Courses

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Explore the ethical controversies of financial markets.

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.

Reimagine global health problems with some of the leading global health thinkers and actors through a case-based biosocial framework.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.