Explore Culture, History & Humanities Courses

Explore global consequences and challenges in 2024 elections, examining electoral processes, political dynamics, and emerging threats. Enhance your understanding of democracy's resilience through comparative analysis and critical discussions.



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

Founded by Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki in 1985, Studio Ghibli is the most well-known anime studio of all time, combining boundless imagination with a complexity that has led them to win both prestigious awards and the hearts of viewers. This course provides an overview of the history, artistry, and cultural influences of the studio for newcomers and fans alike.







Zoe Crombie is a film studies lecturer and researcher based at Lancaster University who specialises in Japanese animation. She has articles on Studio Ghibli in academic publications like the Journal of Anime and Manga Studies, and has presented on animation at international conferences. Additionally, she works as a film critic, with bylines at publications like Little White Lies, Vulture, and The Skinny.



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

This course will introduce students to exciting initiatives in twenty-first century cultural discourse that attempt to reconceptualise what an ecological consciousness might be or feel like. Drawing on theoretical and literary texts, films, performance art, and political activism, we will explore radical ways of rethinking and reinhabiting our relations with more-than-human worlds, and how they open new possibilities for living on a damaged planet.

British society is diverse, and not only in terms of faiths, ethnic backgrounds and other mostly visible differences. Neurodiversity is also a central aspect. Join us on this non-accredited course for a brief introduction to neurodiversity in society and discover how to engage with and support neurodivergent strengths.

Explore some important names in Black British Literature – from Booker-winning novelist Bernadine Evaristo to T.S. Eliot Award-winning poet Roger Robinson, through to new and exciting work by Okechukwu Nzelu, who was longlisted for the 2023 Jhalak Prize, and non-fiction by Zadie Smith. Read, analyse and discuss this literature in context to earlier examples of writing by Black people in Britain, including pioneering feminist, poet, playwright, and broadcaster Una Marson and novelist and short fiction writer, Sam Selvon.



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