Explore Culture, History & Humanities Courses

Explore the City’s development from Roman and medieval times through to the Tudors and Stuarts. This course will consist of 8 guided walks starting with Roman London. Tutor Guide: Hazel Baker.

“The more beautiful everything is, the more it will hurt without you”—Gene Kelly as An American in Paris (1951) singing to Leslie Caron. Happy endings are hard won in fifties’ musicals and The End is where they were heading. MGM was the studio of musicals in the 1950s. During this decade other studios presented only occasional musicals. The musical was big business for Hollywood in the 1950s and so was the western, so bringing them together made sense. Annie Get Your Gun had been a big success for MGM so Warner Bros. decided to get a piece of the action with Calamity Jane (1953 David Butler with Doris Day). Judy Garland was sacked by MGM in 1951, then followed Joan Crawford to Warner Brothers where she staged a big comeback in, fittingly, A Star is Born (1954 George Cukor). Oklahoma (1955 Fred Zinnemann) and Carousel (1956 Henry King) from 20th Century Fox introduced Shirley Jones. And don’t forget Leonard Bernstein’s score for On the Waterfront (1954) that anticipated West Side Story (1961). (See related courses on Fifties Melodrama and Film Noir and 50 Films From the ‘50s: Hollywood’s Last Stand).

Discover one of the greatest works of Latin literature.



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

Art representing issues of war, conflict and revolution is usually either an expression of triumph or loss. But who decides? What is such art for and what can it hope to achieve? Attitudes to war have changed significantly and this course considers responses to conflict in painting, sculpture, photography, performance art and architecture spanning the globe and across different eras.



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

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.

In this course we shall explore the Ancient and Medieval history of the Sahara and the Sahel, its cultural synergies, and the interactions of its kingdoms with the Mediterranean world, from the first millennium BC. to the 14th century CE.



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

We chart the fortunes of the first four crusades and the rise and fall of the kingdom of Jerusalem using Christian and Muslim sources. Why did these events occur and what were the consequences?



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

Are you brand new to creative writing? Do you want to build your confidence in a supportive environment alongside other beginners? This gentle short-course guides students taking their first steps on the path to becoming a creative writer.

Not sure whether creative writing is for you? Give it a try on one of these fun and supportive short courses covering the basics of fiction and poetry. Increase your confidence and produce work through guided exercises and discussion.

At its height the Mongol empire stretched from the Sea of Japan to eastern Europe. We explore how the Mongols interacted with the nations they conquered.



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

This course focuses on the Soviet experience of the Second World War, dating from the diplomacy of the late 1930s to the defeat of Germany and Japan in 1945.