Explore History, Culture & Writing

Human economies have many foundations, from agriculture to banking. Some are unstable, yet we often feel powerless to change them - even when they threaten our survival. Are there alternatives? Join ud online to learn more.



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

Existentialist themes of anxiety, anguish, dread, freedom, melancholy, loneliness, death and absurdity pervade the arts from the era of Romanticism onwards. What is the cultural significance and consequence of giving expression to such concerns?



NB: no classes on 6th and 27th May.

Oscar Wilde was the most controversial writer of late Victorian Britain. He was famed for his wit, extravagant lifestyle, and sexual adventures. His plays and his sensational novel The Picture of Dorian Gray were celebrated and admired. But his scandalous trial and conviction “for gross indecency with men” ruined him, and he ended his life in Paris, destitute and alone. His dramatic trial marked a turning point in British attitudes to sex and culture.

This course examines the work of five women philosophers and their contribution to social and political philosophy in the twentieth and twenty first century. The thinkers covered are: Agnes Heller (1929 – 2019), Julia Kristeva (1941), Gayarti Chakrabarty Spivak (1942), Angela Davies (1944) and Nancy Fraser (1947).



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

Explore the vibrant history of the Caribbean from 350CE to 1450CE in this enriching course. Uncover the culture, trade networks, and historical transformations of this captivating region.

This is a stand-alone companion course to the Autumn ’23 course on the Sight and Sound Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time. The first reactions to the Sight and Sound Poll 2022 were divisive, as completely expected, when certain 21st-century films made the list and other venerated classics were dropped (see topics below for the list). As interesting as the top 100 was to discuss, we wanted to look a bit deeper to see how the reception of certain films shifted over the last decade, with a rundown of the films that were added and those removed. Be assured, they are as enjoyable as the Top 100—perhaps even more so. In addition to viewing the films that were added or dropped, students will conduct their own poll of the Greatest Films of All Time. Enjoy either or both of these complementary courses.

Explore the role of critical theory within the field of art history, and learn new ways of thinking about art by focusing on the topics of vision and gaze.



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

Who am I? Is there such a thing as “my true self”? These and related questions will be looked at from various philosophical perspectives.



NB There will be no class on 28/05/24.



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

Surprisingly, not every film that features the occult is a horror film. Certainly, many of them are; we will consider classics such as Haxan from 1922, Rosemary’s Baby, The Craft, Angel Heart, The Witch and Hereditary. Other films, such as Kenneth Anger's Lucifer Rising and A Dark Song, attempt to treat the occult seriously as secret or hidden knowledge. We'll examine the cultural backdrop of occult films and questions of representation, gender relations, and spirituality.