All Courses

In this course, Prof. Robin Osborne (University of Cambridge) explores the development and operation of Athenian democracy. In the first half of the course, we outline the major landmarks in the development of development of democracy, from ...

In this course, Professor Robert Hampson (Royal Holloway, London) explores Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. We begin by providing some of the historical context of the novel, focusing both on Conrad's own experiences as a seaman, as well as on...

In this course, Dr Kevin Waite (University of Durham) explores the Sectional Crisis of 1848-61, the period of rising tensions between the free states of the American North and the slave states of the American South, which eventually led to...

In this course, Professor Matthew Stibbe (Sheffield Hallam University) explores Weimar Germany through twelve key questions: (1) Was Weimar Germany doomed to fail from the start?; (2) Why did Weimar fail in the early 1930s?; (3) How much of a...

In this course, Dr Simon Potter (University of Bristol) explores the final decades of the British Empire, from the end of the Second World War in 1945 to Britain’s withdrawal of troops “East of Suez”, announced by Harold Wilson in...

In this course, Dr Steve McLean explores H. G. Wells' 1898 novel The War of the Worlds. We begin by thinking about Wells' literary career, focusing in particular on his work as a scientific journalist as well as his interest...

Utilitarianism is the belief that the right action is the one that maximises happiness. The philosophy theory has its origins in the hedonism of Aristippus and Epicurus, though reached its most well-known form in the writings of Jeremy Bentham and...

In this course, Professor David Canter (University of Liverpool) provides an introduction to the field of forensic psychology and some of the most important practices and areas of research associated with it. In the first lecture, we start with a...

In this module, Dr Chris Whitton (University of Cambridge) explores Tacitus’ Histories, Book 1. In the first module, we provide an introduction to Tacitus and the Histories at a whole, before turning in the second and third modules to the figures...

In this course, Prof. Becky Milne (University of Portsmouth) explores witness memory and the cognitive interview; a forensic interviewing technique used by police officers to improve the quantity and quality of information gathered from witnesses,...

In this course, Dr Keith Williams (University) explores H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds. We begin by thinking about the concept of ‘Mars fever’, focusing in particular on the reasons behind the resurgent interest in the planet in...

In this course, Dr Lucy Jones (University of Nottingham) explores language use through the lens of gender and sexuality. In the first module, we outline some of the traditional approaches to the question of why men and women use language...

In this course, Dr Emma Long (University of East Anglia) provides an introduction to the Supreme Court of the United States. In the first module, we think about what the Supreme Court is, when it was set up, and how it works. After that, in the...

In this course, Professor Catherine Steel (University of Glasgow) explores Cicero as a correspondent in a set of lectures designed to be used alongside the OCR A Level Classical Civilization option, ‘Politics and the Late Republic’. In the first...