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
History of reading tutorial 2: The reading and reception of literary texts – a case study of Robinson Crusoe
How have famous books been read and received by audiences in the past? This free course, History of reading tutorial 2: The reading and reception of literary texts a case study of Robinson Crusoe, is the second tutorial in a series designed to help users of the UK Reading Experience Database (UK RED) search, browse and use this resource, and ...
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level 3: advanced icon
History & The Arts
Voice-leading analysis of music 3: the background
The music of Mozart has been used to examine the foreground and middleground of harmony in free courses AA314_1 and AA314_2. In this free course, Voice-leading analysis of music 3: the background, you will use Beethoven's Eighth Symphony to consider the largest-scale stage of voice-leading analysis.
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level 3: advanced icon
History & The Arts
Helen Langdon's ‘Caravaggio’
Accounts of Caravaggio's life are filled with suggestions of murder and intrigue. But does knowing more about this dark artist's experiences help us to interpret his art? Or does understanding his motivations cloud their true meaning? This free course, Helen Langdon's 'Caravaggio', explores the biographical monograph, one of the most common ...
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level 3: advanced icon
History & The Arts
Exploring a Romano-African city: Thugga
From Rome to Pompeii and Ephesus the excavation of Roman remains is well known, but what of Roman remains in Africa? This free course, Exploring a Romano-African city: Thugga, looks at the Roman city of Thugga and examines the influence that Roman architecture and art had on Africa and its people.
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level 3: advanced icon
History & The Arts
Voice-leading analysis of music 2: the middleground
This free course, Voice-leading analysis of music 2: the middleground, continues our examination of 'voice-leading' or 'Schenkerian' analysis, perhaps the most widely used and discussed method of analysing tonal music. In this course, this method is explained through the analysis of piano sonatas by Mozart. The course is the second in the AA314 ...
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level 3: advanced icon
History & The Arts
Voice-leading analysis of music 1: the foreground
This free course, Voice-leading analysis of music 1: the foreground, introduces 'voice-leading' or 'Schenkerian' analysis, perhaps the most widely used and discussed method of analysing tonal music. In this course, this method is explained through the analysis of piano sonatas by Mozart. The course is the first in the AA314 series of three ...
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level 3: advanced icon
History & The Arts
Reception of music in cross-cultural perspective
Music is created to be performed, in most cases for an audience, whether in a concert hall, at a street fair or through a radio. But how those listeners receive a piece or style of music influences future music production. This free course, Reception of music in cross-cultural perspective, explores how audience reception, changing social ...
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level 3: advanced icon
History & The Arts
Minds and mental phenomena: an introduction
This free course, Minds and mental phenomena: an introduction, examines the philosophical questions surrounding the mind. You will examine how beliefs have changed over the centuries and be able to contrast the views of Descartes with more modern ideas.
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level 2: intermediate icon
History & The Arts
The repute and reality of being a Roman emperor
The Roman emperor had key relationships with several differing groups within the Roman empire, including the senate, the populace of Rome, the army and the provinces. This free course, The repute and reality of being a Roman emperor, will focus on exploring the emperor's relationship with the provinces and will show you how this relationship was...
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level 3: advanced icon
History & The Arts
Emotion: an introductory picture
What is emotion? This free course, Emotion: an introductory picture, takes a philosophical approach to this question in an attempt to understand why people respond to events in a certain way. Is there a difference between an emotion and a bodily feeling or is one a consequence of the other?
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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.
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level 3: advanced icon
History & The Arts
Language and thought: introducing representation
How does what you say come to mean something? Does what you say inherently represent what you, the speaker, think it means, whatever that might be, or does what you say carry its own meaning, separate from your intentions in saying it? This free course, Language and thought: introducing representation, introduces you to the key questions about ...