Nature, environment and the Arts
Join us to explore some of the many connections between the Arts, nature and the environment, through our short online and in-person courses.
Our wide-ranging Culture and Humanities programme spans from the Ice Age to today, and across different cultures.
You can explore ‘Art and Environment in Ice Age Europe’, learn about animals in Renaissance Art, or think about environment and politics in indigenous art today. You can consider how Romantic poetry finds new resonance through ‘ecocritical’ readings, or study genre-busting literary non-fiction about the connections between walking and writing in urban, rural and desert landscapes.
You can also complement your studies with courses from our Science and Nature programme, including courses on botany, trees, geology, the Amazon, and the science of climate change.
Explore our exciting programme below!
- Art and environment in Ice Age Europe
Course start date: Thu 23 Jan 2025Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Simone ChisenaDiscover the artistic treasures of our most remote past, when our ancestors in the Ice Age created beautiful cave paintings and astounding sculpted works.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Introduction to geology Course start date: Sun 2 Feb 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Charles ClarkeGeology, the study of solid Earth, rocks and the processes by which they change, is a vast subject covering billions of years of history and offering insights into areas such as past climates and the history of life. Discover more about the underlying principles of this important science such as plate tectonics, how rocks are made and the evolution of life. - Geology and London Course start date: Sun 23 Mar 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Charles ClarkeExplore how the geology below greater London has shaped its landscapes, infrastructure and built environment, making it such a fascinating and visually diverse city; look at stone types and their effects on the buildings around us. - Humanity and agriculture - the Neolithic revolution Course start date: Thu 1 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Simone ChisenaDiscover how, from the depths of prehistory, our species turned from nomadic hunter gatherers to stable, town-dwelling farmers across the Mediterranean and Europe.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £110.00 - The geology beneath British landscapes Course start date: Sun 18 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Charles ClarkeBritain encompasses a fascinating variety of beautiful landscapes, from the lakes and hills of the north-west to the flatlands of East Anglia. This course gives you a practical introduction to the unique geology beneath these areas, covering main rock types and geological periods. - Earth's six major mass extinctions: an introduction Course start date: Sun 15 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Charles ClarkeAn introductory course which gives a long-term perspective to extinction events throughout earth’s history, reminding us of the fragility of the planet's ecosystems. While we currently see the very real effects of climate change on the planet for humans, we may forget that many biological organisms have not survived in earlier extreme conditions. Looking back over the last 450 million years of earth’s history we will go beyond the extinction of the dinosaurs to mass extinctions that were even more devastating. - Art and critical theory: rethinking 'nature' Course start date: Wed 25 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Irina ChkhaidzeExplore the role of critical theory within the field of art history, and learn new ways of thinking about art by focusing on how recent authors have been rethinking our understanding of nature.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £77.00
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