The shape of things to come?
It won’t, I’m sure, have come as any surprise to learn that January’s courses are all online courses.
We are, of course, fully mindful that there are a lot of Robert’s long-standing students who miss catching up with friends via WEA and freelance courses, but cannot do so. Do please rest assured that he will run courses Out There in the Real World, within actual bricks and mortar, as soon as it’s safe and possible. He misses you!
Reliquary arm, French, C12½, 75:1949, St Louis Art Museum, St Louis, MI; here from https://www.slam.org/collection/objects/37378/, 06.11.21
Robert will, however, continue to offer online courses even when they’re not the only option. The general consensus, from what we’ve heard thus far (even from erstwhile technology-phobes and Zoom-sceptics!), is that online courses are working well in their own right, and that many of you are enjoying the flexibility that they offer. And of course it’s given us the opportunity to “meet” new people, which is wonderful. And it’s still more wonderful that you’ve come back for more (for which thank you!)
We’ve thought long and hard about what sort of courses we might offer to interest those of you who are new to Robert as well as those who have been with him for many courses (for up to two decades in some cases!). Do please let us know if there’s anything which might make what we’re offering closer to what you’d like. We can’t promise that we’ll be able to tick every box, but we do promise that we will do all that we can!
To that end, I’ll publish a ‘requests’ form over the weekend. Would you like something which offers a general overview to a theme, subject, or period? Something more specific? Medieval? Modern? History? Art and culture? …You get the idea…. As I’m sure you can imagine, completely new material will require a good deal of research and prep, so we may be talking longer-term for some projects than for others. It’s worth noting, however, that having almost completed a database of Robert’s courses of the last twenty years, I suspect that even those of you who have been with him for a long time would be surprised at what he’s covered over the years!
We’ve recently invested in the technology to offer online freelance options. Having now run courses of varying sizes and types on our own tech, we’re happy that we can offer courses and formats which would not be possible via the WEA’s current remit in terms of student numbers and logistics.
Robert is very proud that he has been with the WEA for many years, and most grateful for the support that the organisation and individuals within it have given him throughout, and hopes to continue the partnership for many years to come. The WEA’s history and founding objectives are dear to our hearts, which we are sure is the case for many of you too. We both firmly believe that we can maintain and develop both WEA and freelance activities in a way which works with and complements each.
So. Here endeth the mission statement. Do please let us know if we are moving in a direction which you feel is useful. We want to get it right!