Explore Culture, History & Humanities Courses

This study day will examine the question of the association of women with magic and witchcraft.

F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922) is acknowledged as one of the all-time greats of cinema, expressing as one critic describes it, the ‘poetry of fear’ and as one of the first feature length vampire films it’s influence, and legacy has been widely felt. Robert Eggers’ recent remake Nosferatu (2024), comes just over one hundred years after Murnau's film and marks one of the most recent instalments in a genre that continues to renew itself for each generation of film viewers. Exploring a range of key vampire films from across this century of cinema, this course will explore why the vampire film remains such a popular sub-genre of the horror film and it will consider why it continues to exercise such power over its spectators.

Join Sarah Wise to explore the clandestine world of 'resurrection men,' the bodysnatchers who supplied human bodies to anatomy schools and the impact of the 1832 Anatomy Act on the trade.

Come on a walking tour of Hampstead discovering where refugee artists from the Second World War lived and the people and institutions which made great efforts to save and support them.

Discover and explore key principles, knowledge and skills for interpreting the Bible, and apply them to select texts from the Old and New Testament.

Examine the history, architecture, aesthetics and religious significance of the Amaravati stupa. Admire parts of it during the visit at the British Museum.

Explore the experimental use of colour and form in the late nineteenth century post-Impressionists and Symbolists paintings, and study its impact on the Fauve artists, with focus on Matisse.

Come and explore the Nobel Prize-winning poet, T. S. Eliot, in a stimulating group context where our focus will be on immersing ourselves in the language and contexts of his striking poetry.

The Divine Comedy is an imaginary journey through the three realms of the afterlife, a fascinating compendium of life in 14th century Italy. Dante's ability to depict humanity in all its aspects is timelss and has fascinated readers ever since.

What is anime? What are the artistic and narrative features that make these films so instantly recognizable? This one-day film course will provide an overview of the history of Japanese animation cinema, its inextricable links with manga and its multi-faceted and varied productions that range from children’s films to genres such as cyberpunk and yaoi. During the course, we will watch and discuss clips from a variety of production companies and directors, such as Miyazaki Hayao, Mushi Pro and Kon Satoshi.

During the 1960s British cinema re-established itself as a leading producer of films, including realist dramas such as Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), and action and adventure fantasies with the highly popular James Bond films. This course explores these developments through a range of critical approaches and considers the way in which they contributed to a revitalised British cinema.