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Remember, it’s never too early or too late to register for a class, even after it’s begun. You can always catch up with any sessions you may have missed by watching the video recordings of previous sessions. The time remaining before the first class session is below, so register now, stop hesitating and get to it!

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Offered:

as in-person classes, live-streamed Zoom sessions, and video recordings.

  • • 2026 Term 1 (Feb-Mar).

  • • This course is offered as an in-person course in our Hamilton, New Zealand classrooms, live-streamed via Zoom if you live elsewhere, and as video recordings of the live sessions if you cannot attend the regularly scheduled class.

Date & Time:

Begins Wed 18 February 2026, 11:00am-1:00pm

  • • Our 2026 Term 1 “A Cultural History of Paradise” course meets on Wednesdays from 11:00am-1:00pm beginning on 18 February 2026 (New Zealand time). The course meets for 5 consecutive weekly sessions. The final session will be held on Wednesday 18 March 2026.

  • • If you live outside of New Zealand and wish to Zoom in to our live class sessions, check the nearest local Time Zone equivalent below:

Time Zone equivalents:

for live-streaming Zoom Sessions from New Zealand. If your Time Zone doesn't suit our live-streamed class, you can also access our courses by watching the live-recorded sessions that are posted to the course webpage each week, usually within 1-2 days.

  • Honolulu, Hawai’i: begins Tue 17 Feb 2026, 12:00-2:00pm

  • US Pacific: begins Tue 17 Feb 2026, 2:00-4:00pm

  • US Central: begins Tue 17 Feb 2026, 4:00-6:00pm

  • US Eastern: begins Tue 17 Feb 2026, 5:00-7:00pm

  • London, UK: begins Tue 17 Feb 2026, 10:00pm-12:00am

  • Bangkok, Thailand: begins Wed 18 Feb 2026, 5:00-7:00am

  • Singapore: begins Wed 18 Feb 2026, 6:00-8:00am

  • Sydney Australia: begins Wed 18 Feb 2026, 9:00-11:00am

Description:

HIS222: "A Cultural History of Paradise”

  • • Humans have always dreamt of some beautiful place—Arcadia, Eden—that embodies the notion and lived experience of perfection. This 5-week study explores the origins of that dream, and tracks its evolution through time in history and on up to its present fading as a reality inside the public imagination in the West.

Week 1: The ancient world.

Wednesday 18 February 2026

The ancient world.The Golden Age. Elysian Fields. Happy Isles. Garden of Eden.

Week 2: The location of the Garden of Eden

Wednesday 25 February 2026

The location of the Garden of Eden. Maps, cartography. Medieval and Renaissance preoccupation with the exact placement.

Week 3: The question of time

Wednesday 4 March 2026

The question of time. When did the Land of Eden exist? Dates. Chronology. Working out the age of the Earth. Paradise Lost and the poets. Artists and others.

Week 4: The development of scientific thinking and its impact on belief.

Wednesday 11 March 2026

The development of scientific thinking and its impact on belief. Darwin, geology, evolution and the fossils. The theological responses: liberal and conservative. The development of the garden historically as one’s own little place of peace and Eden on Earth.

Week 5: The contemporary idea of paradise.

Wednesday 18 March 2026

The fetishization of the primitive. Gauguin and Tahiti. The myth of the “noble savage”. Modern tourism and the appropriation of the word paradise. Modern politics.

Course curriculum:

New material is posted weekly throughout the duration of the course. Video recordings and PDFs from each weekly session will be posted here 1-2 days after each class.

    1. EarthDiverse Course Information

    2. EarthDiverse Zoom instructions

    1. A HISTORY OF PARADISE

    1. 1.The ancient world.

    1. 2.The location of the Garden of Eden

    1. 3. The question of time.

    1. 4. The development of scientific thinking and its impact on belief.

Additional Course Info:

  • Videos and PDF content of class presentations are uploaded weekly after each live session.
  • Begins Wednesday 18 Feb 2026
  • NZ Time: Weds 11:00am-1:00pm

Meet our Instructor:

History, Literature & Philosophy Instructor Peter Dornauf, MA Dip Tchg

Peter Dornauf 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. His books “Days of Our Deaths” and “How Are You Feeling” serve as the basis for two of Peter’s popular EarthDiverse courses. Peter also teaches a wide variety of history, philosophy and art courses and continues to develop new and interesting courses for EarthDiverse.

Location:

This is a hybrid class with both in-person sessions and live-streamed via Zoom.

Our in-person classes are held at the EarthDiverse classrooms in Hillcrest, Hamilton, New Zealand. There is plenty of on-street parking available.

Distance Learning:

This course has distance-learning options for those unable to attend the live class sessions in Hamilton. Students have three options for attending our courses once they have registered:

  • • Attend in-person classes in our Hamilton classrooms at the regularly scheduled day and time.

  • • Attend our live on-line classroom sessions via Zoom at the regular scheduled day and time.

  • • Watch the live-recorded class sessions at your leisure, at a time, day and place more suited to your schedule.

Distance-Learning options:

Live Zoom sessions and video recordings

  • • In addition to our in-person classes in Hamilton, our courses offer distance learning options for those unable to attend classes in-person. Live-streamed Hamilton classes are available via free Zoom software for those living outside the Waikato. Live-streaming allows you to participate fully in your own learning, ask questions of the instructor and participate fully in the same way as if you were in the physical classroom.

  • • Those unable to attend the scheduled date and time of the actual class sessions, or those who need to miss a class or two due to previous engagements or unexpected illness, can watch any or all of the live-recorded video sessions on their computers, laptops, tablets or mobile devices and study at their own pace and in their own time.

  • • Detailed instructions on how to access our distance learning components will be sent after completing your registration. There are no additional fees for this service. However, distance learners will need access to a desktop or laptop computer with a good quality web-camera (tablet devices and mobile phones can also access our live-streamed classes), a built-in microphone (most modern laptops have built-in microphones) or a headset with a microphone. You will also need to download and install the free Zoom software on your computer or device. Those accessing the video recordings will be able to do so with a simple web browser on any device.

Pricing options:

• All prices are in New Zealand dollars and include GST.

• Unwaged includes students, seniors, retirees and unemployed.

• Prices remain the same regardless of your chosen method for accessing this course.

• Please note that If you live in the US or Canada, an additional tax may be applied as per local tax regulations.

Notes:

Those who cannot make the class meeting day and time either in-person or via live Zoom sessions may consider accessing this course through the weekly recorded video sessions. Class videos are usually posted within 1-2 days of each live class session and are available for your own personal learning on a day and time of your choosing.

  • • This course has no assignments, quizzes, tests or exams.


    • You will not need to purchase any additional course materials.


    • All classes encourage questions and group discussion.


    • PDFs of class presentations and video recordings of each session are posted 1-2 days after each session for the duration of the course. You are most welcome to come, sit back, relax, take part in and enjoy the discussions!


    • If you’re attending in-person, course fees include tea/coffee/snack at each session. Help yourself! If you’re Zooming from home feel free to get yourself a cuppa and join your instructor and classmates!


    • There are no refunds for missed classes. If you miss a class, you can watch the video recording!


    • Guests of registered participants are welcome to attend a single session without registering.


    • Certificates of Completion for any particular Term Course or Series are available for Professional Development purposes upon request at the end of each Term or Series.

Materials:

All materials are included in the course fees. These are developed by our instructors and distributed as PDF files on the course webpage.

  • • Course materials (if any) are provided to all registered students as digital materials made available to you on the course webpage for download (accessible after registration). There is no need to purchase any additional textbooks for this course.

  • • You will only require a pen or pencil, a notebook for taking your own class notes.

  • • Our instructor's materials are posted to the class webpage on your dashboard as a PDF file so that you can print these out at home and add them to your own notebook.

Prerequisites:

A keen desire to learn about the cultural history of our conceptions of Paradise from a wide variety of perspectives!

  • • There are no prerequisites for this course.

  • • This course is open to all learners aged 15 years and above.