free course icon
level 1: introductory icon
History & The Arts
Welsh history and its sources
This free course, Welsh history and its sources, is a teaching and learning resource for anyone interested in Welsh history. It contains study materials, links to some of the most important institutions that contribute to our understanding of the history of Wales, and a pool of resources that can help you understand Welsh history and the way it ...
free course icon
level 1: introductory icon
History & The Arts
Getting started on ancient Greek
This free course, Getting started on ancient Greek, offers a taster of the ancient Greek world through the study of one of its most distinctive and enduring features: its language.The course approaches the language methodically, starting with the alphabet and effective ways to memorise it, before building up to complete Greek words and sentences...
free course icon
level 1: introductory icon
History & The Arts
Health and wellbeing in the ancient world
This free course, Health and wellbeing in the ancient world, investigates the health of people in ancient Greece and Rome, using both literary and archaeological evidence to uncover details of real life in ancient societies.
free course icon
level 1: introductory icon
History & The Arts
An introduction to music theory
Gain an understanding of the basic building blocks of musical theory and notation. This free course, An introduction to music theory, will introduce you to music staves, clefs, rhythmic and pitch values, rhythmic metre and time signatures. This OpenLearn course provides an introduction to music theory pitched at a level equivalent to Grades 1–3 ...
free course icon
level 1: introductory icon
History & The Arts
Getting started on classical Latin
This free course, Getting started on classical Latin, has been developed in response to requests from learners who had had no contact with Latin before and who felt they would like to spend a little time preparing for the kind of learning that studying a classical language involves. The course will give you a taster of what is involved in the ...
free course icon
level 1: introductory icon
History & The Arts
Start writing fiction
Have you always wanted to write, but never quite had the courage to start? This free course, Start writing fiction, will give you an insight into how authors create their characters and settings. You will also be able to look at the different genres for fiction.
free course icon
level 1: introductory icon
Health, Sports & Psychology
Introducing the psychology of our relationships with fictional villains
This free course, featuring interviews with famous crime fiction authors, explores psychological theory and research on the relationships we form with fictional characters.
free course icon
level 3: advanced icon
History & The Arts
Creative writing and critical reading
This free course, Creative writing and critical reading, explores the importance of reading as part of a creative writer’s development at the postgraduate level. You will gain inspiration and ideas from examining other writers’ methods, as well as enhancing your critical reading skills. Examples will cover the genres of fiction, creative ...
free course icon
level 2: intermediate icon
History & The Arts
Napoleonic paintings
In this free course, Napoleonic paintings, we will examine a range of Napoleonic imagery by David, Gros and a number of other artists, beginning with comparatively simple single-figure portraits and moving on to elaborate narrative compositions, such as Jaffa and Eylau. In so doing, we will have three main aims: to develop your skills of visual ...
free course icon
level 1: introductory icon
History & The Arts
Start writing fiction: characters and stories
Start writing fiction is a free course that helps you to get started with your own fiction writing, focusing on the central skill of creating characters.
free course icon
level 1: introductory icon
History & The Arts
The business of film
This free 12-hour course explores the intriguing world of film production, and illuminates the processes of film development, distribution and finance.
free course icon
level 2: intermediate icon
History & The Arts
Discovering Ancient Greek and Latin
The free course, Discovering Ancient Greek and Latin, gives a taste of what it is like to learn two ancient languages. It is for those who have encountered the classical world through translations of Greek and Latin texts and wish to know more about the languages in which these works were composed.