Courses

Embark on a global journey to explore the past, present, and future of world literature.

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.

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

An overview of divination systems, ranging from ancient Chinese bone burning to modern astrology.

Learn how to read William Shakespeare's plays through his biography, Elizabethan and Jacobean history, and modern performance.

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

Explore the birth of modern China with a focus on the time between the fall of the Qing and the end of World War II.

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

Explore the Maoist period of China, from the Communist Party to the death of Mao and the reopening of China.

Explore what makes cities energizing, amazing, challenging, and perhaps humanity’s greatest invention.

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

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

Discover Handel’s Messiah in this installment of First Nights, which will explore five masterpieces of western music.

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

Explore the ethical controversies of financial markets.

Apply tools of single-variable calculus to create and analyze mathematical models used by real practitioners in social, life, and physical sciences.

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.

Traces Albert Einstein’s engagement with relativity, quantum mechanics, Nazism, nuclear weapons, philosophy, the arts, and technology.

Join Harvard faculty in this online course to discover the physical history of the Jewish bible.

Gain an understanding of history, museum studies, and curation by looking at, organizing, and interpreting art, artifacts, scientific curiosities, and the stuff of everyday life.

Gain critical communication skills in writing and public speaking with this introduction to American political rhetoric.

Learn about the Qin and Han dynasties, and how Buddhism and ideas of self-realization influenced the medieval period.

An exploration of the dynamics of contemporary China using the tools of close reading, discussion, and analysis.

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

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

Learn simple graphical rules that allow you to use intuitive pictures to improve study design and data analysis for causal inference.

Explore the archaeology, history, art, and hieroglyphs surrounding the famous Egyptian Pyramids at Giza. Learn about Old Kingdom pharaohs and elites, tombs, temples, the Sphinx, and how new technology is unlocking their secrets.

Learn about Christianity through a study of its sacred scriptures. We will explore how diverse Christians have interpreted these writings and practiced their teachings over a 2000 year, global history.

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.