Courses

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Learn how early American politics informed the U.S. Constitution and why its promise of liberty and equality has yet to be fully realized.

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

Explore the underlying structures of everyday arguments and develop the tools to communicate effectively.

Explore the ethical controversies of financial markets.

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.

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

This course examines the Sikh scripture from a doctrinal and historical perspective by providing an overview of Sikh teachings as well as the historical context within which the scripture evolved and became canonized.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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