Events
Events Search and Views Navigation
List of Events
Monday Lecture: George Bernard Shaw and the Suffrage Movement with Dr Soudabeh Ananisarab
In this talk Dr Soudabeh Ananisarab will explore the significant contributions made by George Bernard Shaw to the suffrage movement. In addition to exploring Shaw's relationships with key suffragettes, this talk will also examine the controversial and often contradictory female characters in Shaw's plays.
Literature Study Day: Euripides & Sophocles, Electra (c. 400 bc)
How do the early interpretations (not forgetting that by Aeschylus) of a character whose actions have resonated throughout the ages differ? Was she just ‘Daddy’s girl’?
Monday Lecture: Birmingham and the Spanish Civil War with Peter Drake
Peter Drake's talk will try to show how the issues around the events of the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939 affected politics and public opinion in the city of Birmingham including attitudes to non intervention, aid and relief work, pacifism versus rearmament and the controversies surrounding the United and Popular Front movements. Peter will also look at those who went from Birmingham and the West Midlands to fight with the International Brigades.
Monday Lecture: The Great Newhall Meeting of 1819 with Sue Thomas
In this lecture to commemorate the July 1819 Great Newhall Hill Meeting, Sue Thomas will discuss the meeting in favour of Parliamentary Reform chaired by George Edmonds. This lecture will be followed by a guided walk with Sue Thomas in July 2019.
Take Four: Verve Poets with Roy McFarlane
Join Roy McFarlane for an informal reading and discussion with four fellow poets published with Verve Poetry Press: Casey Bailey, Nafeesa Hamid, Hannah Swingler and Leon Priestnall.
Literature Study Day: Victor Hugo, Les Misérables (1862)
In taking the story of Jean Valjean and his ‘daughter’ forward we shall grapple with the Thénardier family and the different challenges they pose to society. And we must then join the students to mount the barricades! Image credit: @lesmisofficial
Monday Lecture: Dr Gregory Leadbetter
Gregory Leadbetter is a poet and critic, with research interests in English Romanticism, poetry and creative writing. His poetry collections include The Fetch (Nine Arches Press, 2016) and The Body in the Well (HappenStance Press, 2007). Details of this lecture to be confirmed.
Monday Lecture: Victorian Scientists and Scandals: True Stories Behind The Conviction of Cora Burns with Carolyn Kirby
Carolyn Kirby's debut novel The Conviction of Cora Burns (previously titled Half of You) was begun in 2013 on a writing course at Faber Academy in London and will launch at the BMI. "Born in a gaol and raised in a workhouse, Cora Burns has always struggled to control the violence inside her. Haunted by memories of a terrible crime, she seeks a new life working as a servant in the house of scientist Thomas Jerwood. Here, Cora befriends a…
Literature Study Day: J.B Priestley, They Came to a City (1943)
Priestley’s balanced view of British society’s post-war potential may have relevance for our post-Brexit future.
Monday Lecture: Eric McElroy
A lecture and piano recital by American pianist and composer Eric McElroy. A committed advocate for lesser-known repertoire, Eric has given regional premieres of pieces by American and British composers, including John Ireland, Arnold Bax, William Baines, and Lord Berners.