women. What we can learn about their lives tells us … More details …
From Kaiser to Führer
This course is now fully booked. Please contact us if you would like to be put on the waiting list in case of any cancellations. An exploration of the history and politics surrounding the creation of the Weimar Republic, the … More details …
Ukraine: understanding the country and its people
This short course will focus on the way that history, social history and geography have determined the Ukrainian experience. The 2 half days will look at the constituent parts of today’s Ukraine, their different histories and how this complicates the … More details …
Religion and Ritual in Ancient Rome
We shall be looking at Roman state religion, including the Olympian gods “imported” from the Greeks and also the “home-grown” deities with the rituals and ceremonies enacted by the Romans to both honour and placate their gods. If time permits, … More details …
Republicanism, Civil War and Francoism in Spain
This course will focus on Spain in the years 1930–45, a dramatic period for Spaniards which spanned years of democracy and dictatorship. We will cover the changing politics, culture and society of a nation that underwent the turbulence of the … More details …
Russia and its soviet borders
Russia has long been a mystery to outsiders. Straddling two continents with the longest land border of any country, Russia has by turn looked East, West and inwards. Raising more questions than answers. On this day course we will cover … More details …
Money: A Global History
We all use money, many of us struggle to find enough of it, whereas a few seem to have more than they will ever be able to spend. But do we really understand what it is? This day school sets … More details …
Liberalism to Fascism: Mussolini’s Italy 1922-43
This course is fully booked. Please contact us if you would like to be placed on the waiting list for any cancellations. In this course we will be looking at the history and politics surrounding Mussolini’s fascist regime from 1922 to … More details …
What is a Revolution?
Join Dr Jo Edwards for an exploration of historical revolutions. What is a revolution compared to a rebellion or a revolt? What do we mean by the term, and when is it misused? Was there an ‘Age of … More details …
Reading Paintings: the Restoration
The return of Charles II in 1660 changed English history, literature, and society. This course traces the changing tastes of the day, with a special focus on the links between art and social history. Contains a case study of Sir … More details …
Making Peace – Keeping Peace
It is of course simplistic to say that history repeats itself. But writing and performing two Great War centenary events for my home community (Axbridge) kept ringing bells and raising questions about our current predicament. In particular, the 2018 Remembrance … More details …