Courses

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Led by Harvard Instructors and historians, you will discover China’s return to power through political, social, and economic growth in relation to other countries.