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History & The Arts
Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus
What does Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus tell us about the author and the time at which the play was written? This free course, Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, will help you to discover the intricacies of the play and recognise how a knowledge of the historical and political background of the time can lead to a very different ...
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History & The Arts
Composition and improvisation in cross-cultural perspective
Improvisation and composition are words frequently used in the western world to describe the creation of music. But are they really two distinct processes, or are they aspects of the same phenomenon? In this free course, Composition and improvisation in cross-cultural perspective, we will explore the relationship between the two using examples ...
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History & The Arts
Reception of music in cross-cultural perspective
Music is created to be performed, in most cases for an audience, whether in a concert hall, at a street fair or through a radio. But how those listeners receive a piece or style of music influences future music production. This free course, Reception of music in cross-cultural perspective, explores how audience reception, changing social ...
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History & The Arts
Minds and mental phenomena: an introduction
This free course, Minds and mental phenomena: an introduction, examines the philosophical questions surrounding the mind. You will examine how beliefs have changed over the centuries and be able to contrast the views of Descartes with more modern ideas.
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History & The Arts
Emotion: an introductory picture
What is emotion? This free course, Emotion: an introductory picture, takes a philosophical approach to this question in an attempt to understand why people respond to events in a certain way. Is there a difference between an emotion and a bodily feeling or is one a consequence of the other?
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History & The Arts
Language and thought: introducing representation
How does what you say come to mean something? Does what you say inherently represent what you, the speaker, think it means, whatever that might be, or does what you say carry its own meaning, separate from your intentions in saying it? This free course, Language and thought: introducing representation, introduces you to the key questions about ...
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History & The Arts
Imagination: The missing mystery of philosophy
What is imagination and can philosophy define it in any meaningful way? This free course, Imagination: The missing mystery of philosophy, will introduce you to some of the possible answers to these questions and will examine why philosophy has sometimes found it difficult to approach imagination. It will then go on to examine the relationship ...
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History & The Arts
Introducing consciousness
What is consciousness? How does the brain generate consciousness and how can a science of the mind describe and explain it adequately? This free course, Introducing consciousness, will introduce you to the slippery phenomenon that is consciousness, as well as some of the difficulties consciousness presents to science and philosophy.
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History & The Arts
The Roman Empire: introducing some key terms
This free course, The Roman Empire: Introducing some key terms, will define basic concepts and terms that are essential for an understanding of the culture and identity of the Roman Empire. Terms such as 'Roman Empire' and 'imperium' will be introduced in the context of the formation and expansion of the empire, and the course will provide you ...
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History & The Arts
Exploring a Romano-African city: Thugga
From Rome to Pompeii and Ephesus the excavation of Roman remains is well known, but what of Roman remains in Africa? This free course, Exploring a Romano-African city: Thugga, looks at the Roman city of Thugga and examines the influence that Roman architecture and art had on Africa and its people.
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History & The Arts
The repute and reality of being a Roman emperor
The Roman emperor had key relationships with several differing groups within the Roman empire, including the senate, the populace of Rome, the army and the provinces. This free course, The repute and reality of being a Roman emperor, will focus on exploring the emperor's relationship with the provinces and will show you how this relationship was...
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History & The Arts
Voice-leading analysis of music 1: the foreground
This free course, Voice-leading analysis of music 1: the foreground, introduces 'voice-leading' or 'Schenkerian' analysis, perhaps the most widely used and discussed method of analysing tonal music. In this course, this method is explained through the analysis of piano sonatas by Mozart. The course is the first in the AA314 series of three ...