Learning in Depth with a U3A Mini Series
Several times throughout the year U3A brings in a guest lecturer to run a mini series. An example of a recent lecture series is below.
Usually, on a Monday, over a period of three or four weeks the lectures run for 90 minutes. It is a casual and friendly format with a question time at the end. Class size is limited to 35 so early registration is recommended. You must be a current U3A member to attend and there is a small registration fee.
If you would like to become a U3A member and join our mailing list to be notified when the next Mini Series is available then click the button below.
The Peter Dornauf Lecture Series - May 2026
A HISTORY OF PARADISE
It all began, not long ago, in a flawless setting where everything was perfect and even the ‘wild’ animals got on well with each other. Stories about human origins, in many cultures, abound with such dreamlike narratives. The Garden of Eden is our version of this beatitude in the West.
This three week study will explore these various traditions, track the evolution of our one historically as it blossomed, then later faded as a reality, but then morphed and revived in the 20th century in various guises.
Details of the May Series:
Mondays 11th, 18th and 25th May
10.30 – 12.00
The Union Church, Queen Street, Cambridge
Cost : $30 dollars for the total of three lectures.
Lecture Two
2. Science and the impact on belief. Darwinian evolution. Theological responses. Ideas of progress and the perfect state. The fetishization of the primitive: Gauguin, Die Brucke, the counterculture. Poets and novelists’ treatment on the matter. The modern commercialization of paradise.
Lecture Three
3. Paradise revived. Theosophy. Art and design in Bauhaus. Russian Suprematism, Constructivism. Art Deco. World mythologies – Maori, African, Indian, Asian, Aztec, Mayan, Norse. The development of the garden historically as one’s own little Eden paradise.
Peter Dornauf - Lecturer
Peter Dornauf (MA, Dip Tchg) has taught in secondary schools, Wintec and Waikato University collectively for over 25 years. He is a well known Waikato artist, art critic and a writer of poetry, fiction and non-fiction and general academic. Peter presents lectures on art and architecture, philosophy and literature. His talks always draw on his broad knowledge of the classics and history, legends and literature. Peter is able to make the most complex ideas accessible and his lectures are always stimulating and thought provoking.