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.
- History
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level 1: introductory icon
History & The Arts
Empires: power, resistance, legacies
Empires have existed throughout most of human history. They have spanned the globe. They have influenced the way we are governed, our systems of trade, how we use technology, our relationships with the natural world. They have shaped how we have seen, mapped and divided the world. They have profoundly affected how we have understood and ...
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level 3: advanced icon
History & The Arts
What do historians do?
What do historians do? In this free course you will explore some of the ways that historians work to develop our understanding of the past. You will learn about three aspects of the historian’s craft through three topic areas: landscapes, infant health and criminal justice. Through the activities in the course, you will experience a wide range ...
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History & The Arts
Exploring the history of prisoner education
This free course, Exploring the history of prisoner education, looks at the history of prison education in the British Isles. It will examine the motivations behind the provision of education, the types of learning that were offered and the experiences of prisoners over the first 100 years of education in prisons.
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History & The Arts
Historical perspectives on race
Race is not biological. It is a social construction. Yet we know that in our contemporary world and in history, this construction has real consequences. From enslavement and colonisation to resistance and revolution, the stories of people of colour are often left untold in accounts of the past. This free course, Historical perspectives on race, ...
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History & The Arts
The American Civil Rights Movement
In this free course, The American Civil Rights Movement, you will learn about the mass movement for racial equality in the United States that reached its zenith during the 1950s and 1960s. During this turbulent period in United States history, black Americans sought to overturn deeply entrenched systems of racial segregation and ...
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History & The Arts
The history of female protest and suffrage in the UK
This free course focuses on one example of democratic protest: the campaign to extend the vote to women in the UK. In the course you'll be introduced to two key figures in the campaign, Ada Nield Chew and May Billinghurst, and you'll look at the ways in which the Women's Social and Political Union, the National Union of Women's Suffrage ...
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Society, Politics & Law
Y Gymru Gyfoes
Drwy edrych ar wahaniaethau a chysylltiadau, mae'r cwrs yn gofnod awdurdodol a diweddar o economi, cymdeithas, gwleidyddiaeth a diwylliant Cymru gyfoes ac mae'n cynnwys amrywiaeth eang o astudiaethau achos diddorol.
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History & The Arts
Icarus: entering the world of myth
This free course, Icarus: entering the world of myth, will introduce you to one of the best-known myths from classical antiquity and its various re-tellings in later periods. You will begin by examining how the Icarus story connects with a number of other ancient myths, such as that of Theseus and the Minotaur. You will then be guided through an...
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History & The Arts
Art and life in ancient Egypt
Around 1350 BC, the Egyptian grain accountant Nebamun commissioned the walls of his tomb-chapel to be painted with scenes depicting his afterlife, and the world in which he lived. Nebamun worked in the temple of Amun at Karnak during the reign of Amenhotep III (c. 1390-1352 BC). Amenhotep was one of the most important kings of the 18th Dynasty, ...
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History & The Arts
The First World War: trauma and memory
In this free course, The First World War: trauma and memory, you will study the subject of physical and mental trauma, its treatments and its representation. You will focus not only on the trauma experienced by combatants but also the effects of the First World War on civilian populations.
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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 ...