Our Courses

The Music of the Rolling Stones, 1962-1974

The Music of the Rolling Stones, 1962-1974

This course will survey the music of the Rolling Stones, beginning with the roots and first formation of the band in the early 1960s, and following the group through the release of It's Only Rock 'n' Roll in late 1974.

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  • 14 hours
  • English
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Religion and Thought in Modern China: the Song, Jin, and Yuan

Religion and Thought in Modern China: the Song, Jin, and Yuan

This sequence of four courses will propose a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of Chinese cultural history conceived of as a succession of modes of rationality (philosophical, bureaucratic, and economic). The focus will be on the moments of paradigm shift from one mode of rationality to another.

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  • 28 hours
  • English
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Intimacy of Creativity: Entering the Minds of Composers

Intimacy of Creativity: Entering the Minds of Composers

Bright Sheng guides us through three works — by Brahms, Beethoven, and Sheng — for an intimate look inside the composer's mind. This course strives to give students a new appreciation of music, based on an understanding of the craft behind each work. This class is perfect for those wanting to gain a unique perspective on the creative process of music composition, while challenging traditional notions of how composers approach formal structure, melody, and harmony. Week 1 focuses on the question “what is melody?”, and on the meticulous design of Brahms's Intermezzo, op. 118, no. 2.

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  • 5 hours
  • English
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Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas Part 2

Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of Exploring Beethoven's Piano Sonatas! I'm delighted to launch another set of new lectures of this course as Part 2. As before, this class is meant for people of all levels of experience with Beethoven's music (including no experience at all!). Remember that you are able to watch the lectures as many times as you like, at whatever pace is comfortable for you. As I’ve done with the first set of Beethoven lectures, I look forward to meeting with students—online and in person, in various cities.

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  • English
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The Changing Landscape of Ancient Rome. Archaeology and History of the Palatine Hill

The Changing Landscape of Ancient Rome. Archaeology and History of the Palatine Hill

Studying ancient - as well as medieval or modern - cities basically means telling local urban stories based on the reconstruction of changing landscapes through the centuries. Given the fragmentary nature of archaeological evidence, it is necessary to create new images that would give back the physical aspect of the urban landscape and that would bring it to life again. We are not just content with analyzing the many elements still visible of the ancient city.

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  • 9 hours
  • English
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Exploring Beethoven's Piano Sonatas Part 4

Exploring Beethoven's Piano Sonatas Part 4

Please join us for Part 4 of Exploring Beethoven's Piano Sonatas course, taught by Curtis faculty member and extraordinary concert artist, Jonathan Biss. This course is new and contains separate sets of lectures and sonatas that we not previously discussed. Specifically, in Part 4, we will cover Beethoven's Piano Sonatas Op. 2, No. 2, Op. 10, No. 3, Op. 28 and Op. 110. As with the other three Beethoven courses, it is not necessary to have taken the previous Exploring Beethoven's Piano Sonatas courses.

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  • 5 hours
  • English
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The Rooseveltian Century

The Rooseveltian Century

This course uses the lives, ideals and achievements of Theodore, Franklin, and Eleanor Roosevelt to create the idea of a Rooseveltian century. It is about doing research, analyzing primary sources, and connecting all this information with a coherent and logical interpretation. It is an invitation to think critically and historically, and it wants to give you a glimpse of what it means to be a historian at work. We are convinced that the three Roosevelts – the 3Rs, as we will refer to them throughout this course – profoundly shaped the twentieth century.

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  • 16 hours
  • English
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Science and Technology in the Silla Cultural Heritage

Science and Technology in the Silla Cultural Heritage

Science and Technology in the Silla Heritage The course explores the scientific and technological aspects of the cultural heritage of Silla, an ancient dynasty in Korea, and its relationship with other ancient civilizations in the world. The lecture series will cover major cultural heritage of Silla: Bulguksa, Seokguram, Cheomseongdae, Poseokjeong, the Sacred Bell of Great King Seongdeok, and metallurgy. Modern development in science and technology occurred mostly in the West.

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  • 6 hours
  • English
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The Modern World, Part Two: Global History since 1910

The Modern World, Part Two: Global History since 1910

This is a survey of modern history from a global perspective. Part Two begins early in the twentieth century, as older ways of doing things and habits of thought give way. What follows is an era of cataclysmic struggles over what ideas and institutions will take their place. The course concludes in the present day, as communities everywhere are transitioning into a new era of world history. Again we work hard to grasp what is happening and ask: Why? Again we are drawn to pivotal choices made at key moments by individuals and communities.

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  • 21 hours
  • English
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Journey of the Universe: The Unfolding of Life

Journey of the Universe: The Unfolding of Life

Journey of the Universe weaves together the discoveries of the evolutionary sciences together with humanities such as history, philosophy, art, and religion. The course draws on the Emmy-award winning film, Journey of the Universe, and the book from Yale University Press. Journey explores cosmic evolution as a creative process based on connection, interdependence, and emergence. It examines a range of dynamic interactions in the unfolding of galaxies, Earth, life, and human communities.

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  • 24 hours
  • English
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Richard Schechner's Introduction to Performance Studies

Richard Schechner's Introduction to Performance Studies

Performance Studies: An Introduction explores the wide world of performance--from theatre, dance, and music to ritual, play, political campaigns, social media, and the performances of everyday life. Performance studies also ranges across cultures--Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, the Americas. And it spans historical periods from the art of the paleolithic caves to YouTube and the avantgarde. This course is devised by Richard Schechner, one of the pioneers of performance studies, in dialogue with more than a dozen expert scholars and artists.

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  • 25 hours
  • English
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Finding Your Professional Voice: Confidence & Impact

Finding Your Professional Voice: Confidence & Impact

Individuals have a great capacity for vocal expression but most people haven’t had the opportunity to explore and develop it. By the end of this course learners will have gained knowledge of how the voice works, had a chance to experiment with different ways of speaking, and increased their confidence in their vocal expression. This course is aimed at beginners but can serve as a useful ‘tune up’ for those that have some experience in this area or those that want to build upon prior learning. The only prerequisite is to be curious about voice in action and public speaking.

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  • 10 hours
  • English
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Race, Gender, and Culture

Race, Gender, and Culture

This course will explore baseball through the lenses of race, gender, and culture. For good and for ill, baseball has been at the forefront of how the United States has dealt with these issues. Does baseball leading the way with desegregation negate that the sport was at the forefront of segregation with its Gentlemen’s Agreements? What is the historical legacy of baseball providing opportunities for women during wartime, in a way that other North American professional sports leagues did not? These are some of the ideas that this course will explore as it shows baseball’s virtues and flaws.

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  • 10 hours
  • English
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Concept Art for Video Games

Concept Art for Video Games

In this course we will talk about Concept Art. As a final project we will create a fully finished environment concept, ready for presentation. Throughout the 4 week modules will dive deeply into composition and digital painting techniques to bring your art skills to the next level! So, let's get started!

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  • 6 hours
  • English
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William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night: Comedy, Conflict, and Community

William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night: Comedy, Conflict, and Community

This course introduces and explores William Shakespeare’s classic comedy, Twelfth Night. Interviews with actors who appeared in the Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s 2019 production of Twelfth Night, as well as lectures by scholars and theater professionals who work and teach at the University of Colorado Boulder, offer students insight into Shakespeare’s artistic vision and its applications.

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  • 26 hours
  • English
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Writing in First Person Point of View

Writing in First Person Point of View

If you have always wanted to tell your own story—in a memoir, first-person essay, or any other form of autobiographical non-fiction—but felt you lacked the tools or the framework, this is the class for you. We will learn how successful first-person writing is structured to offer the reader a sense of propulsive motion, and is guided by a narrator who is deliberately crafted. We will explore the ways in which language can be used to create tone, so that the emotional freight of your words is as potent as the storytelling.

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  • 6 hours
  • English
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Coexistence in Medieval Spain: Jews, Christians, and Muslims

Coexistence in Medieval Spain: Jews, Christians, and Muslims

This course explores Jewish, Christian, and Muslim intercultural relations in Iberia from the Visigothic era (6th century CE) until the creation of Queen Isabel I and King Ferdinand II Catholic Spain (late 15th century). We evaluate the many identities of the peninsula known as Christian Hispania, Jewish Sefarad, and Islamic al-Andalus. We trace the origins and trajectory of conflict between these communities (the Muslim conquest of Spain, Christian Reconquista, prohibitions blocking intermixing of peoples, and expulsions).

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  • 27 hours
  • English
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Introduction to Ancient Egypt and Its Civilization

Introduction to Ancient Egypt and Its Civilization

Colossal pyramids, imposing temples, golden treasures, enigmatic hieroglyphs, powerful pharaohs, strange gods, and mysterious mummies are features of Ancient Egyptian culture that have fascinated people over the millennia. The Bible refers to its gods, rulers, and pyramids. Neighboring cultures in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean wrote about its god-like kings and its seemingly endless supply of gold.

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  • 8 hours
  • English
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Feminism and Social Justice

Feminism and Social Justice

"Feminism and Social Justice" is an adaptation of Distinguished Professor Bettina Aptheker's long-running course at UC Santa Cruz. In the course, Professor Aptheker presents a broad definition of feminism that serves to frame three significant events in the history of feminism and social justice: the Empire Zinc strike of 1951, the 1971-1972 trial of Angela Davis, and the #metoo Movement.

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  • 9 hours
  • English
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The Making of Modern Ukraine

The Making of Modern Ukraine

Ukraine must have existed as a society and polity on 23 February 2022, else Ukrainians would not have collectively resisted Russian invasion the next day. What does it mean for a nation to exist? Is this a matter of structures, actions, or both? Why has the existence of Ukraine occasioned such controversy? In what ways are Polish, Russian, and Jewish self-understanding dependent upon experiences in Ukraine? Just how and when did a modern Ukrainian nation emerge? For that matter, how does any modern nation emerge? Why some and not others?

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  • 24 hours
  • English
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Story and Narrative Development for Video Games

Story and Narrative Development for Video Games

In this course, you will examine how storytelling acts as a vital mechanism for driving video gameplay forward. Looking at several historical and contemporary games, you will be asked to evaluate and interpret different story styles with the goal of identifying themes and procedures for your own game ideas. We'll examine traditional narrative story processes, such as three-act structure, and how they fit into game story flows and the strategic elements of gameplay. Ultimately, you will learn how to define character, setting, and structure to create a compelling game concept.

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  • 12 hours
  • English
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Roman Art and Archaeology

Roman Art and Archaeology

The objective of this course is to provide an overview of the culture of ancient Rome beginning about 1000 BCE and ending with the so-called "Fall of Rome". We will look at some of the key people who played a role in Rome, from the time of the kings through the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. We will also focus on the city of Rome itself, as well as Rome's expansion through Italy, the Mediterranean, and beyond.

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  • 23 hours
  • English
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Toledo: Deciphering Secrets of Medieval Spain

Toledo: Deciphering Secrets of Medieval Spain

This course evaluates the medieval history of Toledo from the era of the Visigoth Kingdom (6th-8th centuries) through its Islamic period (8th to 11th centuries) and into its reintegration into Christian Spain (after 1085 c.e.) In particular, we take note of the cultural and religious transformations that characterized the city with a special effort to understand how many peoples and religions came to settle and live amongst one another.

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  • 37 hours
  • English
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Archaeology and Heritage of Africa

Archaeology and Heritage of Africa

This course was funded by the German Foreign Office and developed by the German Archaeological Institute (DAI), in collaboration with the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), the Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behavior (ICArEHB) in Portugal, and the Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique, with input from experts around the world. Africa has a rich cultural heritage spanning tens of thousands of years, including the earliest known fossils of our hominin ancestors, abundant and diverse rock art sites, and some of the oldest civilizations in human history.

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  • 17 hours
  • English
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Indigenous Canada

Indigenous Canada

Indigenous Canada is a 12-lesson Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from the Faculty of Native Studies that explores the different histories and contemporary perspectives of Indigenous peoples living in Canada. From an Indigenous perspective, this course explores complex experiences Indigenous peoples face today from a historical and critical perspective highlighting national and local Indigenous-settler relations.

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  • 21 hours
  • English
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