Love to learn with the WEA

Our languages and culture courses span the length and breadth of England and Scotland, with the option to study online or in person at a time that suits you. Whether you’re looking to learn a new language and immerse yourself in another country, or you simply wish to indulge in your love and fascination of film, we have the course for you. 

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Our creative writing courses will nourish your inner writer, providing you with a platform to develop your love of poetry, non-fiction or script development. If literature courses are more your kind of thing, then you’re in luck too, as there are a wide range of topics to choose from.  

Literary greats and great periods in history

Our language courses offer you the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself in a completely new culture, developing your skills so that you can speak confidently in countries right across the world. German, Italian and Greek are just a few examples of the language courses we have to offer, with many others taking place throughout the year.  

As you’d expect, literary greats such as Agatha Christie and Shakespeare feature regularly. There’s also the option to examine other time periods in English literature too, helping you develop your critical reading and analysis skills - perfect whether you’re a beginner or more experienced in the subject.  

If you prefer history then you’ve got a choice too, from courses on subjects you’d expect such as the first world war, or art history and studying the works of iconic painters such as Salvador Dali. 

Support and guidance

Whatever course you choose, you'll learn in a supportive environment where the class sizes are small, ensuring you get the attention you deserve, with an experienced and qualified tutor on-hand to guide you through your learning too.  

A lot of our cultural learning is delivered by our branch network: learn more here.

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Film & Media: How to Read Film

Part of the Free to All Summer Taster Courses: Do you like films and are keen to learn more and discuss them with like-minded enthusiasts? Have you wondered “How did they do that?” Or even more so “Why did that film make me feel like this? “Are you thinking about enrolling on one of the WEA’s film studies courses? Then this free taster session is for you. You’ll get equipped with some of the basics of “how to read a film” – the key elements of filmmaking and how they create (different) meanings, emotions and impacts on the viewer, enabling you analyse films with greater confidence.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 17/07/2024 -
Wed 17/07/2024
Times:
4:00pm - 7:00pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Ruth Mulandi
Course code:
Q00016976
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
0 places remaining
Status:
Waiting list
Fee:
Free

Creative Writing: Body Stories Workshop

This friendly four-hour creative writing workshop will invite you to enter into relationship with your bodies and surroundings. The session will be held in a supportive way and will integrate some simple yoga inspired movement (adaptable to all bodies), prompts for creative and reflective expression through writing, and even some environmental science! You will be guided to a holistic understanding of person and place. This course is ideal for people who like to write and to contemplate how to live more skilfully as individuals, as a community and in relationship with their surroundings. There will be time for sharing small parts of your writing towards the end of the workshop but no pressure, it’s about an unfolding individual/shared creative process and participants need to feel at ease to write freely.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 24/07/2024 -
Wed 24/07/2024
Times:
10:00am - 2:00pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Ione Harris
Course code:
Q00014762
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
0 places remaining
Status:
Waiting list (Join waiting list)
Fee range
Free to £16.80

Creative Writing: Writers’ Online Retreat: Write, Feedback, Progress!

Over 5 consecutive days, you’ll set an achievable goal, immerse yourself in 45 minutes of writing and get feedback from the tutor and peers when you share. Imagine the amount of work and momentum you’ll build over 5 days.

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 05/08/2024 -
Fri 09/08/2024
Times:
10:00am - 11:30am
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Nicola Torode
Course code:
Q00017740
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £27.75

Creative Writing: Writing the City

This course will introduce you to techniques to bring a city alive in your stories, either fictional or non fiction, long or short form writing. This workshop consists of a blend of activities: writing exercises to practice your craft; close reading of extracts from published inspirational writers and teaching points on creative writing techniques. There is an opportunity to share your fresh words in small groups and receive gentle, appreciative feedback.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 07/08/2024 -
Wed 28/08/2024
Times:
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Duration:
4 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Nicola Torode
Course code:
Q00017742
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £29.60

WEA Membership

For just £15 a year, you can:

  • Join our popular, award-winning weekly lecture series,
  • Access an archive of over 100 past lectures,
  • Get priority online and phone booking for autumn courses (England only),
  • Receive our Highway magazine and access back issues,
  • Attend our members’ annual conference.

Just add us to your basket to sign up today!

Membership Information

Duration:
12 months
Fee:
WEA Membership

Creative Writing: Writing Food

This 2-hour workshop will stimulate your imagination and palette for writing food stories from fiction, life writing and reportage. You will read published stories to provide inspiration and techniques to embellish your own writing. You can share your writing in pairs to give confidence and courage to write more.

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 15/08/2024 -
Thu 15/08/2024
Times:
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Nicola Torode
Course code:
Q00017741
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £7.40

Creative Writing: Read Like a Writer

We’ll read a wide-range of short stories, memoir and novel extracts from diverse genres and authors. Each week we’ll be assigned two texts for close reading before the class. In class, the tutor will facilitate discussion around the techniques used and set a short writing exercise to practice a technique.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 04/09/2024 -
Wed 02/10/2024
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Nicola Torode
Course code:
Q00017744
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £37.00

Literature: British Colonial & Post Colonial Literature 10

This course will explore the following texts: Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad; Short Stories by Kipling; The Siege of Krishnapur - JG Farrell; The Jewel in the Crown - Paul Scott, and The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje. The course will track the decline of Empire and the concomitant social and political uncertainty, the relationship between the colonial and the colonised Other, and develop themes relating to identity and the subjective nature of historical revision. There will be ample scope for discussion of at times difficult and controversial debates, and we will focus on the continuing relationship that exists between contemporary writers and later writers vis-a-vis issues of guilt and responsibility.

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 09/09/2024 -
Mon 18/11/2024
Times:
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Duration:
11 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Stephen Smith
Course code:
Q00017456
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £74.00

Film & Media: World Cinema

We will consider a range of films, from classics to contemporary cinema. We will discuss the style and meaning of diverse extracts drawing on key ideas from Film Studies. We will consider films from diverse countries, comparing and contrasting these with American and British cinema. The class will be organised around discussion of selected extracts, with guidance on points to look for, including different aspects of film such as the screenplay and cinematography. Students will be encouraged to develop their responses in small groups. Case studies will be included on Alfred Hitchcock and British cinema.

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 16/09/2024 -
Mon 25/11/2024
Times:
6:30pm - 8:30pm
Duration:
10 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Daniel Williams
Course code:
Q00017427
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £84.00

World Cinema

We will consider a range of films, from classics to contemporary cinema. We will discuss the style and meaning of diverse extracts drawing on key ideas from Film Studies. We will consider films from diverse countries, comparing and contrasting these with American and British cinema. The class will be organised around discussion of selected extracts, with guidance on points to look for, including different aspects of film such as the screenplay and cinematography. Students will be encouraged to develop their responses in small groups. Case studies will be included on Alfred Hitchcock and British cinema.

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 16/09/2024 -
Mon 25/11/2024
Times:
6:30pm - 8:30pm
Duration:
10 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Daniel Williams
Course code:
Q00017611
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £84.00

Literature: British Literature in the Belle Epoque.

This course will explore four novels: The Turn of the Screw by Henry James; Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame; Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence; The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford, and the work of one poet, Thomas Hardy, specifically Poems 1912-1913, a record of his reactions to the death of his first wife. We will discuss the end of Empire, the rise of Modernism and Feminism and psychological study, and the political situation leading up to 1914 and changing perceptions of individual and national identity. There will be ample opportunity for discussion and a chance to reassess what may in some instances be familiar texts.

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 16/09/2024 -
Mon 25/11/2024
Times:
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Duration:
11 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Stephen Smith
Course code:
Q00017457
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
7 places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £74.00