Archive of Weekend Course | LeisureCourses.net - short courses & residential study breaks in great locations - Part 14
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Survival and revival: the country house in the 20th century
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesCountry houses rank among our most visited heritage sites, protected by legislation and public demand, yet many houses have been demolished and their collections continue to be sold. This course will question whether the 20th century was one of doom and gloom or one in which country house owners adapted to survive. Key areas to...
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Cyberpsychology: understanding life in the digital era
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesWe live in the digital world where emerging technologies have infiltrated everyday life. Have you ever wondered how our concept of identity has been redefined and how much influence social media has on your decisions? Come and explore the impact of emerging technologies on human behaviour and the future of humans.
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The medicinal properties of plants
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesWhy do plants have names such as 'allheal' and 'woundwort' and why did we import tons of bark from a South American tree? A look at the historical and present day use of plants in both alternative and mainstream medicine, concentrating on those containing alkaloids, essential oils, mucilages and other chemicals of known medicinal value...
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The masterpieces of French opéra comique
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesBeginning in the popular entertainments of the early 18th-century summer and winter fairs of Paris, the opéra comique soon developed into a recognisable form of operatic entertainment: a play with music reflecting the lives and ambitions of ordinary people. Soon this type of opera acquired its own theatre, and rapidly became a focal point in...
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Hardy: novels into film
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesWhy have films based on Hardy's novels proved so popular, and do they enrich or diminish their originals? We focus especially on Far From the Madding Crowd and Tess of the d'Urbervilles, two of his masterpieces, and consider the strengths and limitations of particular film versions, as well as the whole notion of literary adaptation.
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Reading Classical Latin: the pleasures of Horace
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesLove, myth, praise of Augustus, fleeing snows, celebration, conquest and old age - all these and more are there to enjoy in Horace's Odes Book 4. Anyone with a solid knowledge of Latin will be able to cope with Horace's poetry. Participants will be encouraged to contribute to translating the text, discussing its contents and...
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Introduction to Taoist philosophy
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesTaoism is an ancient Chinese school of thought concerning human existence. We will examine the ideas of Taoist thinkers like Lao-tzu, Chuang-tzu, and others to see how their views about the Tao, return, no-mind, and non-activity/naturalness provide a philosophy of the human condition.
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Five young artists on the eve of the Great War
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesWe follow the artistic fortunes of Richard Nevinson, John Currie, Mark Gertler, Edward Wadsworth and Adrian Allinson, the five young artists portrayed in John Currie's 1912 painting 'Some Later Primitives and Madame Tisceron'. On this journey, we will encounter triumph and despair, fame and obscurity, and study some of the greatest British art of the...
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Urban experience, its history and its prospects
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesOver half of the world's population now lives in towns and cities, and urbanisation is accelerating. Has 8,000 years been enough for the species to adapt to high density and low certainty? Do cities produce distinct types of community? With cases ranging from ancient Sumer and Rome to Mexico City and Hong Kong today, we...
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Advanced French: Monstres sacrés du cinéma français
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThis weekend course is held entirely in French. It focuses on various topics illustrated through literature and art, often related to present cultural events, and aimed at language improvement. The texts, chosen from a wide range of classic and modern writers, will be used as a basis for discussion throughout the sessions. A variety of...
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Jewish humour in the films of Mel Brooks and Woody Allen
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesYou think The Producers is hilarious? Or do you think: "well, talk about bad taste!". Maybe you think that Annie Hall is Woody Allen's greatest film, or Manhattan, or Zelig, or Crimes and Misdemeanors...? Very different in their comedy personae, Woody and Mel both started their professional careers writing for Sid Caesar in the 1950s...
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Reading Classical Greek: Continuing Beginners (Students who began in September 2014 – Group D)
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThis weekend course is part of a series designed for those who want to learn Classical Greek. Over a series of weekends, Beginner students are introduced to the basic elements of grammar through reading passages adapted from ancient Greek authors. At Intermediate level, students move onto collections of passages selected from major Greek writers, and...
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Reading Classical Greek: Continuing Beginners (Students who began in September 2015 – Group E)
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThis weekend course is part of a series designed for those who want to learn Classical Greek. Over a series of weekends, Beginner students are introduced to the basic elements of grammar through reading passages adapted from ancient Greek authors. At Intermediate level, students move onto collections of passages selected from major Greek writers, and...
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The pollinators: painting European butterflies
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesIn this course you will learn to draw and prepare a pencil drawing of a European butterfly, recording carefully the anatomical structure and pattern of the wings and then going on to complete a watercolour illustration. Practical work will be supplemented with an illustrated talk looking at the work of the great insect and butterfly...
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The Grand Tour
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThe Grand Tour was an artistic and cultural phenomenon of the 18th century. This course analyses its effect upon portraiture, landscape, architecture and the art of collecting. We will also focus on the significance of Italian culture to the Englishman abroad and the impact of his patronage upon artistic development in both Italy and England.
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Intermediate Spanish: Barcelona, cultural capital
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThis course provides an opportunity for total immersion in the Spanish language and Hispanic culture as well as plenty of speaking practice in a sound and supportive environment. It offers a mixture of language and culture - learning through topics such as Spanish and Latin American art, cinema, cuisine, fiestas, history, literature, etc. - thus...
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Reading Classical Greek: Advanced (verse)
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThis weekend course is part of a series designed for those who want to learn Classical Greek. Over a series of weekends, Beginner students are introduced to the basic elements of grammar through reading passages adapted from ancient Greek authors. At Intermediate level, students move onto collections of passages selected from major Greek writers, and...
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Reading Classical Greek: Advanced (prose)
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThis weekend course is part of a series designed for those who want to learn Classical Greek. Over a series of weekends, Beginner students are introduced to the basic elements of grammar through reading passages adapted from ancient Greek authors. At Intermediate level, students move onto collections of passages selected from major Greek writers, and...
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Reading Classical Greek: Intermediate
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThis weekend course is part of a series designed for those who want to learn Classical Greek. Over a series of weekends, Beginner students are introduced to the basic elements of grammar through reading passages adapted from ancient Greek authors. At Intermediate level, students move onto collections of passages selected from major Greek writers, and...
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IT to computer science: teaching in transition
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesA weekend course for current teachers of IT to assist in transitioning to teaching Computer Science. This is an intensive course which is designed to help IT teachers make the leap into teaching Computer Science at GCSE and first year A-Level. A basic standard of mathematics will be required and some preparatory work will be...
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Strong-minded women: the 19th-century women’s rights movement
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThis weekend meet some strong-minded Victorian women to discover how their life's work, in a variety of spheres, changed public attitudes towards women and their role in society, influenced government policy and paved the way for winning the vote. Using biographical material and discussion groups we shall investigate how the women's rights movement worked alongside...
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The poetry of D H Lawrence
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesBest known for his ground-breaking novels, D H Lawrence was also a remarkable poet, sharply observant and possessed of a highly individual poetic voice. This course will examine a selection of his poems, relating them to the wider context of his life and times.
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The Cambridge Five and the Soviet espionage offensive against Great Britain
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesFive of the most successful spies in history, the Cambridge Five, generate both interest and controversy. The Soviet intelligence offensive against Britain, however, was much greater. This course examines why, how and where Soviet espionage took place and looks at the true nature of Soviet espionage in Britain which operated across all classes and posed...
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Rocks, minerals and fossils: an introduction to geology
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThis wide-ranging, practical introduction to geology, with a field trip, is an opportunity to study many different rocks, minerals and fossils. We will also see the part played by volcanoes and earthquakes, mountains and oceans in the making of Britain on its long journey from south of the equator to its present position.
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The glory of Rome
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesFew nations left such a lasting legacy on our world as the Roman Empire. In this course we will analyse the legacy of Rome through its politics, laws, religions, military, engineering, and art and architecture. What are the crucial achievements of the Romans? How did the Romans innovate and which elements of the Roman world...
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The golden age of Elizabethan music and culture
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThe Elizabethan period was a true 'golden age' in music, where great composers like Tallis, Byrd, Gibbons and Dowland worked in a cultural environment that cherished their talents. They were surrounded by a host of other excellent musicians, and together created works for voices, viols, lutes and keyboard that are still heard and appreciated today.
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Intermediate German: Die Berliner Mauer – DDR und Wiedervereinigung
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThis weekend course, conducted in German, is designed for those who can already speak some German, but who wish to gain more confidence in their use of the language. The level of linguistic competence expected is a B1 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Through the medium of short non-fictional and...
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In the merry company of Dutch Golden Age art
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesArt was a key element in the 17th-century Dutch Republic's process of self-definition, with domestic life pictures clarifying the values that underpinned the emerging culture. By the time of Dutch independence from Spanish rule in 1648 the United Provinces had the highest standard of living in Europe, so who were the people who had achieved...
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English medieval towns: Norwich, King’s Lynn, Canterbury and Cambridge
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesFour towns will be examined, all in Eastern England, each with a different story. Norwich was largely swept clear by the Normans in a dramatic exercise of royal authority. Canterbury evolved more slowly and came to be dominated by the Church and the Cult of Becket. King's Lynn was totally invented by the Normans, a...
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Divided kingdom: Social class and inequality in modern Britain
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesAll complex societies are characterised by the unequal distribution of resources. In this course, we will take a fresh look at the extent to which Britain is united or divided in the early 21st century by exploring social class, ethnic and gender inequalities. We will consider definitions of social class and its impact on life...
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