Free Online Courses

Reading in the Digital Age

This course is for people from all walks of life who enjoy reading and would like to know how literary scholars understand texts in the digital age. It introduces you to a variety of ways of understanding texts. Through the course, you will become familiar with professional reading practices as well as newer, computer-driven reading skills.

Duration: 6 weeks                4 hours pw                        2 August

Exploring English: Shakespeare

This course is aimed at high school students and university students who wish to learn more about Shakespeare. The first week will look at Shakespeare's life and times. For the rest of the course, we will look closely at a different play each week. Shakespearean actors will help us explore the universal themes inRomeo and Juliet,Hamlet,The TempestandMacbeth. Our video tutor (辅导员) will guide you through the course and look at the words and phrases that Shakespeare introduced to the English language.

Duration: 6 weeks                2 hours pw                         16 July

The European Discovery of China

This course is aimed at anyone with an interest in Chinese, European or world history. It focuses on when and how the West first approached China. We will look at China's place in the world and connections to the West via the Silk Road, the rise of Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire, and finally the Ming dynasty. We'll know this period of Chinese history through the eyes of Western travellers from the 13th to the 17th century. What these Western travellers saw, what they didn't see — that's the story that we will uncover in this course.

Duration: 8 weeks                6 hours pw                         6 July