Are you curious, but not convinced..?
…We understand!
No really - we completely get it. We’ve felt like that when considering signing up for something new too.
Statistically, there’s a very high chance that you are here because someone you know has done a course (or many courses!) with Robert, and enthusiastically recommended us to you.
We’re really proud of the fact that the vast majority of people who’ve taken their first course with us since we launched in early 2021 have done so via word-of-mouth recommendation.
There really is no higher praise for what one is doing than someone having enjoyed it so much that they recommend it to their friends and family!
Regardless of whether you’re here because someone has already sung our praises to you, you may be interested to see what other lovely people have said on our Testimonials page here.
We’ve put this page together - no razzle-dazzle; just answers to questions which you may have - in the hope that we might allay potential qualms, and encourage you to join us for your first Wright History course.
We should perhaps call this our Frequently Asked Questions page. We’re not, though, because at this stage it only includes what we think are likely questions - do please let me know if there are some we’ve overlooked. We hope that this is at least a helpful start!
If you don’t have any questions as such, and would simply like a quick taste of what you’ll see if you sign up for a course with us, just click here.
If you would like to be added to our mailing list, to receive announcements of new courses and occasional other news, please click here.
But if you’d like some more information, please read on…
There are loads of courses and lectures out there – universities, museums, adult education colleges and associations, history and art societies, other independent lecturers… Why should I sign up for a course with Wright History?
Good point! We certainly enjoy lots of others’ courses and lectures when we can too! Robert is, however, especially good at it.
…But of course I would say that, wouldn’t I? More objectively and perhaps, therefore, more helpfully for you…
Since we started Wright History in early 2021,
98.7% of our registrations have been from people who have done at least one course with Robert.*
*[No really! I redid the maths several times, because even I was surprised it was quite that high!]
Marketing professionals and people more savvy in business-speak than we are would kill for that level of what they would no doubt call customer retention. We, however, don’t like to think in terms of “customers” or “reducing the business’s customer churn rate” (how vile a phrase is that?!).
We’re just chuffed to bits that so many people like what we do enough to stick with us and come back for more!
PS Most of the 1.3% are either just finishing or haven’t yet started their first course with us, so we’re not resting on our laurels. We’re working hard to nudge that figure up to at least 99%!
PPS Don’t worry - that doesn’t mean that you’ll be the only person on any given course that won’t know everyone. We’ve run many courses, and there’s still a long way to go before everyone knows everyone else. We’re far from being a “members-only club” - all are welcome!
But what sort of people do them? However high a percentage is, it doesn’t help me to decide whether your courses will be right for me. I am not a number!
Quite so! We don’t think of people in terms of categories and wouldn’t want to list our “target tribes” even if we could! People from all walks of life have joined us, and thus far there are two important things they’ve had in common.
First, they are adults. This means that we’re not bound by educational curricula, governmental/institutional metrics, or spurious learning outcomes, and are therefore free to offer courses on anything/anywhere/anywhen we think people might enjoy.
Secondly, they’re intellectually curious about things historical.
If that’s you, you’ll fit right in. And you’ll meet some lovely people too!
You may already have an idea of the geographical and chronological range of Wright History courses. If not, the headline news is that Robert’s interests and expertise are very wide-ranging. For a fuller picture on that front, please browse our current courses and archive here.
In terms of his approach... I’ve wrestled with how best to describe what he does for a long time now, and I’m still not sure I’ve quite encapsulated it as well as I’d like. But here goes…
Think: a really good history/art history documentary, put together by a trained professional historian who’s clearly passionate about their subject, and - crucially – is a good performer.* With space for you to ask questions throughout should you wish.
*[This is a rarer combination than we think it should be!]
As an aside… we’re often told that someone has got a great deal of satisfaction from having been able to amaze their partner/family/friends by answering an especially impressive University Challenge/Mastermind/pub quiz question.*
*[We can’t, of course, include that as a legally-binding guarantee for each course or, indeed, for each quiz, but we can guarantee that it regularly happens!]
Essentially, what we do is entertaining, informative, and accessible learning for pleasure.
Does that sound like something you might enjoy?
Perhaps. But I’ve not studied history or art before. It feels a bit daunting.
Don’t worry. We’re a broad “church” - all comers welcome!
For some, a Wright History course is their first foray into history. For many, it’s their first time “in a classroom”, as it were, since school. Some know a lot of history from years of personal interest and travel, and some have formally studied history (including university degrees and, indeed, careers in history teaching and research) but want a quick “in” to pastures new. Some come from other academic fields and want to try something completely different. Some are simply wondering whether this whole history malarkey might possibly be of interest to them and want to give it a try without having to do lots of solo research.
But whatever their background, those who register for our courses are people who want to explore cultures in the past with someone who’s entertaining and knows their stuff.
No prior knowledge or experience is necessary - each course stands in its own right.
NB One of the endorsements on our Testimonials page explicitly comments on different levels of prior knowledge - and does so far better than I could! If you’ve not yet visited that page, here’s a link so you don’t have to scroll up to the link above and lose your place here.
Do I need to do any preparation or homework? Do I need to take notes?
Nope! No prep, no homework, no exams - there’s no Naughty Step here at Wrightington Towers!
As you now know, we don’t think of the lovely people who book our courses as “customers”. And “students” doesn’t feel right to us either. Between us, Robert and I have taught literally thousands of students throughout our professional lives - we love students! - but “student” can come with a certain set of expectations (e.g. homework, deadlines, and stress). Instead we think of those who join our courses as Denizens, in the sense of habitués.
Many Denizens of Wright History do indeed take notes - and we upload versions of Robert’s presentation slides for those who’d like to refer to them at a later point - but many choose to just sit back and enjoy the ride. Either is fine by us!
How are the courses delivered?
The vast majority of what we do is online, via Zoom. We also offer a limited number of courses in bricks-and-mortar venues in North Yorkshire. For in-venue courses, the approach, the content and the Robert ( ! ) are also as outlined above, but as most of our courses are online, that’s what we’ll focus on here.
We open our Zoom “meeting room” 15 minutes before the start of each session, to give everyone time to join us, ask any practical “housekeeping” questions, settle in, and get comfortable to enjoy the course itself. This is also an opportunity for those who want to catch up with us and/or others on the course to have a bit of a natter.
At kick-off time, Robert puts his presentation to full screen, so you’ll be able to see all images and illustrations properly. You can choose whether to see him as well for the main “meat” of the course (and we’ll happily talk you through how to adjust what you see if you’ve not done that before).
At around the half-time mark, we stop for any questions, comments, or observations (sometimes there are a lot, sometimes there aren’t, and either’s fine!). There’s then a break of about 10m, to allow everyone to stretch their legs/make a cup of tea/pour a glass of wine/whatever, after which Robert starts the rest of the session, before wrapping up with time for any further questions/comments. You can, by the way, ask questions or for clarification at any point.
Hmm. Q&A sessions… I don’t like talking in public with people I don’t know well.
You are not alone in that! But don’t worry - there’s no obligation to join in on any conversation. Nor, by the way, is there any obligation to have your camera switched on. You’re very welcome to join in as much or as little as you like.
We want every Wright History course you join to be a pleasure rather than a chore!!
I don’t like/haven’t used Zoom. It seems so… impersonal. I just don’t feel comfortable with it.
I’ll let you into a secret. Robert felt exactly that when he reluctantly agreed to do his first online course, so we absolutely understand this reservation!
More importantly, many of our Denizens initially felt the same. They won’t, I know, mind me sharing here that they wouldn’t have signed up for an online course in a million years had Covid not meant that there was little alternative during lockdown.
Perhaps the best proof of our pudding is that even now most of us are no longer in lockdown and the world is again our oyster, a very significant number continue to do online courses with us.
Some of those also do local in-venue courses, some have decided - much to their surprise! - that they actually prefer online courses (especially of an evening, when things can be enjoyed from the comfort of one’s own home, without the inconvenience of traffic/weather!). We can’t, of course, guarantee that you will feel this should you decide to join us online, but I hope that the fact that many who initially shared this reservation have offers at least a little reassurance that it might be worth a try.
I’m not confident with computers. What technology do I need?
You’ll need an email address, an internet connection, and some sort of device which has speakers, a microphone, and a webcam (either separate or within your desktop/laptop/tablet).
Some join us for the ‘live’ sessions via their smartphones and follow up with the presentations on other devices, but please be aware that you won’t necessarily be able to see the images in Robert’s presentations as clearly as you might like if a smartphone is your only device. At the other end of the screen-size spectrum, some like to plug their device into their television, in order to see the presentation images in big-screen technicolour splendour!*
*[Hmm… my daughter would tease me about how dated “big-screen technicolour splendour” is, but you know what I mean!]
You can, should you wish, download Zoom, which may give you a better viewing experience, but it’s not essential. Given our collective lockdown experience, you may have already downloaded Zoom (or had a younger helpful relative/neighbour do it for you!). If not, you (or that relative/neighbour who didn’t do it before) can do so here. But it’s really not essential.
When you complete a registration with us, I’ll send you an email confirmation. Just before the first session, I’ll send a reminder, and you simply click the link therein to join us, whether you’re doing it via the Zoom software or your internet browser.
That may sound more complicated than it actually is. If so, please don’t worry! You’ll also have our phone number, so if you have any problems in the 15m running up to a session’s kick-off (or beyond!), just call me and I’ll talk you through it.
We’re also more than happy to set up a “trial run” session so that you can try it out in advance. That can be easily done in no more than 5 minutes, and we’re always delighted to do it - let us know if that might help you to feel more confident.
Hmm... Now that I’ve re-read my answer to this possible question, I realise that it is rather lengthy, for which apologies. I’m not going to abbreviate it, though, because I know that qualms about this sort of thing have been felt very keenly by many Denizens. If nothing else, I hope that what I’ve said here will at least have reassured you that we’re not impersonal here at Wright History. We really do understand that some things can be daunting. And we’d love to be able to help them feel less daunting for you!
What if something comes up and I have to miss a session?
No problem!
All of our sessions are recorded and available for you to watch online for at least several weeks after “broadcast”. In fact, Denizens often sign up for courses knowing that they won’t be able to attend any session in real time.
NB I edit recordings to remove all Denizens’ personal details, images, the Q&A elements, and any preliminary conversation, so there are no privacy or data protection issues. Therefore catch-up recordings include only Robert, his presentation, and (very occasionally) me.
Has this helped at all? I do hope so! Is there anything I’ve not covered here which you’d like to ask? Do please let me know - either by email at robert@wrighthistory.uk or via our contact form here.
If you now feel sufficiently curious to see whether our currently available courses might tickle your fancy, please click here.