Courses

Why should we care about Confucius? Explore ancient Chinese philosophy, ethics, and political theory to challenge your assumptions of what it means to be happy, live a meaningful life, and change the world.

Combine literary research with data science to find answers in unexpected ways. Learn basic coding tools to help save time and draw insights from thousands of digital documents at once.

Use the case study method to study China from the rise of Deng Xiaoping to the present.

Explore the fundamental principles that guide ethical decision-making within health care environments: patient autonomy, the obligation to do good, the obligation to avoid harm, and justice.

Learn about Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, an iconic Romantic symphony that ushered in an era of narrative “program music.”

An overview of modern Chinese history, including the fall of the Qing and the end of imperial China.

Develop skills in digital research and visualization techniques across subjects and fields within the humanities.

Learn how businesses thrive and grow while simultaneously solving some of the world's biggest challenges in this course from Harvard Business School (HBS) Online.

An in-depth look at the 1854 London cholera epidemic in Soho and its importance for the field of epidemiology.

Explore China’s imperial period, with a focus on the Song dynasty and the role of the exam system in government.

Explore acts of storytelling in Shakespeare’s Othello alongside world-class artists who interpret Othello’s story in new forms and contexts today.

Examine how cultures of the ancient world defined themselves through literature and how their vision of literature contributes to our understanding of civilization, culture, and literature today.

Learn about Beethoven’s monumental 9th Symphony and forms of orchestral music.

An exploration of the magnetic and ambivalent character of Shylock in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.

Learn the fascinating history of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, one of the most challenging and rewarding ballets ever written.

An exploration of the haunting figure at the heart of one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays.

Learn how American women created, confronted, and embraced change in the 20th century while exploring ten objects from Radcliffe’s Schlesinger Library.

This introduction to moral and political philosophy is one of the most popular courses taught at Harvard College.

Learn about Claudio Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, one of the first operas ever written.

Gain a foundational knowledge of American constitutional democracy while crafting your own civic voice and identity.

Learn how the Manchus conquered the Qing and established the last of the imperial dynasties.

Examine how great modern writers capture the intricacies of our globalized world and how their works circulate within that world to find their own audiences.

Study Japanese scroll art as text and as "little movies" that immerse the viewer through visual narration. 

Explore the ethical controversies of financial markets.

Learn about the rich and diverse beliefs and practices of Buddhists across time and place. Experience Buddhism through its scriptures, both relationally as well as academically.

Explore the reunification of China under the Tang with a focus on aristocratic culture — from poetry to calligraphy to literature.

Learn about China’s origins, its integral early thinkers, and competing states and schools of thought.

Learn about the Quran, the central sacred text of Islam, through an exploration of the rich diversity of roles and interpretations in Muslim societies.

Learn how to better understand the rich and complex ways that religions function in historic and contemporary contexts.

Learn about the forces in American politics that seek to influence the electorate and shift the political landscape.