See also: First World War Day Schools
Our day schools enable lifelong learners to engage with subjects presented by inspiring tutors.
Convenor: Dr Malcolm Dick,
Director, Centre for Birmingham and Midlands History.
These courses are designed for anyone interested in the subject and no background knowledge is assumed. The focal points are on the archaeology, history, culture and heritage of the West Midlands region, Britain and beyond. This year evening classes are included in the programme as well as day schools.
Room LG32, Learning Centre, Edgbaston Campus
Speakers: Chris Penney, Ruth Watts, Sally Hoban, Helen Smith
The West Midlands was the home of several women in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who participated in local higher education in a male dominated world. The day school looks at the writer and thinker, Constance Naden, the medical education of women students at Birmingham, artists and designers who studied at Birmingham School of Art and Elizabeth Cadbury and her work in education.
Fee: £34 - refreshments and lunch provided
Room LG32, Learning Centre, Edgbaston Campus
Speaker: John Hunt
Medieval art was often a mirror to the society that produced it but what were these images intended to convey? The day school will focus on four main subjects: the Bayeux Tapestry; Romanesque combat sculptures - Saint-Pierre-de-L’Isle and its affinities; Chartres, Canterbury and stained glass, the Luttrell Psalter and other forms of art.
Fee: £34 - refreshments and lunch provided
Main Lecture Theatre, 1st floor, Arts Building, Edgbaston Campus
Various speakers
This annual day school focuses on Jane Austen, her writings and the times in which she lived. It is organised in association with the Jane Austen Society.
Fee: £18 - refreshments and lunch provided
£14 refreshments but no lunch provided
Room LG32, Learning Centre, Edgbaston Campus
Speakers: Including Ian Ker, David McLoughlin, Pamela Roberts
Cardinal Newman was a major figure in nineteenth-century social and religious life, who wrote extensively on Christianity, education and the culture of his times. This day school, occurring when Newman’s canonisation is being considered by the Vatican, provides an opportunity to explore his life and writings, his time in Birmingham and his influence on education and music.
Fee: £29 - refreshments and lunch provided
Library Theatre, Birmingham Central Library
Various Speakers
This annual event includes several illustrated presentations about sites and objects from rural and urban parts of the region, ranging in date from prehistoric to modern times. Organised by the Council for British Archaeology
Fee: £24 - refreshments and lunch provided
£20 refreshments but no lunch provided
CBA members may deduct £5
Main Lecture Theatre, 1st floor, Arts Building, Edgbaston Campus
Speakers: Steve Bassett, Malcolm Hislop, Andrew Hopper, Stephen Parker, Peter Rhodes, Jahan Mahmood. Chaired by Malcolm Dick
Six speakers will explore fortifications in Anglo-Saxon Mercia, medieval castles, the Civil War in the Midlands, civilians and soldiers in the Great War, Religion and the Home Front in World War II and Birmingham’s Muslim communities and Muslim soldiers in World War II.
Fee: £29 - refreshments and lunch provided
Lecture Room 7, 2nd floor, Arts Building Edgbaston Campus
Speakers: including Phillada Ballard, David Lambert, Simon Gulliver
The contributors explore the local history of parks, plants and gardens. Subjects include Edgbaston’s Guinea Gardens, the plant hunter, Ernest Wilson, and Highbury Park, which raises questions about the restoration of historic features and perceptions of what people want from local landscapes.
Fee: £34 - refreshments and lunch provided
Large Lecture Theatre, Arts Building Edgbaston Campus
The Staffordshire Hoard promises to transform our understanding of Anglo-Saxon Mercia.
This day school provides the latest information from those who excavated the finds and are interpreting its importance.
Fee: £34 - refreshments and lunch provided
(£3 of which goes towards the hoard acquisition fund)
Lecture Room 3, 1st floor, Arts Building Edgbaston Campus
Various speakers
Glass making and design were and still are major regional activities. This day school sets this history in context and looks especially at the achievements of the stained glass makers, Hardman and Co, and Chances, the manufacturers of many types of glass in Smethwick. Organised with Birmingham Archives and Heritage and Sandwell Archives
Fee: £34 - refreshments and lunch provided
Lecture Room 3, 1st floor, Arts Building Edgbaston Campus
Tutor: John Hunt
Initially, the Anglo-Saxons were vociferously pagan in their outlook but later they were ferociously Christian. This was a cultural shift of seismic proportions which impacted on all aspects of life and social development. Looking at art and architecture, the day will explore: grave goods and conspicuous wealth, kings, monks and men, the cult of saints and late Anglo-Saxon England.
Fee: £34 - refreshments and lunch provided
Lecture Theatre 1, 1st floor, Arts Building Edgbaston Campus
*N.B change of lecture theatre*
Barrie Bullen, John Holmes, Franny Moyle, Leonee Ormond and Tony Pinkey
Chair: Serena Towbridge
This is a major conference organised with the Pre-Raphaelite Society which will explore the connections between literature and the Pre-Raphaelites. More details will be provided in a leaflet early in 2010.
Fee: £4 (including refreshments)
Room LG32, Learning Centre, Edgbaston Campus, coach tours and site visits
Tutor and Guide: Sally Hoban
This day school will examine the extensive network of artists and designers working in the Arts and Crafts tradition in the Midlands from c1880 to 1930, including The Birmingham Group and Charles Ashbee's Guild of Handicraft. We will see examples of their work at the Court Barn Museum in Chipping Campden during the visit.
Fee: £50 - morning refreshments, packed lunch, coach and entrance to museum provided
Coach tour and site visits
Tutor and Guide: Jim Melling
Linked to Jim Melling’s evening classes in the summer (see Evening Classes), this event will provide a full day of visits to important churches in the region. More details will be provided in a leaflet early in 2010
Fee: £50 - packed lunch and coach provided
Please also see out Evening Classes
Student comments about recent courses
Enrolment and Further Information
Advance enrolment is essential and the closing date is ten days before the event, but it may be possible to accept late bookings. A detailed programme for individual events and booking details are available from:
Sandra Ilott
College of Social Sciences Hub
2nd Floor Muirhead Tower
The University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham B15 2TT
Telephone: 0121 415 8102
E-mail: s.e.ilott@bham.ac.uk
