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
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...
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...
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. 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. 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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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. Shakespeare’s plays speak directly to us because of his depth of human understanding and his insights into the human condition. We will explore themes including love, power, revenge, ambition, evil, nobility, truth, and tragedy, through an analysis of Shakespeare’s major characters and themes. We’ll also discuss Shakespeare in the context of his time. His plays reflect the ferment of post reformation... View Philosophy Course: Introduction to Shakespeare.
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Philosophy. Study the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence. What is history? A possible definition is: History is change over time. But what kind of change are we talking about? Given that history is everything that has happened, what kind of selection processes are used to ‘make history’? Aristotle believes that what is important is not “the thing which has happened, but rather what might have happened…and may happen again”. In other words, history must... View Philosophy of History Course: Herodotus to The History Channel.
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Philosophy. Study the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence. This philosophy course explores the idea that art is not marginal to human concerns, but a key element in emotional, social and psychological life. Many philosophers have proposed that art is not only the highest human achievement but an essential realm which allows humans to imaginatively reconstruct themselves and the worlds they inhabit. From Greek tragedy to Postmodern conceptualism, we will explore... View Philosophy of Art Course: Introduction from Plato to the Postmodern.
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Psychology. Explore the human mind. Would you like to understand why and how people think, feel and behave the way they do? In this course, we will explain the nature of psychology as a scientific discipline and how it can answer this question, so that psychological knowledge can be applied to everyday life. Topics covered will include the history of psychology, personality theories, learning, child development and intelligence, psychobiology, abnormal psychology and social... View Psychology Course: An Introduction.
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Philosophy. Study the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence. In this course, we will consider the literature of Dante and the role of sex and sin in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (1387–1400). Together, we will enter into the strange world of the medieval mind, walking with angels and beasts. We will also consider the contribution of Islamic and Jewish philosophy; much of the science done in the Middle Ages comes from non-Christian thinkers. In the area of political... View Philosophy Course: The Late Middle Ages and Renaissance.
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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.