Humanities and culture courses
Humanities and culture 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 humanities and culture 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 humanities and culture today!
Featured courses
Meet your facilitators
Robert Gay
After gaining a BA, Dip. Ed. from the University of Sydney, Robert trained as a lyric baritone in London and Munich before turning to the field of music education. He has taught music history...
John Merchant
Dr. John Merchant graduated from the University of Sydney with Honours in Zoology and Psychology. He also holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Western Sydney. His career has...
Kerry Sanders
Dr Kerry Sanders gained her PhD in Philosophy at the University of Sydney. She has taught topics including the philosophy of mind; ethics; critical thinking; political philosophy; contemporary...
Andrew Urban
Creator & interviewer, Front Up (SBS TV) Channel Host, World Movies Channel Presenter, Movies This Week, Ovation & World Movies Channels Founder and editor A career journalist, Hungarian born...
Featured Articles
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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.
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Philosophy. Study the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence. This course explores the ways in which humans embody their ideas, spirits and power relations in built environments. Some issues discussed include: architecture and the ethics of a 'good' society; the role of creativity: imaginary cities of the mind; architecture and the phenomenal body in space; and the fundamental components of architectural design. We will begin with the Roman philosopher Vitruvius.... View Philosophy Course: Philosophy of Architecture.
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Philosophy. Study the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence. Hannah Arendt wrote some of the most profound philosophy of the twentieth century. Her work is rich and subtle and she engaged critically with the key intellectual ideas of philosophical history, including: What makes humans ‘human’? What makes an ethical life? The nature of evil; How do we forgive the unforgivable? What does it mean to have ‘common sense’? What is the nature of ‘story telling’? Hannah... View Philosophy Course: Hannah Arendt.
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Philosophy. Study the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence. Music is one of the oldest forms of human expression; it delights our senses, arouses our emotions, and stimulates our mind. It has also fascinated philosophers since the Ancient Greeks, down to the present. The course will cover: The role of music in history, culture and society; The major philosophers on music; Music and human emotions; Music and the imagination; Music and politics. We will use examples... View Philosophy of Music Course.
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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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Psychology. Explore the human mind. Explore Jung’s conception of the collective unconscious, the archetypes which comprise it and their relationship to dreams and myths. Specific attention will be paid to the archetypes of the Self, Shadow, Anima/Animus, Great Mother, Father, puer aeternus, Divine Child, Hero, Wise Old Woman/Man and the coniunctio. Through awareness of these constellated figures, one is brought into contact with essential human experiences which can offer practical... View Jung and Archetypes Course.
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History. See the future. It’s in the past. The town of Pompeii, destroyed in AD79 by an eruption of Vesuvius, is one of the best preserved and best known of Roman sites, but also one of the most misrepresented. Popular accounts of the last days of Pompeii stress the sensational rather than the factual, but this study day will take a critical stance in the interpretation of the sometimes limited evidence. During the course, we will examine the scientific studies of the eruption and... View History Course: A Day in Pompeii.
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History. See the future. It’s in the past. It was at dusk on 15th October 1764 when Edward Gibbon, sitting amidst the ruins on the Capitoline Hill at Rome, first conceived the idea of writing about the decline and fall of the city. His classic work which emphasised the negative effects of autocracy, barbarism and religion, has long dominated views of the Roman Empire. More recently, historians have questioned Gibbon’s ‘good’ and ‘bad’ periods, or suggested other socio-economic... View History Course: The Decline of the Roman Empire.
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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.