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Level
History & The Arts
The ethics of cultural heritage
This free course, The ethics of cultural heritage, provides the basic theory behind the protection of cultural property in war zones and is presented in three parts: the protection of cultural property; the legal basis for that protection; and accounts of proportionality (that is, on deciding whether or not there is a feasible alternative to damaging cultural property).
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Level
Science, Maths & Technology
The search for water on Mars
The possibility of water on Mars has captured human imagination for over a century. In this free course, The Search for Water on Mars, find out more about how scientists have found evidence for water in the red planet’s past and present, and what this might mean for the possibility of life beyond Earth.
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Level
Health, Sports & Psychology
What happens to you when you read?
Ever wondered about the psychology of literature or stories? Or how a certain narrative might change our attitude or perspective? This free course, What happens to you when you read? explores our relationship with books and the ways in which engaging with fiction in particular can change readers. Research shows that as well as providing us with a form of entertainment, the activity of reading can bring benefits to our wellbeing in challenging times. People have experienced and explored these benefits throughout history. A good story can entertain us, develop our creativity and imagination, and transport us to different fictional worlds, but it can change us psychologically as well. Transcript As you work your way through this course, you will have the chance to participate in both reading and writing activities and experience for yourself what happens to you when you read.
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Level
Nature & Environment
Eating for the environment
‘You are what you eat’, goes the old adage, but what you eat also has an impact on the environment. Transcript This free course, Eating for the environment, will explore the links between food, nutrition and environmental sustainability. It will start by exploring the diversity on your dinner plate and encourage you to reflect on it in relation to dietary choices and preferences of people around the world. It will explore the connections between food, culture and traditions, and the challenges in providing healthy and nutritious food to the world’s growing population. The course will examine innovative approaches to food that also help environmental sustainability.
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Society, Politics & Law
Happy Saint Andrew's Day
As we celebrate St Andrew's Day, the patron saint of Scotland, explore our variety of resources on Scotland's culture, society and heritage.
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Society, Politics & Law
The age of offence
From ‘cancel culture’ to ‘wokeness’ to the ‘culture wars’, many of the terms that define our age are related to the idea of ‘offence’. Watch this documentary series to explore the role which offensive language plays in our language and politics.
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Health, Sports & Psychology
Are you driven to distraction?
Can you drive safely and work effectively at the same time? If you ever need to make your vehicle a mobile office, by having hands free phone conversations, how confident are you that neither your work, nor your driving suffers?
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Nature & Environment
Climate change and the importance of COP26
Learn about climate change from different disciplinary perspectives and how that knowledge and experience may explain and inform the outcomes of COP26.
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