All Courses

In this course, Nakul Krishna (University of Oxford) considers some of the key philosophical problems in Plato's Republic. In the first module, he examines the fundamental question that the Republic is trying to answer: "Why should we be just?"....

In this course, Professor Angie Hobbs (University of Sheffield) explores Plato's Apology, his account of Socrates' trial for 'corrupting the youth' and 'not believing in the gods the state believes in' in Athens in 399 BC. The course begins by...

In this course, Professor Max Saunders (King's College, London) explores E. M. Forster's 1908 novel, A Room With a View. The course begins by thinking about the importance of guides and guidebooks in the novel, focusing in particular on the...

In this course, we explore the life, achievements, and legacy of Alexander the Great. In particular, we look at Alexander’s military career, his women and his relationship with the gods to ask the question, Alexander the Great – hero or...

In this course, Henriette van der Blom (University of Glasgow) explores Cicero's speech 'De Imperio Cn Pompeii', delivered in 66 BC. The course begins with an introduction to oratory in Rome, including the different kinds of speeches that an...

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, Dr Andrew Sillett (University of Oxford) explores Cicero’s Pro Cluentio. In the first module, we provide some of the key context for Cicero’s speech. When did the trial take place, and why is this important? What were the key...

In this course, Professor Michael Dillon (Durham University) explores the Cultural Revolution in China through nine key questions: (1) What was the meaning of the name ‘Cultural Revolution’?; (2) Why did Mao launch the Cultural Revolution when he...

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...

In this course, Professor Simon Horobin (University of Oxford) explores language change in the English language. In the first module, we think about why we should study language change at all. In the second module we provide an introduction to the...

In this course, Dr Martin Wiggins (The Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham) explores Shakespeare's Coriolanus. We begin by thinking about the political circumstances in which the action of the play takes place, focusing in particular...

In this course, Professor Robin Osborne (University of Cambridge) explores the Histories of Herodotus. In the first module, we discuss what the Histories are actually about, before thinking about the form of the Histories—its overall structure, as...

In this course, Professor David Bates (University of East Anglia) explores English history between 1035-87, focusing in particular on the Norman Conquest and the reign of William the Conqueror. After an introduction to the course as a whole in...

In this course, Professor Hans van Wees (University College, London) explores the reforms of Solon in the early sixth century BC. We begin by thinking about the social and political problems faced by Athens in the period, before moving on...