Upcoming Courses

Fungi-Friend of Foe

with WEA Guest Tutor-Anne Mossman

     The history and evolution of fungi and their use and role today

At The Reading Rooms, Billericay High Street, CM12 9AS

Wednesday afternoon, 19th November, 2.00-4.00 (including tea break) fee £16 Ref: Q00025037

Please enrol. www.wea.org.uk or 0300 303 3464               local contact  Billericay.branch@wea.ac.uk

The Essex Federation are hosting this day school. They invite you to enrol in one of two free talks. In this talk Richard Pusey reveals the London of Samuel Pepys. A light lunch will be provided.

Click here to enrol

Samuel Pepys is well known for his diary which he wrote in shorthand from 1660 – 1669. In it, he describes having his bladder stone surgically removed without anaesthetic! He rose to become Clerk of the Acts to the Navy Board and lived in the Navy Office in Hart Street with his young wife Elizabeth and their relationship was very interesting!

London changed radically during this time and events such as the Restoration, the Great Plague and the Great Fire took place and these are vividly described in the diary. The City was subsequently rebuilt at great speed.

The talk will outline these events and visit the rebuilt London and look at some of the sites that Pepys would have recognised.

The second talk will look at the medical practitioners and how the medical services (such as they were) were delivered at that time. Why were surgeons called Mr and how did they do amputations in just a few minutes! You will hear all about it but not for the squeamish!!

Richard is a retired surgeon and City of London and Camden Tour Guide specialising in Medical Walks and Talks.

The Essex Federation are hosting this day school. They invite you to enrol in one of two free talks. In this talk art historian Chantal Condron explores the roots, cultural and artistic influences of the Surrealist artists. A light lunch will be provided. Click there to enrol

The Surrealist movement achieved its centenary in 2024, marking the moment that the First Surrealist Manifesto was launched in Paris by André Breton. Aiming to capture what they called the ‘marvellous’, the Surrealist artists of 1920s Paris were drawn to the strange, illogical and irrational, often through the means of unconscious thought or actions and the juxtaposition of unrelated objects and themes. This day course explores its roots, cultural and artistic influences and how the movement responded to the political climate in Europe up to the Second World War. Artists featured include Max Ernst, Leonora Carrington, André Masson, René Magritte, Meret Oppenheim, Salvador Dali and Dorothea Tanning.

GUEST  TUTOR :  Abbie Saunders

TITLE : C20th Italian Literature Part 1

Course Ref: Q00025236

 START DATE : 13^th January          Fee for 5 wk course – £ 80

This term we study four Italian works of fiction published in the 1950s. Through close reading and class discussion, we will examine the historical and sociopolitical context of the stories, and compare how their respective literary styles convey the attitudes and experiences of the period.

Booklist : Alberto Moravia’s Contempt and Giorgio Bassani’s Within the Walls

GUEST TUTOR : Janet Reid

TITLE : John Singer Sargent : Masterpieces of Portrait and Landscape

 START DATE : 14^th January            Fee for 5 wk course – £ 80

One of the greatest American painters of his era, John Singer Sargent was celebrated in the UK, where he spent most of his career. This course explores his life and work, from his renowned portraits to his mysterious, sensual landscapes and genre scenes. Course Ref: tba

TUTOR : Steve Clarke

TITLE : Britain in the 1930s – A Nation Between Crises

Course Ref: Q00025243

START DATE : 15^th January          Fee for 5 wk course – £ 80

Still scarred by the Great War and gripped by economic depression, Britain faced rising unemployment, deep political divisions, and the growing shadow of fascism in Europe. This course examines how, amid hardship and uncertainty, Britain functioned on the eve of a new global conflict.

GUEST  TUTOR :  Abbie Saunders

TITLE : C20th Italian Literature Part2

Course Ref: Q00025239

 START DATE : 24th  February          Fee for 5 wk course – £ 80

This term we study four Italian works of fiction published in the 1950s. Through close reading and class discussion, we will examine the historical and sociopolitical context of the stories, and compare how their respective literary styles convey the attitudes and experiences of the period.

Booklist : Natalia Ginzburg’s Sagittarius and Dino Buzzati’s The Singularity.

TUTOR : Roger Cooke

TITLE : The English Civil Wars : Conflict, Conviction and Change

START DATE : 26^th February          Fee for 5 wk course – £ 80
This course examines the English Civil Wars as a turning point in the nation’s history. We’ll explore the political, religious and social tensions that led to war, and trace how these conflicts challenged long-held ideas about power, faith and authority.

Course Ref: Q00025245