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level 1: introductory icon
History & The Arts
Studying the arts and humanities
This free course is an introduction to studying the arts and humanities. It takes you through a series of exercises designed to develop your approach to study and learning at a distance and improve your confidence as an independent learner.
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level 2: intermediate icon
History & The Arts
National identity in Britain and Ireland, 1780–1840
What is a ‘nation’? What is a ‘state’? Where have these ideas come from and how have they developed over time? This free course, National identity in Britain and Ireland, 1780-1840, explores how the United Kingdom of Britain and Ireland was formed. It then moves to analyse the distinctions between the terms ‘nation’ and ‘state’. Finally, it ...
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level 1: introductory icon
History & The Arts
Speeches and speech-making
This free course, Speeches and speech-making, explores an aspect of language use where 'voices' and 'texts' converge: the art of speech-making.
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level 2: intermediate icon
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
The OU meets Pink Floyd
Dr Sean Williams of The Open University talks to Pink Floyd's drummer Nick Mason about his drumming concerns and career.
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History & The Arts
Fakespeare: Rewriting the bard
Rewrite Shakespeare’s best bits for the 21st Century and reveal your inner wordsmith.
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level 3: advanced icon
History & The Arts
Roaring Twenties? Europe in the interwar period
While recognising the shadows cast by two world wars (one concluded and one imminent) over European society during the 1920s and 1930s, this free course, Roaring Twenties? Europe in the interwar period, demonstrates how a number of specific features indicate that the interwar period was a distinctive and important moment of modernity in the ...
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level 2: intermediate icon
History & The Arts
Religious diversity: rethinking religion
Religion is not necessarily what you think it is! This free course, Religious diversity: rethinking religion, introduces you to a selection of the vast variety of religious beliefs and practices in Britain today. Having some familiarity with religion and belief is increasingly required to make sense of issues of local, national and international...
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level 3: advanced icon
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
Jean-Paul Sartre and Existential Choice
This animation looks at existentialist ideas about the individual created by Jean Paul Sartre.
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level 1: introductory icon
History & The Arts
Picturing the family
Besides being simple mementos, family photographs can offer insights into the past. This free course, Picturing the family, looks at some of the ways photographs can reveal, and sometimes conceal, important information about the past. It teaches the skills and provides some of the knowledge needed to interpret such pictorial sources.
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level 3: advanced icon
History & The Arts
Hadrian's Rome
This free course, Hadrian's Rome, explores the city of Rome during the reign of the emperor Hadrian (117-38 CE). What impact did the emperor have on the appearance of the city? What types of structures were built and why? And how did the choices that Hadrian made relate to those of his predecessors, and also of his successors?