Ian Ground

Ian Ground is Vice-President of the British Wittgenstein Society and a Visiting Research Fellow in philosophy at the University of Hertfordshire, UK.

He has published on topics in the philosophy and life of Ludwig Wittgenstein, aesthetics and philosophical issues concerning the understanding of animal minds. He is a regular contributor to the Times Literary Supplement.  As well as teaching philosophy on the Explore programme, he teaches Masters students in Fine Art at Newcastle University. He also works as an IT professional.

Ian conceived the original Explore at the North-east Centre for Lifelong Learning as a creative response to the effective withdrawal of funding for lifelong learners by the previous government. He is delighted that, so many years later, the essence of that conception continues to inform and inspire.

The guiding themes of his career have been his belief in the value of adult education, in philosophy and in the idea that computers should work for us, rather than the reverse.

You can find about more about Ian, his publications and passions at:

http://www.ianground.com 

Peter Quinn 

Peter is one of our regular speakers, leading lectures and discussion groups about Art History each season.   

As an artist, Peter is well known for brightly coloured watercolours of  buildings and street scenes. His paintings have won awards including the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow Award at the Royal Glasgow Institute. His work is known nationally and internationally, especially in Malta where hei has often drawn inspiration.

Peter graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 1986,  later getting his doctorate from the University of Sunderland and is the current Chair of the Bewick Society.  He was elected an Associate of the Royal Watercolour Society in 2007 and became a full member in 2011. He is also an elected member of the The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW).

Bronwen Calvert

'I have been involved in lifelong learning teaching and administration for many years. I’m an Associate Lecturer at the Open University where I teach a variety of modules from introductory arts and humanities to the English Literature MA. From 2004 to 2013, I ran the Literature programme at the North East Centre for Lifelong Learning and taught many courses there. I enjoy teaching all sorts of literary texts; for Explore I choose mainly twentieth-century and contemporary literature, including short stories and poetry.

In my research I focus on issues of embodiment in fantasy and science fiction narratives, with particular focus on cyberpunk fictions and versions of the television action hero. I’ve explored this in essays on various television series including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, The X-Files, Fringe, Dollhouse, and Orphan Black, and in a book, Being Bionic: The World of TV Cyborgs (2017).'

Malcolm Grady

​My professional life has been spent in the wide field of education, initially as a teacher in secondary education teaching history and politics, then through a different professional route of education administration involving community education, school workforce planning, lifelong learning initiatives and application of Ofsted criteria. I have always been involved in adult and continuing education through the Universities of Durham, Newcastle and Sunderland , the WEA and now with the JCLLC.

Wallace Arthur

'I’m an evolutionary biologist with a PhD from Nottingham University many moons ago. I'm now Emeritus Professor of Zoology at the National University of Ireland, Galway. My main interests are: 

(1) how animal evolution has happened here on Earth, especially in terms of the modification of embryogenesis, and 

(2) what parallel processes may be at work in the evolution of animals on other planets. 

I have written about a dozen books on these and related subjects. My most recent books are The Biological Universe (2020) and Understanding Evo-Devo (2021). I have been giving courses at Explore for several years. '

Tim Crocker

'I have taught literature and interdisciplinary studies since the 1990s, working on undergraduate and lifelong learning programmes at the Universities of Newcastle and Sunderland and also the Open University. I am delighted to be working now with the Explore programme.

My chief specialisms are in Romanticism (my MA specialism) and Fiction and I have taught most extensively the nineteenth and early twentieth century novel from Jane Austen and Stendhal to Virginia Woolf and Franz Kafka -  with particular focus on the Russian novel and the writing of Turgenev, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy and Chekhov. I also have strong interests in the poetry and drama of the Elizabethan, Jacobean and Augustan ages, as well as in later developments in the novel.'

Anthea Lang

Anthea is one of our regular tutors and specialises in local history. She has written six books and also writes accompanying text for Alan Godfrey Old Ordnance Survey maps. She is an adult education tutor and has been involved with Explore since its inception. 

Derek Teasdale

Derek's interest in geology was sparked as a child, when he walked his dog along the beach at Whitley Bay.  What were these rocks?  Where did they come from?  Some of the answers came when he studied geology at Durham University, but others only came by doing his own research.  After sixteen years at Durham, Derek left to set up his own company and consultancy, but he has always continued teaching and sharing his enthusiasm for the rocks and landscape of the North East.  Derek has been providing popular courses and one-off events for EXPLORE since 2015.  

Although a geologist by trade, Derek's interests are varied and he has spoken to us around the themes of geology, North East landscape development, the history of science and industrial heritage.   His favourite courses for us have been on The Moon, Dinosaurs, the world's bridges and Charles Darwin - quite a mix! 

Clare Jackson

Clare has a degree from Oxford University in English Language and Literature, and a Masters in Modern Literature and Culture from the University of York.  Her MA dissertation from the latter was on the poetry of Basil Bunting.  

Clare's teaching experience includes a number of years in comprehensive schools, at a Further Education College and with the Workers' Educational Association (WEA).  Read a blog by Clare about one of her previous courses here.

Fred Stevenson

Fred obtained a degree in Physics with Astrophysics from the University of Leicester in 1980 followed by a PhD in Cosmology from Durham University in 1986. He has spent the past twenty five years teaching adult education classes in astronomy, physics and mathematics at a variety of venues throughout Northumberland, County Durham and North Yorkshire.

Fred has prepared courses for Explore since its inception and previously for the CLL at the university. He has organized and taught a number of weekend courses in astronomy based in the Kielder forest park and other venues in the North Pennines. When he is not teaching Fred can be found wandering the moors and fells of the North of England. 

Margaret Adams 

'I been an Explore member since it began. I studied Fine Art at Newcastle University, then taught, before retiring to focus on my own work. For a short time I had a studio in B&D Studios in CUH which gave me the opportunity to explore my interests in a more experimental way. It was during this time I was able to make video installations and larger scale paintings which reflected my interest in light and colour. In October 2019 I exhibited my work based on Orkney (a place that has my heart and feeds my creativity) in the B&D gallery space.

 I’m a also member of Northern Print and have taken part in printmaking projects and exhibitions, and, currently, I am in the process of making a handmade book of photo etching prints and words based on Orkney. I have a small studio/workroom at home where, over the last year, I have continued to work - painting, drawing, writing; in response to my interest to light and colour and, occasionally, a self portrait has crept in or drawings of things I’ve collected and have around me. 

I have always enjoyed teaching - sharing my knowledge, and with the art group it has been a pleasure. Always open to new ideas, a willingness to engage, to share their own skills and support each other, it has become a one of friendship and intimacy. However, we are very much a welcoming group: always on the lookout for new members. And for me, a place and people to share my skills.' 

Rachel Lister

'I have spent most of my professional life teaching English Literature and Language from GCSE to PhD level. I have lectured at Durham University, where I specialised in American fiction, modern literature and the short story. At the Open University I taught across a range of disciplines in the Arts and Humanities, including Classics and Creative Writing. 

My publications include books on the works of Toni Morrison and Alice Walker. Recently I have turned to fiction writing and have had short stories published in a range of literary journals. I have been involved in lifelong learning for most of my career and have taught for the Explore programme since 2010.' 

Max Adams

Max is a critically-acclaimed author and biographer, an archaeologist,  traveller and writing coach. His journeys through the landscapes of the past and the present, of human geography, music, art and culture are a continuing source of inspiration in his writing. 

Photo credit: Kona McPhee

Peter Pool

'I studied Physics at Durham University, but my career has been almost exclusively in mathematics education. The first half of my career was in mathematics teaching and teacher training.  

The second half was at Leeds University in mathematics assessment and curriculum development. I was one of the chief writers of the National Curriculum Key Stage 2 mathematics tests from 1996 until about 2015. 

As well as teaching in England, I have worked overseas in Malaysia, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Bangladesh and The Solomon Islands.'