Archive of South East | LeisureCourses.net - short courses & residential study breaks in great locations - Part 5
-
Writing fiction for children of primary school age
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesFunny, adventurous, wacky, imaginative, interesting books aimed at children between 6 and 11 years old are always on publishers' wish-lists. This course aims at helping you develop characters, plot, style and ideas, never losing sight of the current market, to get your children's book written and published.
Read more ... -
Masters of British landscape from Gainsborough to Goldsworthy
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesLandscape is everywhere; an obvious subject for painters and one which has inspired many of our greatest masters, from Gainsborough, Constable and Turner to the Pre-Raphaelites and Stanley Spencer. Come and spend a weekend exploring their struggles, their triumphs, and the passion that drove them to change the ways we look at nature forever.
Read more ... -
Tracing the origins of the British using genetics, linguistics and chroniclers
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThe origins of the British seem to have been securely laid out since Bede in AD 731, who described the coming of the Anglo-Saxons, and since Buchanan in AD 1582, who suggested that the early British were from Gaul, ultimately leading to the modern concept of an Iron Age 'Celtic' Britain. However, the traditional views...
Read more ... -
Peace, conflict and international society
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThe news seems dominated by war, violence and conflict, but these forces also lie at the heart of how and why the world operates as it does at the level of international politics. If you have ever wondered why peace is so elusive and conflict so prevalent, then this course will help you understand such...
Read more ... -
The English economy before the Norman Conquest: agriculturalists, artisans and aristocrats
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesHow did people make a living when there was no money in England, and how did goods circulate with no market? Come and explore fundamental questions like these on this weekend course, and trace how Anglo-Saxon towns, trade and coinage began and developed as the early Middle Ages progressed.
Read more ... -
Why are the Americans more religious than the British?
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesAs the race for the Presidency hots up, are you baffled by the role religion continues to play in American life? This course will set you straight. Learn about the history that has shaped American religious sensibilities, explore the data of religious practice today, and enter the American mind.
Read more ... -
Intermediate Russian: The 1917 Revolution – facts, fiction, arts
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThis weekend is designed for those who already have a reasonable conversational grasp of Russian. You will be able to expand your knowledge of contemporary Russian language, culture and society and gain more confidence in speaking and writing. The sessions will be mostly in Russian and will include, besides language exercises, a look at current...
Read more ... -
Sustainable Development Goals: what difference will they make to international development?
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesWe are at the cusp of significant changes in both thinking and delivering 'international assistance' as a result of the new set of targets known as the Sustainable Development Goals. With reference to case studies, this course explores the consequences of the changes ahead by looking in turn at the criteria and targets set for...
Read more ... -
Viking Britain
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesFor over 300 years, the Vikings were profoundly involved in British society and politics, and their legacy can still be felt throughout the British Isles. This course will introduce you to the history, archaeology, art and literature of the Vikings, and show how the idea of 'Viking Britain' continues to resonate to this day.
Read more ... -
Astronomy days: Rocky worlds and gas giants
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesHow do planets form? Is there life elsewhere in the Universe? In the first of a new series of astronomy day schools, we will explore the planets and other rocky bodies of our solar system, catch up on the rapidly advancing hunt for planets around other stars, and discuss the origins of life and the...
Read more ... -
The Anglo-Saxon Fenland
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThe Anglo-Saxon fenland was colourfully described by the great Clifford Darby as 'a frontier region...the resort of brigands and bandits' in whose empty wilderness saints like Æthelthryth of Ely and Guthlac of Crowland established their new monastries. The course critically examines these assumptions in the light of recent research which suggests fenland history was more...
Read more ... -
Stories to live and die for: the literary prize winners
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesFiction enables us to consider some challenging, vital and creative issues and moments in life, and to imagine how things could be otherwise. We will be reading and discussing prize-winning contemporary fiction including Eimear McBride's challenging A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing (2013), which explores the life of a young Irish girl. We will also look at...
Read more ... -
O rare Ben Jonson
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThe appearance in 2013 of Ian Donaldson's brilliant life-and-works book on Shakespeare's friend and only serious rival Ben Jonson proves a wonderful stimulus for the study of three of his sourly evergreen comedies, The Alchemist, Volpone and Bartholemew Fair, and his tragedy Sejanus, recently and successfully revived at Stratford. There will be many laughs and...
Read more ... -
One day, one novel: Pride and Prejudice
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThis day school is part of the 'One day, one novel' series for 2015-16. Each day school focuses on one novel and through a series of lecture and class discussions, helps you to study the novel in great depth, getting to know the author and the text as closely as possible.
Read more ... -
New Testament Greek
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThis course is aimed at students who have been studying Greek for a year or more. We shall read and discuss a selection of extended passages from the New Testament Gospels and Epistles, aiming to understand both their language and their historical background. We shall also by way of contrast look at some shorter extracts...
Read more ... -
Advanced French: Monsieur de La Fontaine
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...
Read more ... -
Immortality and eternity: different conceptions of the afterlife
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesWhat answers come from having more life? In this course, an alternative picture will be considered to the dogmatic view of eternal life as 'more life'. Through retrospective analysis of the teachings of Christ and that of 19th and 20th century philosophers, we will expose a profound and equally valid interpretation of eternal life as...
Read more ... -
Bede and the history of early England
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesBede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People tells us much of what we know, or think we know, about the history of England from its origins to the 730s. This course will revisit Bede, in the light of recent historical and archaeological research, to estimate how far he has misled generations of readers.
Read more ... -
Daily life and the afterlife in ancient Egypt
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesHave you ever wondered what life was like in ancient Egypt? Or why the Egyptians mummified their dead? From childbirth to mortality, funerals to Osiris's judgement, in this course, you will explore daily life in ancient Egypt, and beyond. By the end, you will have a better understanding of the ancient Egyptians, and a foundation...
Read more ... -
Reading Classical Latin: Ovid and love
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesOvid claims that there are a hundred reasons why he is always in love and in reading Amores Book 2, we shall discover some of these reasons. But we shall also encounter a dead parrot, his girl Corinna's jealousy and her abortion, and Ovid's wish to be a signet ring. Anyone with a sound basic...
Read more ... -
Reading Classical Latin: Suetonius on Caesar
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesSuetonius's Life of Divus Iulius provides a miscellany of 'facts' from Julius Caesar's life. We discover the origin of veni vidi vici, meet his lovers, see him scorning religion, learn of his oratorical skills and follow him to his assassination on the Ides of March. Anyone with a sound basic knowledge of Latin will be...
Read more ... -
John’s gospel: where children can paddle and elephants can swim
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesJohn's gospel contains some of the most well-known phrases in the New Testament: 'the Word became flesh', 'I am the bread of life'. But there are also puzzles: why does John's Jesus die on a different day to the Jesus of the other gospels? Is the gospel anti-semitic? Is John's Jesus more divine than human?...
Read more ... -
One day, one novel: Wuthering Heights
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThis day school is part of the 'One day, one novel' series for 2015-16. Each day school focuses on one novel and through a series of lecture and class discussions, helps you to study the novel in great depth, getting to know the author and the text as closely as possible.
Read more ... -
Creative writing: an introduction to life writing (online)
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThis course is aimed at anyone who wants to write a biography, memoir or other form of non-fiction. It will use examples and practical exercises to guide students through the skills needed to write interesting non-fiction: research, editing, how to tell a story and ways of using discription. Given the nature of creative writing, it...
Read more ... -
An introduction to international development: understanding contemporary issues and themes (online)
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThis online course is designed to introduce students to the field of international development. Participants will develop knowledge of contemporary issues and themes, such as poverty and livelihoods, global food security, aid, urbanisation, and sustainable development, and will be encouraged to think critically in looking at a variety of case studies and examples of international...
Read more ... -
Defending Scotland
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesFor most of its history, Scotland has been an independent state and may well be one again soon. This course traces how its peoples defended themselves down the ages through looking at Scottish fortifications: their structures and their historical context. The course is fully illustrated.
Read more ... -
The social mind
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesHumans are very social animals and this course is about why that is and how our social minds work. How did social behaviour evolve? What does it mean to have 'social skills' and why do some people have better social skills than others? And if we are such sociable creatures - why are we often...
Read more ... -
Ritualism and revivalism: a brief history of Victorian religion
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesChristianity played an important part in Victorian politics, sociality and culture. It was an era of significant development of religious thought; of faith and doubt. This course is a survey of Victorian religion which includes studies on the feature of British Evangelicalism, the battles between Anglican and Nonconformists, Tractarianism, and other developments such as premillenialism...
Read more ... -
Early Netherlandish art c.1500: the art and time of Hieronymus Bosch
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesHieronymus Bosch is a medieval painter on the threshold of the Renaissance. His startling visions of Hell are part of late-medieval religion, rather than evidence of heresy or witchcraft. Proverbs are another important feature of his work, but it is its enigmatic and individual quality that continues to intrigue us.
Read more ... -
Ancient cultures of South America
Listed on January 29, 2016 by Madingley Hall in Featured CoursesThe Inka Empire (AD 1400-1532) ruled 10 million subjects across five countries without written language or the wheel. But how did they do it? If you want to learn about the cultural richness of the ancient world of Peru, then this course is for you. We will discuss pre-Columbian kingdoms, warfare, sacrifice and ritual, death...
Read more ...