The Roman conquests of Britain/ Dr Birgitta Hoffman
5 Tuesdays: 6, 13, 20, 27 October; 3 November; 19.30 - 21.30h
Glossop Labour Club, Chapel Street, Glossop
Fee £30 (Members £27.50)

The Roman conquests of Britain spanned two centuries and the reigns of nineteen emperors, from Claudius to Septimius Severus, yet were never completed. Beginning with Julius Caesar, who was the first to invade in 55 and 54BC as much for publicity as economical reasons, they only really got under way when Claudius made a successful attempt in 43AD, with Aulus Plautius as the first Roman Governor in 43AD and the later emperor Vespasian as one of his generals. The ensuing years saw the conquest of Wales and the uprisings in Norfolk under Boudica. After becoming emperor in 70 AD Vespasian, decided to push north, and in a short time conquered a substantial area extending from Chester to the North of England. This period ended with Agricola’s governorship in 79-83AD, before much of the conquered area had to be abandoned due to external causes. The emperor Hadrian fought a huge and costly war in Britain, ending in the building of his wall. Hadrian’s Wall was never meant to mark the northern extent of the empire, as the ensuing decades showed. It was only with the Scottish Wars of Septimius Severus and his sons in the early third century AD, that it became apparent that Rome’s rule in Britain was going to have a limit and could never encompass the entire island. The story of this series of invasions and its legacies will be revealed with the aid of references to archaeology and classical literature.


Gold coin depicting the Emperor Claudius (10BC - 54AD)




The Changing World Order/ Christopher Binns, B.A., M.A.
5 Tuesdays: 10, 17, 24, November; 1, 8 December; 19.30 - 21.30h
Glossop Labour Club, Chapel Street, Glossop
Fee £30 (Members £27.50)


In 1991, following the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and then in the USSR itself, George Bush Senior announced the coming of a New World Order of greater security and acceptance of ‘western values’. Nearly twenty years on, the world, on the contrary, looks just as conflict-ridden and insecure as in the Cold War period. Why is this the case (if it is)? This short course tries to get behind the headlines to look at the deeper trends of world politics – problems of nationalism and imperialism, the role of international organisations, sources of conflict and conflict resolution, and the problems of humanitarian and political intervention.






The World in our hands


Click on Booklist for full details including a list of sources and recommended reading. This file is in PDF format and you will need Acrobat Reader in order to be able to read and print it. Acrobat Reader may be downloaded free of charge from http://www.adobe-reader.org/


Whatever happened to the USSR?/ Christopher Binns, B.A., M.A.

5 Thursdays, 19, 26 November; 2, 9, 16 December, 10.00 - 12.00h
Chapel Leisure and Adult Education Centre
Chapel-en-le-Frith High School, Long Lane, Chapel-en-le-Frith
Fee £30 (Members £27.50)


It is now twenty years since the Soviet ‘Empire’ in eastern Europe collapsed, followed by the collapse of the Soviet Union itself in 1991. All this seems inevitable now but was it really so? What have been the consequences of the collapse of the country which had such a huge impact on the 20th Century? This course examines the nature of the Soviet system and the problems which it encountered in the 1980s. It will go on to explore the process of dissolution and to consider whether or not this was inevitable. Finally, we shall look at the pattern of emergence of the 15 successor states, the problems which attended this process and the dilemmas which they still pose for the rest of the world.



St Basil's Cathedral, Moscow


Click on Booklist for full details including a list of sources and recommended reading. This file is in PDF format and you will need Acrobat Reader in order to be able to read and print it. Acrobat Reader may be downloaded free of charge from http://www.adobe-reader.org/




The story of the Symphony/ Gordon Gange
10 Wednesdays: 6, 13, 20,27 October; 3,10, 17, 24, November; 1, 8 December; 19.30 - 21.30h
Bradbury Community House, Market Street, Glossop
Fee £60 (Members £55)

The story begins as J S Bach’s sons rebel against their father’s old-fashioned ideals. A happy coincidence of instrument-building technologies, virtuoso orchestras, and a newly emancipated music-loving public, results in the Symphony; not merely a new mould, but a new way of musical thinking.  We hear Haydn and Mozart bring it to classic perfection, fusing logic and intimacy, leading the way to the intensely personal testaments of Beethoven.  We see how its genius for dramatic contrast has enabled composers to turn to the symphony as a vehicle for story-telling, soul-searching or political statement, and why, in spite of efforts to declare the symphony outmoded, it still flourishes more than two and a half centuries later.  We will have opportunities to hone our appreciative listening (non-technical, no music-reading will be necessary) to decide for ourselves where a symphony fits into this exciting scheme.

Extract from Mozart's Symphony No. 41,   The Jupiter




Railways across the Pennines/ Ian Moss, B.Sc., M.Sc.

10 Thursdays: 7, 14, 21, 28 October; 4, 11, 18, 25 November; 2, 9 December; 19.30 - 21.30h
Bradbury Community House, Market Street, Glossop
Fee £60 (Members £55)

At least twelve railways crossed the Pennine watershed- the first opened in 1830; the last in 1893 and more then half of them are still open. Because of the nature of the terrain and because of the likelihood that they would prosper (other areas of equally difficult relief chose to climb rather than embark on earthworks) they provide examples of interesting engineering including six of the country’s longest tunnels.  The course will look at all the lines but will give preference to the oldest (the Cromford & High Peak), the lines of the Midland Railway through the Peak, that which passed near Glossop on its way over Woodhead and the Lancashire & Yorkshire Route from Manchester to Leeds.  Each line had a well defined purpose and most of those we consider adequately  fulfilled it –and in our own time, with a shift of emphasis those open still do.


Ecclesbourne Valley Railway


Click on Booklist for full details including a list of sources and recommended reading. This file is in PDF format and you will need Acrobat Reader in order to be able to read and print it. Acrobat Reader may be downloaded free of charge from http://www.adobe-reader.org/



The Manchurian Candidate, John Frankenheimer (1962)/ Creina Mansfield, M.A. & Dr Alan Sennett
Saturday 23rd October, 10.00- 16.00h
Partington Theatre, Henry Street, Glossop
Fee £25 (Members £20)



John Frankenheimer’s classic film version of the Richard Condon novel, The Manchurian Candidate, is set in Cold War America of the 1950s and stars Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Angela Lansbury and Janet Leigh.  It is often seen as the best political thriller ever made and a major, if belated, response to the communist witch hunts carried out by the House Un-American Affairs Committee and Senator McCarthy.  This day school examines the film, placing it in historical context and looking at its making and significance.  We will view the film in sections and consider what factors make up the arguably brilliant film adaptation by screenwriter George Axelrod.










The Manchurian Candidate ~ Poster 1962


Britain and The Middle East: 1914 - 2010/ Dr Alan Sennett

10 Tuesdays: 18, 25 Jan., 1, 8, 15, 22 Feb., 1, 8, 15, 22 Mar., 19.30 − 21.30h
Bradbury Community House, Market Street, Glossop
Fee £60 (Members £55.00)


This course examines Britain’s involvement in the Middle East from the First World War to the present.  It explores the impact of the two world wars, with particular reference to Britain’s mandates and its shaping of new states in the region; Britain’s role in Palestine and the creation of the state of Israel in 1948; the Cold War and Suez Crisis; Britain’s colonial control of Aden and “imperialism by treaty” in the Persian Gulf; British participation the two Gulf wars and the occupation of Iraq.












Jerusalem: inside the Old City




The First World War: three testaments of youth/ Creina Mansfield, M.A.

10 Wednesdays, 19, 26 Jan., 2, 9, 16, 23 Feb., 2, 9, 16, 23 Mar., 19.30 − 21.30h
Bradbury Community House, Market Street, Glossop
Fee £60 (Members £55.00)


The First World War changed many lives. We shall follow three young people into that conflict and look at the accounts of their experiences. Vera Britten (1893 - 1970) initially supported the war, joining the Voluntary Aid Detachment of amateur nurses and working in London, Malta and the British Expeditionary Force’s principal depôt and transit camp at Etaples in northern France. Her experiences turned her into a prominent pacifist and are recorded in Testament of Youth, published in 1933. Robert Graves (1895-1985) joined the Royal Welch Fusiliers and was wounded in the Battle of the Somme. He was a friend of the poet Siegfried Sassoon. His wartime experiences are recorded in Goodbye to All That, published in 1929, the year when he emigrated to Majorca. Thomas Edward Lawrence (1888-1935) was instrumental in supporting the Arab Revolt against Turkish rule. His legendary actions, recorded in 1926 in The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, brought him unwelcome fame and caused him to change his surname firstly to Ross and then to Shaw.







Hosta fortunei growing by a WW1 grave





The Birth of Genetics/ Dr Robert Callow
Glossop Labour Club, Chapel Street, Glossop
5 Thursdays, 20, 27 Jan., 3, 10, 17 Feb.; 19.30 - 21.30h
Fee £30 (Members £27.50)

               
Genetics is one of the most successful sciences of modern times, yet it has its roots firmly planted in the nineteenth century. These roots have three branches. Mendel’s studies of inheritance in the garden pea paved the way for formal analysis of inheritance patterns based on the segregation of individual genes. Cytologists studied the behaviour of chromosomes and biometricians measured the resemblance of parents and their offspring. The course of these early developments and the way in which they gradually came together will be described and their implications for our present understanding of heredity will be explored. There will be ample opportunity for discussion.




Darbishire's waltzing mice




DNA and modern medicine/ Professor Terry Brown
5 Thursdays, 24 Feb., 3, 10, 17, 24 Mar.; 19.30 - 21.30h
Glossop Labour Club, Chapel Street, Glossop
Fee £30 (Members £27.50)



Advances in understanding of the genetic code have allowed errors which cause inherited disease to be detected easily and unambiguously. These advances have revolutionised pre-natal diagnosis and brought with them important clinical, ethical and social implications. At the same time, advances in genetic engineering have brought substantial benefits to the pharmaceutical industry and offer the prospect of revolutionary new treatments of erstwhile intractable medical conditions. These developments will be explained and their implications, explored. No prior technical knowledge will be assumed and there will be ample time for questions and discussion.





Checking a DNA sequence




Lawrence of Arabia, David Lean (1962)/ Creina Mansfield, M.A. & Dr Alan Sennett
Saturday 26th February, 10.00- 17.00h
Partington Theatre, Henry Street, Glossop
Fee £25 (Members £20)




This day school examines David Lean’s epic film, Lawrence of Arabia.  We will view the film in sections and discuss its relationship with T. E. Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom, upon which it is loosely based.  At the same time, the narrative will be considered in relation to the historical Lawrence as well as the production context and “story” of the making of the film. From a literary perspective, themes such as the psychological need and the search for a hero will be explored in both narrative and mythological senses.  We will also consider the contemporary relevance of the crucial period of modern Middle Eastern history which is covered by the original events.








Sketch of Lawrence in 1919 by Augustus John