Humanities Courses

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Explore the ethical controversies of financial markets.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Learn how global warming impacts human health, and the ways we can diminish those impacts.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Prepare your student for college-level writing now.

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

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

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

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

Build a viable, valuable tech venture that can profitably scale in this course from Harvard Business School (HBS) Online.