Free Humanities Courses

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

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.

An introduction to the study of bioethics and the application of legal and ethical reasoning.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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