All Courses

In this course, Professor Nick Groom (University of Exeter) explores the history of the supernatural in English and American literature. The course begins by thinking about two of the key sources of supernatural literature, looking in the first...

In this course, Dr Emma Aston (University of Reading) explores Greek religion, focusing in particular on the nature of the gods in Greek thought. In the first module, we think about the concept of anthropomorphism (i.e. the fact that the...

In this course, Dr Sarah Robertson (University of West England) explores John Steinbeck’s 1939 novel, The Grapes of Wrath. We begin by providing some historical context to the novel, focusing in particular on the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl...

In this course, we explore Pat Barker’s ‘Regeneration’. Set in 1917 in Craiglockhart War Hospital in Edinburgh, the novel follows psychiatrist William Rivers as he treats shell-shocked soldiers, including the poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred...

In this course, Professor Llewelyn Morgan (University of Oxford) explores Book 11 of Virgil’s Aeneid. In the first module, we think about Book 11 in relation to its position within the epic as a whole, focusing in particular on its relation to the...

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, Professor Helen Smith (University of York) explores Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. In the first module, we imagine a trip to the theatre in the late 16th century, thinking about the literary, historical and theatrical context of...

In this course, Professor Lisa Hopkins (University of Sheffield Hallam) discusses Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. In the first module, we consider 'the form of Faustus' fortunes', focusing in particular on the importance on books in the play – not least...

In this course, Professor Jeremy Jennings (King’s College, London) provides an overview of Liberalism from its origins to the present day. In the first module, we provide a broad introduction to liberalism as a political philosophy, focusing in ...

In this course, Dr Mark Garnett (University of Lancaster) introduces the core political idea of conservatism. We begin in the first module by thinking about the origins of conservatism in Edmund Burke’s reaction to the French Revolution. In the...

In this course, Dr Mathias Haeussler (University of Cambridge) explores the origins of the Cold War in Europe. We begin by providing a broad introduction to the Cold War itself – what it was, as well as its long-lasting political,...

In this course, Professor Mark White (Queen Mary University of London) explores the presidency of Harry Truman (1945-53). In the first module, we think about Truman’s rise to power and how he became President in April 1945. In the second, ...

In this course, Professor Tiffany Stern (University of Oxford) explores how Shakespeare was originally rehearsed, acted and watched, and how this might change our understand of some of his plays. In the first module, we think about actors' roles...

In this course, Dr Jonathan Willis (University of Birmingham) explores the Henrician Reformation. We begin by thinking about the 'health' of the church in late Medieval England, focusing in particular on the concept of lay piety. After that, we...