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History & The Arts
The Passing of the New: Bowie and Boulez
Are there any similarities between David Bowie and Pierre Boulez who both passed early on in January 2016?
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History & The Arts
David Bowie and science fiction
It's fair to say David Bowie had an obvious fascination with space and future dystopias, Tony Keen looks at the roots of the starman's relationship with science fiction.
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level 2: intermediate icon
History & The Arts
Two concepts of freedom
What defines individual freedom in a civilised society? Philosophers have argued over such questions for centuries. This free course, Two concepts of freedom, looks at a positive and a negative concept of freedom, asking you to think carefully about how freedom is restricted by our place in society and how it can vary from state to state.
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History & The Arts
Lazarus: David Bowie's bio-obituary
What does David Bowie's last single tell us about his attitude to a death he almost certainly was expecting?
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level 1: introductory icon
History & The Arts
An introduction to material culture
This free course, An introduction to material culture, introduces the study of material culture. It asks why we should study things and outlines some basic approaches to studying objects.
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Science, Maths & Technology
Why were David Bowie's eyes two different colours?
The short answer is that they weren't - but there's a lot more to it than that. Kevin Hunt explains.
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Science, Maths & Technology
Blade Runner: What's the balance between science and fiction?
How does Blade Runner shape up as a piece of work when real scientists look at its workings?
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Science, Maths & Technology
Urbanism in Blade Runner
As well as being a science fiction classic, you could read Blade Runner as a movie about town planning. No, really. Let Ryan Schleeter explain.
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History & The Arts
The obscure history of the ‘virgin’s disease’ that could be cured with sex
Where did ideals and misconceptions around virginity and the hymen stem from? Helen King explores...
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History & The Arts
A Victorian Christmas: Christmas in Dreamthorp
The essayist and poet Alexander Smith's Dreamthorp is a collection of essays he wrote in the countryside. This extract, titled Christmas, is anchored in the December of 1862, and includes some personal views which are very much of their time.
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History & The Arts
A Victorian Christmas: Thackeray goes to the pantomime
In this extract from Roundabout Papers, William Makepeace Thackeray describes a festive entertainment which takes liberties with history. Not that Thackeray is above taking a few liberties of his own...
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History & The Arts
A Victorian Christmas: Christmas Day In The Workhouse
For its December 25th, 1840 edition, the Morning Chronicle polled workhouse managers to discover what the poor of London could expect for their Christmas Day. The following is an extract of their report.