All Courses

In this course, Jessica Meyer (University of Leeds) takes us on a journey through the chain of medical evacuation during World War I. We start by looking at how soldiers were cared for day-to-day in the trenches. We then look at first response and...

In this course, Robert Bud (Science Museum, London) examines the history of antibiotics. We take a look at what medicine and medicines were like before the discovery of antibiotics. We then look at the discovery of penicillin and how it was mass...

In this course, Professor Eileen Barker (London School of Economics) explores the characteristics of New Religious Movements (NRMs) and their relationship to wider society. The first module looks at terminologies associated with new religions,...

In this course, Jane Stevens-Crawshaw (Oxford Brookes University) explores the relationship between plague and public health during the renaissance in England. We start by looking at how public health functioned and developed in the renaissance....

In this course, Miri Rubin (Queen Mary, University of London) explores the Black Death. Firstly, we look at what the Black Death was and where it came from. We then have a look at the social and economic effects of such a vast mortality. After...

In this course, Virginia Berridge (LSHTM) examines the history of the connection between smoking and lung cancer. We start by looking at when the connection was discovered and how this linked to the sweeping changes occurring in public health in...

In this course, Professor Vivian Nutton (University College London) looks at the life of the ancient doctor Galen of Pergamon. We start by looking at the early career of Galen. We then examine his later career when he served as physician to the...

In this course, Dr Ross Abbinnett (University of Birmingham) explores Karl Marx’s theory of society. In the first module, we consider Marx’s analysis of labour, its importance to humanity, and alienation from labour under capitalism. In the...

In this course, Professor Gayle Letherby (University of Plymouth) explores ideas and methods associated with feminist social research. In the first module, we consider feminist critiques of traditional sociological research. In the second, we look...

In this course, Dr David Scott (The Open University) explores key philosophical and sociological approaches to prisons, punishment and penology. In the first module, we introduce some key areas of interest within penology, looking especially at...

In this course, Professor Pat Thane (Birkbeck, University of London) explores family policy in Britain since the 1960s. In the first module, we set the context by thinking about some key features of family life prior to the 1960s. In the second,...

In this course, Professor Martyn Hammersley (The Open University) explores the concept of objectivity within sociology and social research. In the first module, we think about the development of the concept from the early twentieth century and...