Is it an art, or is it science…?
Aka: New courses for April ‘25!
Astrolabe, c. 1370
Oxford, History of Science Museum, 49359
With a grateful hat-tip to Seb Falk, via The Essay, BBC R3, 2017. For full details and sundry links, see: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2KQBr6stC7kC3ccLmdFZWgK/why-medieval-monks-loved-their-gadgets-just-as-much-as-we-do
I know I say this practically every time, but really…
How on earth are we already at half term?? And yet somehow, here we are!
I’m delighted to report that Robert has had several days with significant elements of R&R, and is, even as I type, merrily licking next week’s sessions into their final shape. Additionally, the stars aligned most pleasingly, and I’ve just had a nice little flurry of shifts for my new job which coincided with half-term, meaning that Robert and Duffy could take advantage of the time between depositing me at the Register Office then collecting me again to go for some nice walks. So between us, we’ve all had a refreshing change of gear, and are ready to get our teeth into the rest of term.
Half term has also finally allowed us to finalize our post-Easter programme, which we are delighted to be able to announce here!
But before we do, a few points of housekeeping, as we’re mixing things up rather, and experimenting in several ways.
Joanna, burning the midnight oil, monitoring course requests, and crunching numbers, scientist-stylee.
Aka: Gerrit Dou, Astronomer by Candlelight, late 1650s
Los Angeles, The J. Paul Getty Museum, 86.PB.732
We have often said that scheduling courses is more of an art than a science, but eh. We both cut our teeth, as new academics, in an interdisciplinary school, so we’re happy to use whichever methodology is most appropriate for any given task!
We can’t guarantee that we will match the delightful artistry of a dog pointing out the location of Sirius (aka, of course, the dog star!) on a cutting-edge scientific instrument, as in the image above, but we always try our hardest to create a programme of courses which will delight, whilst also responding to rigorous analysis of data and feedback!
Richard of Wallingford (d.1336), pointing to his groovy new scientific design: A mechanical astronomical clock
Artistically presented here in Thomas Walsingham, Golden Book of St Albans, 1380
London, British Library, Cotton Nero D. VII, f.20
Image here via: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abbot_Richard_Wallingford.jpg
Perhaps most immediately significantly, we’re changing the time of our evening sessions a little.
Just as an experiment for now.
We know that some of you find a 9.15pm finish too late. And we also know that some of you like to settle down to some Pearls of Robertian Wisdom (TM) with a post-prandial cup or glass of something pleasing, while others enjoy having their history as a dinner-/supper-time entertainment.
It is, of course, a cliché that one can’t please all of the people all of the time, but we’d like to at least try to hit the sweetest possible spot for as many people as possible, so we’re going to try an experiment…
Next term, evening channels will open at 6:30 for a 6:45 kick-off and an 8:45 finish.
How does that sound? Fingers tightly crossed that this experiment won’t end up with us simply upsetting everyone…!!
We’ll come to our other experiments in due course, but for now, it’s time to announce a 10-weeker which takes us both back to our first love…. That’s right - things medieval!
The Flowering of the Middle Ages
Next up, and continuing our theme of work informed by both art and science… a 7-weeker, which will cover themes and subjects requested by many of you at various points…
We now come to our next experiments, which arise from several conversations along the way vis-à-vis course duration. We had two courses which didn’t fit into the now-traditional number of weeks, given what Robert felt had to be in them. So “Hey! Let’s try out a 4-weeker and a 3-weeker”, said I.
Was that a good idea? Only time will tell… (it’s science, innit?)
The first is inspired by the fact that on many courses over the years, it’s the drawings which have elicited the most “Wow” moments, so putting together a smörgåsbord of gorgeous drawings has long been on our to-do list. We felt that a Short & Sweet would be too Short… so voila!
Next up, we have the next instalment of our ongoing series of short courses which hone in on Roman emperors chronologically. Entre nous, Commodus and the Severans have been giving Robert sleepless nights for a while now: there’s just a bit too much for 2 x 2½-hour sessions… so (said I) why not try 3 x 2-hour sessions instead?
And now we come to our tried-and-tested Short & Sweet format (because no good artist or scientist would ditch one model just because they’re experimenting with others!)…
First up, many of you know how fond Robert is of the Impressionists, and he’s excited to offer one of his absolute favourites unto those of you who may enjoy some beautiful art, some dazzling colours, and a moving life-story, courtesy of…
Alfred Sisley: The Quiet Impressionist
The next has been requested by quite a few of you, and is self-explanatory, so without further ado…
Finally (for now), one which Robert has been scoping out for some time. Truth to tell, the subject of this one was new to me, so I didn’t relentlessly nag him as I usually do regularly but gently remind him about it as much as I would have, had I looked into her before now. Having now very much enjoyed the rabbit-hole of research I belatedly undertook, I can only apologize to you, O Denizens, as I know that both the art and the artist will appeal to many of you as much as they do to me!
God the Geometer, Bible Moralisée, 1220s
Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Codex Vindobonensis 2554, , f.1 verso
Image here via: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:God_the_Geometer.jpg
So… Is our programme for next term a work of art? Did we get the alchemy right?
Or is it simply a blind leap of faith?!
Do please have a look at our list of all courses currently available (here), and let us know what you think.
Whether you decide that it’s art, science, faith, or a mixture thereof, we hope you can find something to please you!
Astrolabe, c. 1370
Oxford, History of Science Museum, 49359
https://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/astrolabe/images/49359/49359_complete_front.jpg
PS Here’s a fuller image of the astrolabe which features at the head of this post. Isn’t it just gorgeous? Alas, this particular example is too late to feature in next term’s Flowering of the Middle Ages, but rest assured: astrolabes were cutting-edge technology in the twelfth century, so will appear (including, briefly, in human form. No really).
PPS By popular demand, we shall be offering a 7-week in-venue course at Pickering too. We’ll announce that as soon as we’ve got the practicalities of an In Real Life course sorted - watch this space!