All Courses

In this course, Dr Sowon Park (Oxford University) explores two key themes in Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway. In the first module, we look at the narrative style of the novel - arguing that the narrative style in Mrs Dalloway represents...

In this course, we discuss four key themes in Homer's Odyssey. In the first module, we concentrate on the concept of oral poetry - the idea that the Odyssey was not originally written down, but passed orally from generation to...

This course provides key historical context for John Milton's 'Paradise Lost', looking in particular at the figure of Oliver Cromwell. The course is divided into eight parts. The first looks at Cromwell's invasion of Ireland (1649-53), before...

This course provides key historical context for John Milton's 'Paradise Lost', looking in particular at the figure of Charles I. The course is divided into nine parts. The first seven look at Charles' early years (1600-25), his early reign...

This course provides a comprehensive history of British India. After an introduction to the geography, climate, and people of the Indian subcontinent, we explore how a private company, the East India Company, came to administer a whole country. A...

This course explores the making of modern Ireland, beginning in 1912 and ending in the modern day, and is split into five modules. The first module ('Birth of a Nation, 1912-32') looks at the violent period in Irish history between...

In this course, we look at James Joyce's collection of short stories, Dubliners. In particular, we explore key themes in the collection by looking at groups of 2-3 stories. Having given an introduction to the Dublin of the late-19th and...

In this course, we explore one of the most important events in world history, the French Revolution. We begin by looking at politics and society in 18th-century France, exploring the Absolutism of the French monarchy and the Ancien Regime. After...

In this course, we explore Jean Rhys' 'Wide Sargasso Sea' alongside 'Jane Eyre'. Written as a prequel to 'Jane Eyre', 'Wide Sargasso Sea' shares many of the same themes (not to mention characters) as Bronte's novel. In this course, we...

In this course, Dr Ed Bispham (University of Oxford) explores Book 15 of Tacitus' Annals. We begin by considering Tacitus as a historian. How does he construct his history, and how much can we trust him? We then give a...

In this course, we look at the use of form in poetry. The purpose of this course is to demonstrate the many ways in which the form of a poem can convey meaning. This includes the use forms that are...

In this course, we explore the relationship between the United States and Japan between the attack on Pearl Harbour to the San Francisco Peace Conference and the end of US occupation of Japan. In six modules, we explore the relationship...