Philosophy
Utilitarianism
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...
Dr Claire Benn
Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
Philosophy
Classics
Plato: Euthyphro and Meno
This course examines the life of Socrates, before looking at his famous philosophical method and asking, why was Socrates so interested in defining what things mean? After this, we look more closely at two early dialogues of Plato which feature...
Dr Nakul Krishna
Cambridge University
Philosophy
Nietzsche: On the Genealogy of Morality
Published in 1887, the Genealogy of Morality is the locus classicus of Nietzsche's criticism of contemporary morality and religion. The book is divided into three essays: the first deals with the origins of Christian and contemporary secular morality; the second...
Mr Ben Martin
Oxford University
English Literature
The Medieval Revival in Victorian Literature
This wide-ranging course examines why so many writers and artists of the Victorian period were so obsessed with the Middle Ages, a concept known as 'Medievalism'. We begin by exploring the work of Walter Scott, whose pseudo-historical novels such as...
Dr Gabriel Schenk
Oxford University
English Literature
Classics
Seneca and Early Modern Drama
Shakespeare’s most famous – and infamous – tragedies draw on the Roman playwright Seneca for their dramatic form and theatrical style - including ‘Hamlet’, ‘King Lear’, and ‘Titus Andronicus’. Seneca also had a huge influence on Shakespeare’s contemporaries: Thomas Kyd’s...
Dr Helen Slaney
Oxford University
English Literature
The Poetry and Prose of Seamus Heaney
The American poet Robert Lowell described Seamus Heaney as the greatest Irish poet since W. B. Yeats, and many noted the coincidence that Heaney was born in the year that Yeats died. A Nobel prize winner and Ireland's unofficial national...
Dr Rosie Lavan
Trinity College, Dublin