Explore Culture, History & Humanities Courses

Discover the 17th century: a time of upheaval in Europe, intercontinental trade, religious schisms and a wide range of artistic styles. See its art, architecture and design in London’s galleries and museums. #arthistory #explorelondon #walkingtour.

This class explores the wonderful world of 19th century American literature, reading classic texts to broaden knowledge of literary history through a range of influential novels, stories, and poems. Among the writers considered in their literary, political, and cultural contexts will be Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Herman Melville, Mark Twain and Kate Chopin.

Why laugh in a time turmoil? Explore how artists Pieter Brueghel the Elder and William Hogarth reflected on the hypocrisy of their times with scathing satire. Reflect on how studying historic comedy might shift our perspectives on the value of humour, past and present.

Trace the importance of foreigners to the British art scene from the Tudor period to the Baroque. How did artists like Holbein, Dobson, van Somer and van Dyck influence the British School?

Is The Matrix a science-fiction movie starring Keanu Reeves, or the most influential work of philosophy of the last fifty years? Who is more nihilistic, Humphrey Bogart or Frederic Nietszche? In this course, we will examine the relationship between film and philosophy, engaging with current debates in film theory and in wider society. We will consider whether it is appropriate to label film as a form of philosophy, how film acts as philosophy, and the ways in which our experiences of watching film helps up to think through ideas about the human experience that have received attention amongst centuries of philosophical literature. Is film merely entertainment, or is it our most important form of philosophy?

During the 1920s, Aldous Huxley was beguiled by D.H. Lawrence and his life-affirming philosophy, but after moving to California in 1937 he became increasingly influenced by mysticism. He was initiated by Swami Prabhavananda of the Hollywood Vedanta Society, who would become Christopher Isherwood’s guru. On this course, we will explore how the spiritual interests of these British writers shaped the literary work they wrote in America.

The course offers a broad survey of the history of the German lands under the Holy Roman Empire



(800 to c. 1800).

On this in-college literature course we will read Seamus Heaney’s North (1975), his first collection to deal explicitly with the Troubles in Northern Ireland, alongside poems on the same theme by contemporaries including Michael Longley, Seamus Deane and Derek Mahon.

Explore the City’s development from Roman and medieval times through to the Tudors and Stuarts.



This course will consist of 8 walks starting with Roman London.

James had been a king of Scotland for nearly his entire life before he made history in 1603, inheriting the throne of England and the possibility of a united Britain. However, he now faced the challenge of bringing two distinct kingdoms together under one crown. How did he navigate the rivalries, ambitions, and expectations of his new realm? Join us as we explore the life and reign of James VI & I, first monarch of both the kingdoms of Scotland and England.

We explore Michel Foucault's public lectures at the Collège de France, introducing key concepts such as genealogy, governmentality, and biopolitics. Through Foucault's lens, we critically navigate debates on truth, social engineering, and politics in turbulent times.