Explore Culture, History & Humanities Courses

Ireland has always been a divided nation and apart from religion, other issues that divided the country were politics, education, sport and wars. This course explores Irish history from The Famine to creation of the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1884.



This course forms the first part of an accessible ‘beginners guide’ to Irish history and will help participants gain a general overview of the development of mid-Victorian Ireland from an island ruled by England to the creation of Northern Ireland and the Irish Free state in 1922.

Explore the challenges of close reading and critical thinking through reading, analysing and debating works from three authors that challenged the status quo and entered into the debates of their time. Includes 'Family Lexicon' (1963) by Natalia Ginzburg, 'Housekeeping' (1980) by Marilynne Robinson and 'Happiness' (2018) by Aminatta Forna.

Ireland has always been a divided nation and a part from religion, other issues that divided the country were politics, education, sport and wars. This course explores Irish history from 1884 until War of Independence and the creation of Northern Ireland in 1922.



This course forms the second part of an accessible ‘beginners guide’ to Irish history and will help participants gain a general overview of the development of mid-Victorian Ireland from an island ruled by England to the creation of Northern Ireland and the Irish Free state in 1922.

Have you wondered why a film might have moved you so powerfully or why it looked so stunningly beautiful? Have you wanted to know quite how a film was able to communicate its story to you so effectively? If so, then this advanced level film studies course is for you. It aims to explore in depth the language of cinema, the way in which film connects with its spectators at the level of film form, in other words, film aesthetics. Writers and critics have long asked similar questions, as have filmmakers themselves, and we will follow some of the most celebrated in their quest for answers. We will look briefly at how films are made and at the importance of cinematography, editing, mise en scène and sound, before exploring in depth film’s aesthetic qualities. We will think about the importance of history for the development of film form and we will analyse clips and sequences from individual films so as to better approach and understand film aesthetics.