All Courses
Philosophy & Religious Studies

In this course, Dr Iain Law (University of Birmingham) thinks about utilitarianism, one of the three major normative ethical theories alongside Kantian deontological ethics and virtue ethics. In the first module, we introduce the concept of a...
7 lectures
1:12:12
Dr Iain Law
Birmingham University
English Literature

In this course, Dr Christopher Pittard (University of Portsmouth) explores Arthur Conan Doyle's second Sherlock Holmes novel, The Sign of Four (1890). We begin by providing a broad introduction to the novel, exploring how the novel came to be...
5 lectures
1:37:01
Dr Christopher Pittard
Portsmouth University
History

In this course, Dr Anna Ross (University of Oxford) explores the unification of Germany, starting with the proclamation of the German Empire on the 18th January 1871, and moving back in time to consider how the Germans had reached this...
5 lectures
0:46:48
Dr Anna Ross
Oxford University
English Literature

In this course, Professor Gina Wisker (University of Brighton) explores Toni Morrison's 1987 novel, Beloved. We begin by providing a broad introduction to Black women's writing, focusing in particular on the works of Alice Walker, Zora Neale...
6 lectures
0:50:28
Prof. Gina Wisker
Brighton University
English Literature

In this course, Dr Ross Wilson (University of Cambridge) explores the poetry of John Keats. In the first two modules, we think of Keats in terms of first reader, then writer, thinking about his engagement with both the texts of...
6 lectures
1:01:40
Dr Ross Wilson
Cambridge University
History

In this course, Dr Jonathan Willis (University of Birmingham) explores the Henrician Reformation. We begin by thinking about the 'health' of the church in late Medieval England, focusing in particular on the concept of lay piety. After that, we...
5 lectures
0:52:31
Dr Jonathan Willis
Birmingham University
English Literature

In this course, Professor John Lennard explores Shakespeare’s most urban comedy, Much Ado About Nothing. As we move through the course, we think about a number of issues, including: the setting of the play and its impact on the action;...
5 lectures
0:48:10
Prof. John Lennard
Independent Scholar
History

In this course, Dr Jonathan Smele (Queen Mary, University of London) explores the (so-called) Revolution of 1905. We begin in the first module by considering whether this was a revolution at all and – if so – whether we should see events as being ...
5 lectures
1:08:22
Dr Jonathan Smele
QMUL
Classics & Ancient History

In this course, Professor Richard Seaford (University of Exeter) explores Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus. We begin by thinking about the plot of the play, focusing in particular on the Aristotelian concepts of reversal and recognition, as well as the...
6 lectures
0:42:50
Prof. Richard Seaford
Exeter University
Classics & Ancient History

In this course, Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones (University of Cardiff) presents the Persian Empire through non-Greek sources including Persian art and architecture, sculpture and epigraphy, and parts of the Hebrew Bible. In the first module, we...
6 lectures
0:40:34
Prof. Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
Cardiff University
English Literature

In this course, Dr Will Abberley (University of Oxford) explores the influence of Charles Darwin's 'Origin of Species' on contemporary works of Victorian literature: 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens, 'The Coming Race' by Edward...
4 lectures
0:40:37
Dr Will Abberley
Oxford University
History

In this course, Professor Christopher Read (University of Warwick) examines the rise of Joseph Stalin from his birth in 1878 to the eve of the Second World War in 1938. We begin in the first module by thinking about his early life, including...
7 lectures
1:21:22
Prof. Christopher Read
Warwick University
English Literature

In this course, Professor Anne Varty (Royal Holloway, University of London) explores Oscar Wilde’s 1895 drama, An Ideal Husband. We begin by thinking about the structure of the play, focusing in particular on the ways in which Wilde both conforms ...
4 lectures
0:03:28
Prof. Anne Varty
Royal Holloway, London
Philosophy & Religious Studies

In this course, Professor John Cottingham (University of Reading) explores some of the classic arguments for the existence of God – and their criticisms. In the first module, we think about some of the Classical antecedents to later Christian...
4 lectures
0:50:32
Prof. John Cottingham
Reading University