Courses

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.

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.

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

A human-centered approach to the fundamentals of cell biology with a focus on the power plants of the cell - mitochondria.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Discover what makes your brain tick in this third course in our introductory series in neuroscience.

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

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

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.

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.

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

Learn about the development of 2D and 3D interactive games in this hands-on course, as you explore the design of games such as Super Mario Bros., Pokémon, Angry Birds, and more.

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

This introduction to biochemistry explores the molecules of life, starting at simple building blocks and culminating in complex metabolism.

Explore the impact of the conquest dynasties and the world of the Ming.

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 about the rich diversity of Hindu sacred texts – hymns, narratives, philosophical thought – and their interpretations.

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

Learn skills and tools that support data science and reproducible research, to ensure you can trust your own research results, reproduce them yourself, and communicate them to others.

Learn about the Earth, life, and how we can search for life elsewhere in the universe.

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

Learn about the key beliefs and practices of Judaism through an examination of its sacred texts and their interpretation.