Explore History, Culture & Writing

Want to understand how the different political systems across the United Kingdom works? Join our tutor Natasha Ashman-Banks to explore!



This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

The history of the cinema is a rich, rewarding and dynamic area of study. Cinema, because it is both an art form and an industrial product, can be studied from several different historical perspectives. These have included investigations into the history of technological development associated with cinema’s origins and its subsequent development, but historians have also explored its evolution into an art form. They have written about important individual figures or influential groups and have examined specific films in great detail. Historians have also examined the national, cultural, political and social contexts that might offer insight into the cinema at a given historical moment. They have examined the changing demographic and viewing habits of spectators and explored the mutability of cinemas themselves. With so much to consider and so many different approaches to take, the history of cinema continues to evolve. As such this advanced level film studies course will explore what it means to study film history, examine the various methodologies that one might take, while at the same time looking at relevant filmic and cinematic examples.

The term film noir has been used to describe visual style, themes and narratives in a range of American genres, particularly crime films of the 1940s and 1950s, but it has also been used to describe areas of British, French, and, as part of the giallo tradition, Italian cinema. Explore film noir through a range of critical concepts and historical periods, while assessing its enduring appeal.



This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

The ‘mystical’ philosophy of Plotinus was key to the transition from ancient Greek to early Christian thought. This period gave rise to both modern esotericism and Christian theology. What ideas connect them?



This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

We will go on a journey to investigate the art and form of the essay through collectively reading a variety of essayists from the early 20th century to the present day. We will explore the essay’s hazy boundaries between diary, literary criticism, nature writing, elegy, aphorism, political tract, and mystical/religious experiences through key essayists including Walter Benjamin, Virginia Woolf, Clarice Lispector, Audre Lorde, Etel Adnan, James Baldwin, David Rattray, and Claudia Rankine.



This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

Join us to gain an understanding of the partition of British India in August 1947 from the perspective of history (written and oral), literature and film.



This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

How, why and where did people travel in the Middle Ages? We will look at maps, itineraries and household accounts to explore the logistics of travel before 1500 CE.



This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

Short stories offer a brief window into a variety of other lives, places, and situations. This literary form has remained popular in Japan over several centuries, with topics as diverse as natural disasters, the beauty of everyday life, hellish curses and the consequences of fame. We’ll explore the history of this medium through a selection of short stories by some of Japan’s most popular short story authors.



This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

In 1789 ordinary French people successfully rebelled against the absolute monarchy and privileged nobility. Find out how the struggle over the social and political system which would replace the Ancien Regime would divide both France and Europe. Tutor: Zoe Quinn.



This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

In this course we will explore more than just the Cold War between the USA and USSR. We will explore the meaning of Cold Wars, where they were (and are) fought, how and by who.



This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

Revolutions are not only a thing of the past. Join Dr. Granelli to discuss revolutions in the 21st century!



This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.