Free courses
Produced by The Open University, a world leader in open and distance learning, all OpenLearn courses are free to study. We offer nearly 1000 free courses across 9 different subject areas. Our courses are available to start right away.
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History & The Arts
Art in Renaissance Venice
This free course, Art in Renaissance Venice, considers the art of Renaissance Venice and how such art was determined in many ways by the city's geographical location and ethnically diverse population. Studying Venice and its art offers a challenge to the conventional notion of Renaissance art as an entirely Italian phenomenon.
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History & The Arts
Methodism in Wales, 1730–1850
In this free course, Methodism in Wales, 1730–1850, you will learn about a neglected strand of Welsh history and identity. By the mid-nineteenth century, Calvinistic Methodism had become the most popular religious denomination in Wales and a mainstay of Welsh national identity. Where did this new form of religion come from? Why did it become so ...
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History & The Arts
Writing what you know
Do you want to improve your descriptive writing? This free course, Writing what you know, will help you to develop your perception of the world about you and enable you to see the familiar things in everyday life in a new light. You will also learn how authors use their own personal histories to form the basis of their work.
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History & The Arts
Exploring Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd
This free course, Exploring Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd, is designed to tell you something about Hardy's background, and to introduce you to the pleasures of reading a nineteenth-century novel. Why do we believe in fictional characters and care about what happens to them? You will discover some of the techniques that Hardy ...
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History & The Arts
Veiling
This free course explores controversies associated with the practice of 'veiling' within Islam. The Islamic 'veil', be it in the form of the hijab, niqab, jilbab or burqa (we shall explore this terminology in more detail later), has been at the centre of many different controversies. Many of these controversies can be understood in the context ...
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level 1: introductory icon
History & The Arts
Looking at, describing and identifying objects
This free course, Looking at, describing and identifying objects, will enable you to practise and develop your skills of observation and description of objects. It will also enable you to interpret objects and work towards writing your own object life cycle. You will also work with, and understand artefact databases.
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level 3: advanced icon
History & The Arts
Library of Alexandria
One of the most important questions for any student of the ancient world to address is 'how do we know what we know about antiquity?' Whether we're thinking about urban architecture, or love poetry, or modern drama, a wide range of factors shape the picture of antiquity that we have today. This free course, Library of Alexandria, encourages you ...
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History & The Arts
John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi
This free course, John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi, concentrates on Acts 1 and 2 of John Webster's Renaissance tragedy, The Duchess of Malfi. It focuses on the representation of marriage for love and the social conflicts to which it gives rise. The course is designed to hone your skills of textual analysis.
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level 2: intermediate icon
History & The Arts
Introducing the philosophy of religion
In this free course, Introducing the philosophy of religion, Timothy Chappell, Professor of Philosophy, asks what the words 'God' and 'religion' mean, and what it means to ask philosophical questions about them.
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level 1: introductory icon
History & The Arts
Introducing philosophy
Ever wondered what it would be like to study philosophy? This free course, Introducing philosophy, will introduce you to the teaching methods employed and the types of activities and assignments you would be asked to undertake should you wish to study philosophy and the human situation.
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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.
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level 1: introductory icon
History & The Arts
Visions of protest: graffiti
This free course, Visions of protest: graffiti, introduces students to contrasting understandings of graffiti. It draws on a wide range of graffiti examples, including mystery zebras in Hackney, fish graffiti in Morecambe, 'tags' in a Milton Keynes underpass, a McDonald's advert and exhibits at a highly established art gallery, the Tate Modern....