Arts and humanities courses
Arts and humanities courses. We don’t just teach, we inspire.
Exploring the depths of culture, philosophy and history has never been so accessible. Learn from experts in the field and create an everlasting bond with some of the world’s most impactful reading material. Our comprehensive arts and humanities courses offered at the University of Sydney provide students with unending knowledge that touches our roots while building towards the future.
Don’t be intimidated by our knowledgeable faculty – they know their stuff but they also understand that everyone starts somewhere, which is why we welcome inquiring minds without prejudice. Step up to unleash your inner scholar and get energised by mind-stimulating discourse amongst like-minded peers. Meet friends, form opinions and come out of it with a cultural experience you won’t soon forget!
Sign up now for your very own inspiring experience. We offer groundbreaking opportunities to unlock your intellectual potential, turning everyday people into more thoughtful citizens able to appreciate their pasts and consider their futures more deeply. So say farewell to mundane education and open your world through art and humanities today! Learn arts and humanities in Sydney with arts and humanities courses from the University of Sydney – your premier provider of short courses in Sydney and online.
Featured courses
Meet your facilitators
Craig Barker
Dr Craig Barker is an archaeologist and the Head of Public Engagement and Education for the Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney. This includes the Nicholson Collection which houses...
Mark Tredinnick
Mark Tredinnick, winner of the Montreal Poetry Prize (2011) and the Cardiff Poetry Prize (2012), is the author of The Blue Plateau, Fire Diary, and nine other acclaimed works of poetry and prose....
Featured Articles
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Philosophy. Study the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence. Machiavelli’s influence on modern political theory cannot be overstated. The Prince, his most famous work, provides an interesting lens for examining modern politics and is perhaps more relevant than ever. The term ‘Machiavellian intelligence’ refers to the principles of his political philosophy and the idea that success in politics can be secured by manging behaviours and manipulating social groups. In... View Philosophy Course: Machiavelli and Political Philosophy.
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Philosophy. Study the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence. This course on the philosophy of religion examines religious experience while borrowing from different schools of thought, including psychology, anthropology, sociology, phenomenology and political theory. Religion is central to the personal lives of many people. It is integrated in the cultural heritage of every people, and understanding it is crucial to understanding the human condition. We will delve... View Philosophy Course: Philosophy of Religion.
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Philosophy. Study the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence. Astra Taylor (2019) quipped that 'Democracy may not exist but we will miss it when it’s gone': a timely remark as the discussion grows concerning the ‘crisis of democracy’ in the current world situation. During this course, we will study the philosophical and historical roots of democratic systems; why they emerge and why they falter. We will discuss the core elements that make a democracy ‘democratic’... View Philosophy Course: Democracy.
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History. See the future. It’s in the past. The class commencing November 20, 2023 is generously extended to the community by CCE as a complimentary offering. This archaeology course will explore the history of human activity on the island of Cyprus, from the Neolithic to the modern world. The Mediterranean island of Cyprus lies at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa and is the third largest Mediterranean island. During the ten millennia of human occupation, it has developed a... View Archaeology Course: Ancient Cyprus.
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Philosophy. Study the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence. Spinoza was one of the towering philosophers of the 17th century, described by Bertrand Russell as "the noblest and most lovable of all the great philosophers". His work investigates some of the deepest questions of philosophy. He made significant contributions to understanding the human mind, the emotions, moral philosophy and politics. In this introductory course, we will focus on Spinoza’s ideas and... View Philosophy Course: Spinoza.
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Philosophy. Study the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence. In this course we look at the life and philosophy of Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797), one of the most important philosophers of her time. She critiqued the ideals of liberty, equality, fraternity as being flawed in their proclaimed universality and highlighted the gaping inconsistencies in the liberal ideas of John Locke and others. In doing so, Wollstonecraft set the agenda for liberation movements to... View Philosophy Course: Mary Wollstonecraft.
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Philosophy. Study the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence. For Heidegger “we ourselves are the entities to be analyzed” and this is both a rational, objective task and a subjective introspection on ourselves. His phenomenology of ‘lived experience’ is a corrective to the enlightenment idea of reason: “Thinking begins only when we have come to know that reason, glorified for centuries, is the stiff-necked adversary of thought”. This course will approach... View Philosophy Course: Heidegger.
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History. See the future. It’s in the past. North Africa was one of Rome’s richest provinces, and today, some of the most impressive Roman ruins are to be found not in Italy, but in North Africa. Our armchair travels will range from the city of Volubilis and other sites in Morocco, through to Algeria, where we will be examining Timgad, Lambaesis, Djemila, Tipasa and St Augustine’s town of Hippo Regius, to Tunisia, with it's Roman towns such as Dougga, Sufetula (Sbeitla) and Thyrsdus... View History Course: Roman North Africa.
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Philosophy. Study the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence. Ludwig Wittgenstein occupies a unique place in 20th Century philosophy. He brings a depth of understanding and richness of vision unparalleled in the history of modern linguistics, and profoundly influenced all 20th and 21st Centuries development in the connection between language and thought. Ludwig Wittgenstein’s project is very ambitious in scope, he hopes to show the boundary between the thinkable and... View Philosophy Course: Wittgenstein's Life, Language and Thoughts.
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Philosophy. Study the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence. What a century! There are so many towering intellects to choose from it is difficult to decide who has had the most impact on the twentieth and twenty-first century. Marx utterly transformed political theory and political reality; Darwin’s evolutionary theory has affected almost every area of science and social theory; and even if Freud’s theory of the unconscious is objectively a ‘fiction’, it became one... View Philosophy Course: The Fabulous Nineteenth Century.