WEA Sydney

Hebrew Culture: An Introduction

Hebrew is a hybrid culture that draws on the influences that migrants brought with them to Israel. Over the course of several generations, their languages and cultures blended together. Explore various aspects of Hebrew culture, including Hebrew language, music and literature. COURSE OUTLINE The history of the Hebrew language 1: Modern Hebrew is a... [More]

This course has no current classes. Please the waiting list.

Jerusalem And The End Of Days

This course explores the symbolic and mythological significance of Jerusalem to the three Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It covers in brief the tortuous history of the conflict between the Children of Abraham over the Holy City and its territory; a conflict which is a potent mix of nationalism and religious fervour which... [More]

Portraits of France: Pascal, Molière, Madame de Pompadour, Manet and Debussy

This course explores the glories of creativity in France from 17th century and the Napoleonic era through to the birth of modern art, using a mixture of written commentary, original texts, and audio and visual material. The characters studied include: Blaise Pascal – mathematician, scientist and philosopher; Moliere – France’s greatest comic... [More]

Life and Death Matters: Through Philosophical Discussion

Socrates' unfortunate demise (399BC) left an indelible mark on his admiring student Plato. The dialogues contained in The Last Days of Socrates bear witness to central issues surrounding Socrates' trial and execution; and what it means to live and die well from a philosophical perspective. The course aims to stimulate and guide philosophical... [More]

Portraits of Scandinavia: Norway and Denmark

The cold lands of the far north have in fact produced inspiring examples of music, drama, art and philosophy to match the best of the more famous cultures of France and Italy. Explore the genius of Norway and Denmark by examining the works of Ludvig Holberg (founder of the Danish National Theatre), Hans Christian Andersen, the philosopher... [More]

Garden Design for Large and Small Spaces

Do you have a balcony, courtyard, patio or deck? Having a small outdoor space doesn’t mean that it can’t be comfortable and stylish or you have to forego the pleasure of gardening. Find out how to choose and easily maintain the most suitable plants and containers and control any pests and diseases. Comprehensive course notes are provided. COURSE... [More]

This course has no current classes. Please the waiting list.

Designing Women

This course will explore the lives of six women from different continents, living in the late 19th to 20th centuries. The common thread linking these women is that they all possessed creative talents in their respective fields of art and design. We will trace their lives, assessing their achievements and recognition: Gertrude Jekyll, artist/... [More]

Determined Heroines

This course will examine a variety of ‘determined heroines’ within English language novels. The five novels examine the pressures these heroines face, look at their desire for independence and at their goals, and enable discussion to occur on whether or not their determination/stubborness can be seen as a strength or a weakness in terms of their... [More]

Emigrate or Die! The Great Irish Famine

The Great Famine devastated Ireland between 1845 and 1850 taking the lives of up to one and a half million people, and forcing another two million to leave Ireland forever. This famine driven tide of immigrants had great and lasting repercussions within the countries in which they settled. This course examines the magnitude of the disaster by... [More]

A Different Slant: Literature in Translation

The art of translation is as old as language itself and today it can introduce readers to literature which is very often quite different in its content, style and its effect on the reader. In this course there are introductions to easily accessible novels in Russian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and German and to poetry from European and Asian... [More]