Harvard Faculty of Arts & Sciences

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Explore how people, businesses, and governments make decisions using core economic concepts and tools.

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

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

Study Baroque and Classical opera through Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Mozart’s Don Giovanni

Facilitate Learning in the Age of AI

Taught by Harvard Professor Michael Sandel with insights from actor Michael B. Jordan

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.

Increase your quantitative reasoning skills through a deeper understanding of probability and statistics, with the engaging “Fat Chance” approach that’s made this course a favorite among learners worldwide.

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.

Live Faculty Access, Now Included

Designed for individuals and teams, this Harvard Online course taught by preeminent Harvard Professor Mahzarin Banaji teaches the science of hidden bias and strategies to counter its impact in the workplace.

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

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

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

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.

Facilitate Learning in the Age of AI

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.

Prepare your student for college-level writing now.