Explore History, Culture & Writing

This advanced level film studies course will introduce you to a range of theoretical approaches to the study of film. It will consider some of the earliest attempts to think about film, studies that borrowed methodologies from other disciplines. As early as 1915, for example, writers were applying psychology to film analysis, exploring the emotional responses of audiences to this still new medium. Early theorists argued for film as a distinct art form, and we will examine a number of their key texts. In the 1960s, film studies began to develop as a specific subject of study in universities in the US and the UK, once again deploying perspectives from other subject areas. We will examine a number of these theories and consider their continued importance for the analysis and understanding of film today.

Discover some of London’s fascinating smaller art collections and hidden art treasures on this gallery-based art history course.

Dulwich Picture Gallery - a treasure trove of Old Master paintings. Learn about the history of the gallery and key works in the collection.

Explore the links between the visual image and ideas of nature in early modernity (c.1500-1750). At this time, tools like the microscope were visualising nature in new ways, changes were afoot in how humans related to animals, and the environments of Asia and the Americas were becoming more familiar to Europeans. We will focus on how artists and skilled artisans engaged with these subjects.

On this course you will study the fascinating work of the 19th century Norwich School, a loose association of generations of painters from artistic families who worked in Norwich, Norfolk, one of the most important and wealthy regional capitals of the day. You will explore the beautiful landscapes produced by these artists and also discover work produced by remarkable women in the group.



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

Is Auden right that “poetry makes nothing happen”? We look at how poets have helped people to understand, cope with and sometimes resist oppression in revolutionary periods from the late18th century to the present.