Talks take place on Thursday afternoons, starting at 2pm, and usually take place in the Lecture Hall, Rewley House, 1 Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JA. These are free for Oxford u3a members but you are welcome to attend as a guest for a donation of £5 (£2 for members of all other U3As).
Most talks are recorded on Zoom for the benefit of those Oxford u3a members who are unable to attend Rewley House.
In the event of adverse weather conditions, please telephone Rewley House (01865 270360), to enquire whether the talk has been cancelled.
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Professor Emma Smith – Did England have a Renaissance?
March 19 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Emma Smith is Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Hertford College, and the author of several books including This Is Shakespeare.
In this talk, based on a new history of Elizabethan culture, due out in late 2026 from Penguin, Professor Smith will try to persuade you that the Elizabethan painted room on Cornmarket is a worthy artistic equivalent to the Sistine Chapel. Find out why England’s Renaissance was so different in date and style from that in Italy, and how the middle classes in England, unlike the mega rich patrons of the Italian states, drove a Renaissance that was more modest, more domestic, and more secular than its flashier predecessor.