The Renaissance Academy

Reconnect with your intellectual self as you escape the noise of everyday life.

Autumn 2026 Available!

What to Expect

A woman sitting on a wooden bench in an art gallery, looking at three framed paintings of children on a gray wall.

This is not an academic lecture series. This is a respite for the intellectually restless. It is for the every day worker, the suit, the layman, and the scholar-in-waiting who is ready to pause the efficiency machine, step out of the transactional pace of the modern world and into the restorative quiet of the study.

This is your favourite university course, without the grading!

If you spend your days feeling the call to manage your own intellectual curiosity, you belong in this Academy. Here, we do not just read; we revive. This is a cultural immersion and intellectual engagement, in a friendly format for the full-time employee. 

❋ Interdisciplinary Structure

Based on the Oxford postgraduate interdisciplinary curriculum, this is blend of literature, history, art and philosophy; to name a few (sessions will be live & recorded)

❋ A Curated Reader Pack

A collection of resources and tools designed to facilitate your deep work throughout the week

❋ Collaborative Energy

Connection is a core part of the process. You’ll learn just as much from the group as from the content itself, with access to a dedicated space to connect with other lifelong learners

❋ Daily Revival

A carefully curated curriculum, designed for slow and deliberate engagement, with guided thinking and writing prompts

A woman with long red hair, smiling and reading a blue book in a cozy library or bookstore with wooden bookshelves and warm lighting.

A Week of Interdisciplinary Study

The journey of revival starts here. Together we will bring together reading, writing, learning and rediscovery of culture. 

Monday

History, context & re-imagining history

Tuesday

Philosophy, thought & ethics

Wednesday

Literature, reading & writing

Thursday

Art & Material Culture

Friday - Sunday

Topic Discussions

These weeks are dedicated periods of asking deep questions surrounding a particular theme. Our virtual room is like a pilgrimage to a place of learning; a place to re-awaken your dormant interests.

A classical painting depicting a dramatic scene with several armored warriors confronting a subdued, partially clothed woman sitting on a couch, with a small dog at her feet, and a man with a weapon approaching from the right.
A portrait of a woman dressed in elaborate historical clothing with a green and gold embroidered dress, puffy sleeves decorated with white pom-poms, and jewelry including a necklace and earrings.

Upcoming Academy: Elizabeth I and the Architecture of Identity

7 Sept - 13 Sept

A Week of Renaissance Inquiry

In this Academy, we will move beyond the common trope of the ‘Virgin Queen’ to explore the sophisticated, often contradictory political narratives Elizabeth constructed through her portraiture and personal writings.

We will bridge the gap between your professional expertise and the humanities, exploring:

  • The Rhetoric of Paradox: How Elizabeth used conflicting images (the King’s Two Bodies, the Virgin/Mother dichotomy) to navigate a world that wasn't built for a woman to rule.

  • Iconography as Compliance: Analysing how Elizabeth treated her image like a high-stakes legal document—every pearl, pelican, and globe in her portraits was a carefully placed signal to her court.

  • The Art of Self-Fashioning: A mirror for your own life. We will ask: If a Queen can construct her identity to survive and thrive in a hostile landscape, what can we learn about the stories we tell about ourselves today?

Elizabeth I and the Architecture of Identity Elizabeth I and the Architecture of Identity
Quick View
Elizabeth I and the Architecture of Identity
€590.00

Join us for an exclusive, seven-day Curated Academy as we step into the mind of England’s most enigmatic monarch. We aren't just looking at history; we are conducting an Intellectual Enquiry of one of history’s greatest masters of self-fashioning: Queen Elizabeth I.

A Week of Renaissance Inquiry

In this retreat, we will move beyond the common tropes of the "Virgin Queen" to explore the sophisticated, often contradictory political narratives Elizabeth constructed through her portraiture and personal writings.

We will bridge the gap between your professional expertise and the humanities, exploring:

  • The Rhetoric of Paradox: How Elizabeth used conflicting images (the King’s Two Bodies, the Virgin/Mother dichotomy) to navigate a world that wasn't built for a woman to rule.

  • Iconography as Compliance: Analysing how Elizabeth treated her image like a high-stakes legal document—every pearl, pelican, and globe in her portraits was a carefully placed regulatory signal to her court.

  • The Art of Self-Fashioning: A mirror for your own life. We will ask: If a Queen can construct her identity to survive and thrive in a hostile landscape, what can we learn about the stories we tell about ourselves today?

With this purchase, you will receive:

  • A reading list & curriculum

  • Details on the structure of the Academy (Date: 7 September to 13 September)

  • A welcome package with resources

View Options
A young woman with long hair, wearing a dark sweater, stands at a wooden table in a library, looking at an open book. The library has large stained glass windows, green sofas, wooden paneling, and hanging chandeliers.

Upcoming Academies

The Academy is a year long revival, structured and run quarterly, focusing on themes that integrate with the changing seasons

Q3 2026

Elizabeth I and the Architecture of Identity

Q4 2026

Monstrous Women

Q1 2027

Nature, Hibernation & Regrowth

Q2 2027

Creation & Responsibility

Q3 2027

Gothic Revival