smallhobbit: (Default)
[personal profile] smallhobbit
Suddenly there were lots of new FutureLearn courses I was keen to do, together with a couple which only run for a limited time and I'd been waiting for them to be rerun.  So, naturally I decided to do the lot.

Discover the Hidden History of York (University of York)  This course concentrates on three different themes.  The first is the role of the mystery plays and also of the nunneries.  The second is the persecution of those who refused to give up their Catholic beliefs following the reformation, and which I felt didn't give sufficient weight to the growing power of central government, so that it was portrayed as purely a religious argument.  The third week looked at the role of the chocolate industry and in particular the colonial and sexist attitudes which were displayed.  There were some who objected to this being highlighted, but I felt it placed York clearly as a city within the time period.

Casing the Joint: Introduction to the Histories of Crime (University of Newcastle, Australia)  As with all the UNA courses, this was the first three weeks of a longer course.  However, it was extremely interesting, giving the opportunity to search various registers to look at crimes - I searched my surname and found one seventeenth century ancestor who was a witness in a case of undue bellringing by the church warden.  It also looked at early 'mug shots' of criminals in Sydney.

Understanding Media: Introduction to Critical Medial Literacy (University of Newcastle, Australia)  Another good course, looking at bias in media and encouraging the students to consider why things are put as they are.  Definitely encouraged thought.  The third week looked at LGBTQ+ representation and I ended up discussing Hannibal/Will Graham.

Islamic Calligraphy (Universiti Malaya)  Interesting to learn a bit about the subject, but when I came to try out the calligraphy I found it very restrictive, as every letter has very precise dimensions.  Also, I'd bought a cheap calligraphy set and writing right to left wasn't easy.

Biodiversity, Guardianship and the Natural History of New Zealand (Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa)  A new course, and absolutely fascinating.  I knew nothing about the history of New Zealand at the beginning of the course, and now have a very good initial idea.  The course is short, but the links are really good and I'm really pleased I took it.  I'm now following their second course.

Also, one weekend I did an Open University short course on Hadrian's Rome.  I'd tried an interactive game on Hadrian, did really badly so thought it would be worth finding out a bit more.  It must have worked (short-term anyway) because when I had a second go at the game I did much better.

Date: 2022-08-13 04:29 pm (UTC)
verdande_mi: (Default)
From: [personal profile] verdande_mi
This post made me want to look into futurelearn again, but I know this autmn will be a busy time, but I also miss learning about new things. It won't hurt me to look and see if I find anything interesting :D

Hadrian's Rome would certainly be to my liking, as would the course in Biodiversity in New Zealand.

Date: 2022-08-13 09:32 pm (UTC)
verdande_mi: (Default)
From: [personal profile] verdande_mi
I decided on a course in photography! I want to improve my photography skills, and I want to learn to use my new camera properly and push myself to experiment more.

Date: 2022-08-13 07:03 pm (UTC)
dariaw: Sunflower in foreground, with a sun-drenched field of sunflowers and the horizon in fuzzy focus in the background (Default)
From: [personal profile] dariaw
These sound so cool!

Ooh the Hannibal discussion must have been great :)

The New Zealand one sounds super cool and so does the one on York!

Date: 2022-08-13 07:24 pm (UTC)
debriswoman: (Default)
From: [personal profile] debriswoman
Undue bell ringing! Heaven forfend!!

Date: 2022-08-13 07:27 pm (UTC)
rusty_armour: (partners)
From: [personal profile] rusty_armour
Those all sound like really interesting courses! It's great that you were able to cover such a wide range of topics and historical periods. I really like York, so I enjoyed reading your description of Discover the Hidden History of York. I also think Casing the Joint: Introduction to the Histories of Crime would be equally fascinating. I don't know if I'd have the patience for Islamic Calligraphy although I admire its beauty and complexity.

Date: 2022-08-14 02:37 am (UTC)
adafrog: (Default)
From: [personal profile] adafrog
Undue bellringing? They were awfully picky back then. ;)

Date: 2022-08-14 08:04 pm (UTC)
adafrog: (Default)
From: [personal profile] adafrog
True.

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