All Courses

In this course, Professor Jeremy Holmes explores attachment theory. In the first lecture, we review its history. In the second lecture, we think about how attachment theory and modern evolutionary theory are linked, highlighting key figures in its...

In this course, Dr Lars Laaman (SOAS, University of London) explores the history of China between the end of the First Opium War (1839-42) to the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911. In the first module, we think about the immediate aftermath of...

In this course, Dr Matt Beech (University of Hull) explores the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government of 2010-15. The first module, we think about the key background to the formation of the coalition in 2010 – how and why did the...

In this course, Dr Gail Trimble (University of Oxford) explores the poetry of Catullus (c. 84-54 BC). In the first module, we think Catullus’ first poem and what it might tell us about what he hopes to achieve with his poetry – which he describes...

In this course, Dr Eoin O’Sullivan explores a range of topics related to the research process in psychology. In the first lecture, we think about what is often the first step in building an experiment – establishing aims and hypotheses. In the...

In this course Dr Johann Unger (Lancaster University) explores language in the media, focusing in particular on the realm of politics. In the first lecture, we think about what we mean by the term ‘media’ (and ‘the media’) and its relation to...

In this course, Professor Susan James (Birkbeck, University of London) discusses Spinoza's Ethics, widely considered to be his magnum opus. In the first module, we think about Spinoza's ontological framework, including his remarkable claim that...

In this course, Professor Genia Schönbaumsfeld (University of Southampton) explores the philosophy of the 19th-century Danish philosophy, Søren Kierkegaard. In the first module, we provide a brief introduction to Kierkegaard himself, before...

In this course, Dr Michael Rapport (University of Glasgow) explores the reign of Napoleon III, focusing in particular on his domestic policies. We begin by thinking about Louis-Napoleon's background and his preparation for power from his birth in...

In this course, Professor John Cottingham (University of Reading) explores the teleological argument. In the first module, we introduce Aquinas’ teleological argument from regularity in the universe. In the second module, we examine various...

In this course, Professor Iwan Morgan (University College, London) explores the presidency of Ronald Reagan (1981-89). In the first module, we think about Reagan's handling of the economy, focusing in particular on the shift away from the economic...

In this course, Dr Lydia Kearney (University of Kent) explores the nature ‘versus’ nurture debate in psychology. In the first lecture, we preface the course by proposing the removal of ‘versus’, predicated on the origin of any human behaviour...

In this course, Professor William Outhwaite (Newcastle University) explores the positivist and interpretivist approaches to social research. In the first lecture, we provide an introduction to positivism. In the second lecture, we turn to some of...

In this course, Professor Jane Setter (University of Reading) provides an introduction to phonetics and phonology. In the first module, we look at the speech chain and think about how people actually understand speech. In the two modules after...