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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Grid List Results: 136 items
Robert Owen and New Lanark free course icon level 2: intermediate icon

History & The Arts

Robert Owen and New Lanark

Childcare, education, working conditions, healthcare, crime: these issues are hotly debated in today's society. They are also issues that Robert Owen, seen by some as a visionary and by others as a knave and a charlatan, sought to address in the early 1800s. This free course, Robert Owen and New Lanark, uses a series of essays written by Owen to...

Free course
12 hrs
Recording music and sound free course icon level 2: intermediate icon

History & The Arts

Recording music and sound

This free course, Recording music and sound, provides an historical introduction to music and sound recording in the creative industries and offers some guidance about making your own recordings. Many of the processes that have been developed and the issues that have been raised in the first 150 years of recording are still relevant today, and a...

Free course
8 hrs
What is poetry? free course icon level 1: introductory icon

History & The Arts

What is poetry?

Have you always wanted to try to write poetry but never quite managed to start? This free course, What is poetry?, is designed to illustrate the techniques behind both the traditional forms of poetry and free verse. You will learn how you can use your own experiences to develop ideas and how to harness your imagination.

Free course
12 hrs
A spiritual revolution? Wicca and religious change in the 1960s free course icon level 1: introductory icon

History & The Arts

A spiritual revolution? Wicca and religious change in the 1960s

This free course, A spiritual revolution? Wicca and religious change in the 1960s looks at the ‘crisis’ of traditional religion in the Sixties in the Western world. It explores the process of religious renewal, looking at the development of Wicca, the prototypical form of modern Paganism. Originally presented as a Goddess religion of great ...

Free course
3 hrs
Philosophy: the nature of persons free course icon level 3: advanced icon

History & The Arts

Philosophy: the nature of persons

What is a person? This free course, Philosophy: the nature of persons, examines this philosophical question concerning the nature of personhood. You will examine whether a 'person' is the same as a 'human being', and look at whether it is our free will that in the end defines us as a 'person'.

Free course
15 hrs
The Ancient Olympics: bridging past and present free course icon level 1: introductory icon

History & The Arts

The Ancient Olympics: bridging past and present

This free course, The Ancient Olympics: bridging past and present, highlights the similarities and differences between our modern Games and the Ancient Olympics and explores why today, as we prepare for future Olympics, we still look back at the Classical world for meaning and inspiration.

Free course
5 hrs
The many guises of the emperor Augustus free course icon level 1: introductory icon

History & The Arts

The many guises of the emperor Augustus

This free course focuses on Rome’s first emperor, Augustus, who lived from 63 BCE to 14 CE. The rule of Augustus marked a significant political change in Rome, and Augustus’ position as emperor was initially fragile and controversial. Key to his success in holding onto power was his masterful use of visual propaganda to cement his position and ...

Free course
6 hrs
Exploring books for children: words and pictures free course icon level 2: intermediate icon

History & The Arts

Exploring books for children: words and pictures

Many people have fond memories of the stories they encountered in childhood, perhaps especially of those wonderful picture books and illustrated tales which fired our young imaginations and transported us to magical worlds. To an adult’s eye, some picture books may seem remarkably simple, even oversimplified. However, in this free course, ...

Free course
8 hrs
Roaring Twenties? Europe in the interwar period free course icon 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 ...

Free course
14 hrs
Introducing consciousness free course icon level 3: advanced icon

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.

Free course
20 hrs
Sam Selvon, The Lonely Londoners free course icon level 2: intermediate icon

History & The Arts

Sam Selvon, The Lonely Londoners

This free course concentrates on Sam Selvon's twentieth-century novel, The Lonely Londoners. It considers the depiction of migration in the text as well as Selvon's treatment of memory as a vital part of the migrant's experience.

Free course
10 hrs
The poetry of Sorley MacLean free course icon level 3: advanced icon

History & The Arts

The poetry of Sorley MacLean

Sorley MacLean (1911-1996) is regarded as one of the greatest Scottish poets of the twentieth century. This free course, The poetry of Sorley MacLean, will introduce you to his poetry and give you an insight into the cultural, historical and political contexts that inform his work. MacLean wrote in Gaelic and the importance of the language to ...

Free course
10 hrs