Fe University explores British Isle history

MERCER, Wis. — As the United Kingdom faces Brexit — an exit from the European Union — Fe University’s next course offering will explore nearly three quarters of a millenium of history of the British Isles.

“The Making — and Unmaking — of the United Kingdom: 1283-present” will be taught by historian Mary Magray on three consecutive Wednesday mornings from Jan. 29 to Feb. 12 at the Mercer Community Center.

“The United Kingdom is much in the news today because of the ongoing political crisis caused by Brexit — its 2016 vote to leave the European Union. In fact, the crisis caused by Brexit has been building for 500 years, beginning with the English Crown’s conquest of its nearest neighbors Wales, Scotland, and Ireland,” said Fe U spokesperson Wendy Thiede, adding Magray will provide the background for today’s turmoil.

“The United Kingdom, as we know, it has only existed since 1801, and its future is not assured. For not only did these three conquered neighbors ‘make’ the United Kingdom, they may yet prove to be the unmaking of it,” said Thiede. “Well-organized nationalist movements demanding independence are challenging the very existence of the UK.”

“In three, three-hour sessions the class will examine the historical complexities to help make sense of the current precarious predicament of the first Western nation to develop a representative form of government and one of our oldest and closest allies,” said Thiede. “The only requirements are an interest and desire to understand this profoundly critical juncture in the evolution of one of the Western world’s foundational democracies.”

Magray has an master’s degree in European history and a doctorate in British and Irish history, with a focus on women and religion. She has been teaching a wide variety of European history courses to students of all ages for more than 30 years at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is the author of “The Transforming Power of the Nuns: Women, Religion, and Cultural Change in Ireland, 1750-1900,” published by Oxford University Press in 1998, and is currently an instructor in the Division of Continuing Studies at UW-Madison. This will be the fourth Fe University class taught by Magray.

Fe University is a non-accredited, non-profit educational forum based in Iron County, offering classes targeting seniors but open to anyone over 18. People need not be a resident of Iron County to take Fe classes. Other classes offered this winter include Furbearers of Wisconsin: Diversity, Trapping and Management; Cross Country Ski Instruction; Repairing the Harm: The Root of Restorative Justice; The History of the Vietnam War; and Computer and Internet Skills.

Magray’s United Kingdom history course will meet Wednesdays, Jan. 29, Feb. 5 and Feb. 12, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Registration forms may be downloaded at feuniversity.org or picked up at the Mercer Library or the Iron County UW-Extension Office at the courthouse in Hurley. Early registration by Jan. 15 will include a discount.

For more information, visit feuniversity.org, or call 715-561-3098 or 715-562-0315.

—Daily Globe staff