Philosophy: The Big Questions

Each week we will be discussing big questions such as – Is Utopia a Good Idea? Or Should we Desire Immortality? Our good-natured lively discussions will be guided by philosopher Dr Brandon Robshaw

8th September to 13th October 2026

Course Outline
In this fascinating 5-week course philosopher Dr Brandon Robshaw will be guiding us through some of the big questions. Such as: Can AI Think and Feel -or could it do so one day? Would being immortal be as appealing as we might think?  Are our morals objective -or just a matter of personal or local opinion? Is Utopia a good idea and achievable? Do societies make progress?

Art Appreciation – Bloomsbury: Modernism & Myths

The course examines the motivations, work, contributions and influence of artists within the Bloomsbury Circle by looking at some of the works of Vanessa Bell, Roger Fry, Duncan Grant, Dora Carrington and Mark Gertler.

10th September to 15th October 2026

Tutor – Chantal Condron

Course Outline

Coinciding with a new major exhibition of works by Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant at Tate Britain in the autumn, this course re-examines the motivations, work and contribution of both artists to the Bloomsbury circle, alongside the work of Roger Fry, Dora Carrington and Mark Gertler.  How far did these artists develop modernism in Britain and what was the lasting influence of their work in the later 20^th Century?

Enfield and the Industrial Revolution

By the End or the 19^th Century Britain’s Industrial revolution was transforming the country. Enfield played an important role in this revolution with good road and rail links to London. Factories, mills, pumping stations, gas works, electrical industries and armaments industries all thrived in Enfield. This course will explore some of these industries and their impact upon Enfield and the London Markets.

Fridays – 11^th September to 16^th October 2026

Tutor – George O’Reilly

Course Outline
By the second half of the nineteenth century Britain’s industrial revolution was transforming the country. Powered by coal and steam, the nation’s factories, mills, foundries and potteries had made Britain the ‘workshop of the world.’

While the industrial revolution had begun in the towns and cities of the north and the midlands, London had an important role to play also, as did Enfield. Enfield did not have coal mines or steel works but it was situated in the Lea Valley, with access to the River Lea and the River Thames, with good road and rail connections and with London close by as a market for goods.

Enfield had many other features of an industrial centre, especially in the north and east of the borough, and these will be the subject of our course – factories, mills, pumping stations, gas works, brick making fields, an armaments industry and later, extensive technology and electrical industries, and a power station. And Enfield’s market garden industries also played an important part in feeding a rapidly growing population.