2,186 search results
Making sense of art history
History & The Arts

Making sense of art history

...Introduction - In this course you'll explore a further arts discipline – art history. But why study art history? Look around you, it's likely that wherever you are you'll be able to see some images – for example, on posters, magazine covers or food packaging. It's also likely that many of these images will be intended to have some sort of effect on you. For example,...
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Level 1: Introductory 5 hrs
Lottery of birth
Health, Sports & Psychology

Lottery of birth

...Introduction - [Described image] Figure 1 By ‘birth is a lottery’ we mean that how, when and where you are born, grow up and live is so profoundly and widely unequal and that these inequalities will shape your whole life. So being born with a disability, for example, will be experienced very differently depending on when and where you are born. One viewpoint says that...
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Level 1: Introductory 12 hrs
The ethics of cultural heritage
History & The Arts

The ethics of cultural heritage

...Introduction - Cultural heritage – for example, ancient ruins or artefacts and works of art or architecture – can be very important to society. They can be valued for their beauty, their historic significance, and their religious or cultural associations. We try to protect important heritage, if we can. However, what if we had to choose between protecting heritage and...
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Level 2: Intermediate 12 hrs
Water for life
Nature & Environment

Water for life

...Introduction - This course is an introduction to chemistry concepts, using water as the main illustration. Much of the course is devoted to exploring the smallest water particle - a water molecule - what it is and how it gives rise to the particular properties of water. The course also explains powers of ten and scientific notation, which are a convenient way of...
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Level 1: Introductory 15 hrs
Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus
History & The Arts

Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus

...Introduction - This course is on Christopher Marlowe's famous play Doctor Faustus. It considers the play in relation to Marlowe's own reputation as a rule-breaker and outsider and asks whether the play criticises or seeks to arouse audience sympathy for its protagonist, who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for 24 years of power and pleasure. Is this pioneering...
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Level 2: Intermediate 15 hrs
Studying mammals: The opportunists
Nature & Environment

Studying mammals: The opportunists

...Introduction - That mammals need energy to support all aspects of their lives, be it breathing, running, excreting, repairing cells, reproducing, keeping warm, is a central, unifying theme of the 'Studying mammals' series of units. So is the notion of specialisation of diet - that mammals display adaptations, i.e. specialised teeth or complex stomachs, that enable them to...
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Level 1: Introductory 10 hrs
Rent or buy? The challenge of access to housing
Money & Business

Rent or buy? The challenge of access to housing

...Introduction - Everyone needs a place they call home. If you buy, it is likely to be the most expensive thing you ever purchase. If you take out a mortgage or decide to rent rather than buy, the mortgage instalments or rent payments are likely to be among your largest monthly outgoings. Since putting a roof over one’s head accounts for a good deal of most households’...
View course Rent or buy? The challenge of access to housing
Level 1: Introductory 8 hrs
The Empties Generation: Why did we hit peak booze in 2004
History & The Arts

The Empties Generation: Why did we hit peak booze in 2004

...introduction of a new category of drink – a drink that had origins in a culture that originally posed a threat to alcohol companies. I didn’t go to raves: as a Kentish schoolgirl I had limited desire, and even more limited means, to buy illegal drugs and dance all night in a dark field. Still, rave culture was part of my generation’s adolescence, even if the closest...
View article The Empties Generation: Why did we hit peak booze in 2004
Article 10 mins