WEA courses

This course will cover a discussion of the importance of the social and sexual mores of the times in history. There will be four weeks to look at the life and work of these remarkable women, Sofonisba Anguissola, Artemisia Gentileschi and Lavinia Fontana. We will cover the problems that faced them because of their place that their sex ensured they were kept in. Then at the ways they employed to get round these societal problems. Then we shall study their body of work under the context of the moment of history that they lived in.

This second of two courses on modern Chinese history concentrates on the history of China from 1912 to 1992 a time marked by profound transformations, including the fall of the imperial system, the rise of the First Republic, the Warlord Era, the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, and major upheavals of war, rebellion, revolution and geopolitical alignment. We trace the political social, cultural and economic development of China in the 20th Century. We consider the events, ideas and personalities that shaped this extraordinary national story. Throughout, we draw parallels with our own time and how we got here.

One of the revolutionary art movements of the early 20th century, surrealism was made for the movies. Artists keen on challenging the boundaries of form, genre and art itself, quickly made use of the possibilities of the moving image. Beyond that, early filmmakers discovered film’s potential for the ‘unreal’. In surrealist cinema, questions about identity and reality, challenges to social norms, the subconscious, dreams and the fantastic meet.

Discover for the first time, or re-visit an old favourite, this course will introduce you to a wide range of artworks from the national collection of Tate Britain in London. We explore specific works by historical, modern and contemporary artists in relation to wider cultural and social contexts. The aim of the course is to develop confidence and visual literacy skills when looking at and discussing art in London’s galleries. On this course, we examine work by prominent artists as diverse as Anthony Van Dyck, Joan Carlile, William Blake, JMW Turner, the Pre-Raphaelites, Gwen John, Sarah Lucas and Lubaina Himid.

This course will help you develop further watercolour techniques interrelated with drawing skills, and in connection with inspiring examples in art history. It will help you learn classical techniques in a subtle way, by relating them to examples by various masters of drawing and watercolour (such as Dürer, Turner or Cezanne) and contemporary artists (such as David Hockney or Anselm Kiefer). If you would like to have a fresh view of watercolour painting and drawing, and learn how to achieve expressivity by carefully combining techniques such as glazing, graded wash or cross-hatching, this course will offer you an overview and will inspire personal artworks of great subtlety and sensitivity It will also encourage you to create your own original artworks based on the techniques learned and it will bring a fresh perspective on known techniques and styles, if you have already practised them in your own paintings. You will need to bring your own materials, paints and paper along for this course. The tutor will let you know what to bring

In this – mostly European – survey, we will study some iconic buildings that came to define their respective periods in terms of ideas, styles, and techniques. A broad chronological progression will take us from the Gizeh Pyramid and Parthenon to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Through this course, you will develop your ability to see and understand a building’s architectural features. For each example, you will study the way it is built, its style, and the relation between the building's form and it's purpose,or function

The last 50 years of the Ottoman Empire continues to drive current events and politics in Europe and the Middle East. In this course we consider the events, characters and forces that lead to its breakup including the modernisation attempts of the ‘Young Turk’ movement, the Balkan Wars of 1912-13, The Great War (including the Arab Revolt, the Armenian Genocide and the Turkish War of Independence. We finish by considering the rise of the new secular state of Turkey and the legacy of the Ottomans and why a century after its end the Ottoman Empire is still relevant throughout southeastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

Enhance your appreciation of art with our Art Appreciation course. Learn about key artists, movements, and techniques from different periods of art history. Ideal for art enthusiasts and anyone interested in learning more about art.

Essex museums are full of wonderful and sometimes surprising objects. This course takes a selection of objects looked after in museums all over the county and uses them as sources for learning about everyday life in Essex in the past. Covering a range of themes and times the course will also give you some ideas for places to visit in your own time.

Discover for the first time, or re-visit an old favourite, this course will introduce you to a wide range of artworks from the national collection of Tate Britain in London. We explore specific works by historical, modern and contemporary artists in relation to wider cultural and social contexts. The aim of the course is to develop confidence and visual literacy skills when looking at and discussing art in London’s galleries. On this course, we examine work by prominent artists as diverse as Anthony Van Dyck, Joan Carlile, William Blake, JMW Turner, the Pre-Raphaelites, Gwen John, Mona Hatoum and Mike Kelly.