Humanities Courses

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

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

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

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

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

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

This introduction to moral and political philosophy is one of the most popular courses taught at Harvard College.

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

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

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

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.

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.

Gain critical communication skills in writing and public speaking with this introduction to American political rhetoric.

Explore Chinese history and culture from the perspective of the individual through philosophical texts, literary works, and art.

An exploration of the dynamics of contemporary China using the tools of close reading, discussion, and analysis.