All Courses

In this course, Dr David Smith (University of Cambridge) explores the reign of Charles I of England. The course begins by thinking about Charles’ reputation among modern historians, before considering his reign in four parts: his early life and...

In this course, Dr David Smith (University of Cambridge) explores the reign of James I of England (also James VI of Scotland). The course begins by thinking about James’ reputation among modern historians, before considering his reign in four...

In this course, Professor Benjamin Ziemann explores the Weimar Republic, the system of government that replaced the German Empire in 1919. In the first module, we think about the beginning of the Weimar Republic, before moving on to consider...

In this course, Dr Llewelyn Morgan (University of Oxford) explores the poetry of the Roman poet Catullus. In particular, we think about Catullus as a poet who combined the innovative and subversive with the traditional and conservative.

In this course, Dr Sacha Golob (King’s College, London) explores the relationship between ethics and aesthetics. Must a work of art be morally good in order to qualify as ‘great’? Can morally bad works of art ever be considered great?...

In this course, Robin Briggs (University of Oxford) explores the witch craze in Britain, Europe and North America, looking in particular at Germany, England, Salem and the Duchy of Lorraine. As we move through the course, we think about the...

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...

In this course, Dr Sascha Auerbach (University of Nottingham) explores the ‘high noon’ of the British Empire, beginning with the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, and closing with the end of the Second Boer War in 1902. As we move...

In this course, Dr Anna Plassart (Open University) explores the Scottish Enlightenment. In the first module, we think about the Enlightenment as a whole—why it happened when it did, its principle goals and central doctrines—before moving on in the...

In this course, Professor John Lennard explores John Ford’s 17th-century tragedy, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore. The course begins by thinking about john Ford himself, about whom we know very little, and his literary output, before moving on to explore...

In this course, Professor John Lennard explores John Webster’s masterpiece, the Duchess of Malfi. The course begins by thinking about John Webster himself, about whom we know very little, and the historical context for the play itself. After that,...

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...