All Courses
English Literature

In this course, Dr Marion Turner (University of Oxford) provides an introduction to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The course begins with a discussion of the opening lines of the General Prologue, before going on to discuss Chaucer himself, the...
6 lectures
0:59:48
Prof. Marion Turner
Oxford University
Classics & Ancient History

In this course, Prof. Edith Hall (King's College, London) provides an introduction to the plays of Aristophanes, thinking in particular about the world that Aristophanes lived in and his comic output and focusing in particular on: the link between...
14 lectures
0:59:33
Prof. Edith Hall
King's College London
Government & Politics

In this course, Professor Jeremy Jennings (King’s College London) thinks about the history of socialism from its origins to the present day. We begin in the first module with the French Revolution which set the European precedent for political...
5 lectures
0:29:17
Prof. Jeremy Jennings
King's College London
Classics & Ancient History

In this course, Dr Rosie Wyles (University of Kent) explores Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus. In the first module, we think about where Sophocles chooses to start the story and how it proceeds, compared to other versions of the myth. After that,...
5 lectures
0:43:45
Dr Rosie Wyles
Kent University
Classics & Ancient History

In this course, Professor Esther Eidinow (University of Bristol) thinks about Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood’s theory of ‘polis religion’ as a means of understanding Greek religious practice. We begin in the first module by thinking about some of the...
5 lectures
0:50:13
Prof. Esther Eidinow
Bristol University
English Literature

In this course, Dr Christopher Pittard (University of Portsmouth) explores Truman Capote's 1966 true crime classic, In Cold Blood. We begin by thinking about the genre of the novel, a genre which Capote referred to as 'the non-fiction novel'....
5 lectures
1:13:10
Dr Christopher Pittard
Portsmouth University
Classics & Ancient History

In this course, Professor Richard Seaford (University of Exeter) explores the Greek institution of mystery cults, focusing in particular on the Eleusinian and Dionysian Mysteries. In the first module, we think about what a mystery cult actually...
5 lectures
0:34:16
Prof. Richard Seaford
Exeter University
English Literature

In this course, Professor John McRae (University of Nottingham) explores Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. In the first three lectures, we provide a broad introduction to the play, thinking about the life and career of Oscar Wilde, as...
15 lectures
2:39:17
Prof. John McRae
Nottingham University
History

In this course, Dr Sascha Auerbach (University of Nottingham) explores the causes and origins of the First World War. The course begins with a broad overview of Europe in the nineteenth century, as Europe moved from co-operation in the first...
6 lectures
0:47:12
Dr Sascha Auerbach
Nottingham University
Classics & Ancient History

In this course, Professor Catherine Steel (University of Glasgow) explores the politics of the Late Republic through one of its central figures: Marcus Tullius Cicero. We begin by thinking about Cicero's early life and education, including his...
6 lectures
1:06:40
Prof. Catherine Steel
Glasgow University
English Literature

In this course, Professor Nicole Pohl (Oxford Brookes University) provides an introduction to and overview of dystopian literature. In the first module, we introduce the concepts of 'utopia' and 'dystopia' themselves, as well as the idea of...
7 lectures
1:20:55
Prof. Nicole Pohl
Oxford Brookes University
Classics & Ancient History

In this course, Professor Kevin Butcher (University of Warwick) looks at the reign of Augustus through the evidence of coins. The first part of course provides a general introduction to numismatics—what do coins tell us about the past?—as well as...
13 lectures
1:15:00
Prof. Kevin Butcher
Warwick University
Classics & Ancient History

In this course, Professor Barbara Graziosi (Durham University) explores Homer’s Iliad. In the first module, we focus on the so-called ‘Homeric Question’, focusing on how and when the poem was composed, who composed it, as well as what it was...
5 lectures
0:42:39
Prof. Barbara Graziosi
Durham University
Classics & Ancient History

In this course, Professor Richard Seaford (University of Exeter) explores the ancient Greek institution of the hero cult. In the first module, we describe what a hero cult actually is, thinking in particular about the different meanings of the...
5 lectures
0:37:28
Prof. Richard Seaford
Exeter University