- Published on November 11, 2026
December Weekend Courses
Taught in the beautiful setting of Madingley Hall, our Weekend Courses offer you the opportunity to discover new subjects, learn from some of our finest academics, expand your professional and social networks and become part of a supportive learning community.
You can book to stay in the comfortable rooms at Madingley Hall, with views over the woods, gardens and courtyard. Each en-suite room has wi-fi, TV, phone, and tea- and coffee-making facilities. Breakfast is also included.
If you choose to stay nearby, no problem. You’ll still be able to enjoy the grounds during the day and enjoy the award-winning cuisine in our elegant dining hall.
The following courses will run from 4 – 6 December 2026
John Milton and the English Revolution
John Milton (1608-74) is famous as one of the greatest English poets. This course will examine his life and career during one of the most turbulent periods in English history. It will locate his writings, in both poetry and prose, in the context of the dramatic political and religious upheavals of the English Revolution. We will explore Milton’s writings through an extensive selection of extracts from primary sources. This material will be used to reconstruct his attitudes and mental world, and the nature of his experiences during the Revolution. The focus will be as much on Milton as a political thinker and polemicist as on his literary achievement.
Tutor – Dr David Smith
Cathedrals: History, Architecture and Symbolism
What do cathedrals mean? And how do we ‘read’ their architecture and arts as they were intended to communicate with medieval audiences? If cathedrals were designed according to a consensus on ideas of sacred geometry, they would all look the same. But they are strikingly different. This course explores the history and meaning in these great buildings to reveal how they were expressions of contemporary people and politics as well as aspirations aimed toward the heavens through biblical authority and medieval legends.
Tutor – Dr Jonathan Foyle
AI and Society
As is true of skyscrapers and the internet, the actualisation of artificial intelligence (AI) connects a dizzying number of contingencies—copper heat sinks, cobalt mines, racial capitalism, mass surveillance, data positivism, sub-gig economies, faith in political modernity; the list goes on. You will survey the materials, infrastructures, and ideological commitments contingent to the historical development of AI, machine learning, and prefigurative knowledge systems. AI emerges as neither inevitable, universal, nor definitively emancipatory. (Please note, this course will also be offered on the weekend of 4-6 December 2026)
Tutor – Dr Jonnie Penn
Moonlight on Stonehenge and Other Stone Circles
This course allows us to discuss the ‘big questions’ about stone circles and their landscape. Why are they where they are? What were they for? Looking at new discoveries at The Ness of Brodgar, Stonehenge, Knowth and the Mull Circle, we will examine Neolithic and early Bronze Age monumentalisation of their landscapes.
Tutor – Professor David Jacques