Weekly Evening Courses - Arts and Humanities

We very much look forward to welcoming both new and returning students to the University of Southampton. 

We would like to advise that you will need to have the appropriate technology and suitable internet connection in place, as we will be making use of online materials. At Southampton, we use a virtual learning environment (VLE) called Blackboard which is used to deliver learning materials and real-time online teaching for our students.

Ethics in the World: Is the weight of being bearable? Existentialism through the lens of Heidegger, Sartre and Camus (Online)

Does existence precede essence? Is there such a thing as human nature? Are we condemned to freedom? This course offers an overview of three 20th century philosophers in the European existentialist tradition. We will begin by exploring the cultural background through philosophers and writers including Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Husserl. We will then explore the philosophy of Heidegger in his work ‘Being and Time’. Next we will explore Sartre’s existentialism including the ideas of ‘bad faith’, ‘anguish’ and ‘freedom'. Finally we will explore Albert Camus’ absurdism through the novella ‘The Stranger’ and the philosophical work ‘The myth of Sisyphus’.

This 6-week course will take place online from 7pm to 9pm on the following Monday evenings:-

28 April, 12 May, 19 May, 02 June, 9 June and 16 June 2025

Please see our price list below:

• Standard price - £115.00
• Staff/student/alumni price - £100.00

Please note: if you select the staff or student price option, you must use an online store account that has been set up with your University email address and fill out your University staff or student ID number when prompted as part of the questionnaire data section.

When booking a course please do consult our Terms and Conditions which set out our cancellation and refund policy. 

Payment using the Online Store can only be completed via Visa and Mastercard Credit/Debit Card or PayPal.  AMEX is not accepted.
If you have not previously created an account for the Online Store, you will need to create an account to make a booking.

We very much look forward to welcoming both new and returning students to the University of Southampton.

We would like to advise that you will need to have the appropriate technology and suitable internet connection in place, as we will be making use of online materials. At Southampton, we use a virtual learning environment (VLE) called Blackboard which is used to deliver learning materials and real-time online teaching for our students.

Exploring Histories of Conflict
‘Sung up and down by minstrels’: The Soundscape of Discord in Seventeenth Century England (online).

Perhaps you enjoy the chamber music of Henry Purcell, the intimate lute settings of John Dowland, or the grand masses of William Byrd – but have you ever heard the performance of a libellous ballad, the ear-splitting clamour of rough music, or considered the meaning of a Black Sanctus? 

Welcome to the bizarre, noisy, and thought-provoking sound-world of seventeenth century English discord, in which music could be harnessed as a powerful weapon in the destruction of individual or collective authority. 

Discover how new technologies facilitated the spread of libel and misinformation in musical form; how composers of libellous song earnt grizzly punishments, and how, unlike other tools of combat, music provided a potent means of perpetuating slander, calling on ridicule, gossip and rumour to publicly disgrace its victims. 

Throughout this course, we bring the murky underbelly of seventeenth-century musical discord into the twenty-first, as we consider what the clamour of the past can reveal about how we regulate social behaviour, express dissent and engage in political debate today. 

Weekly topics will include: Slander and Libel: Politics and War; Crime and Punishment; Rituals; and Hearth and Home.

This course will take place online on Tuesday evenings from 7pm to 9pm starting on Tuesday 29th April and finishing on Tuesday 3rd June 2025.

Please see our price list below:

Standard price - £115.00
Staff/student/alumni price - £100.00

Unfortunately, you can only select the staff or student price option if you are a current or alumni student of the University or staff member.

When booking a course please do consult our Terms and Conditions which set out our cancellation and refund policy.

Payment using the Online Store can only be completed via Visa and Mastercard Credit/Debit Card or PayPal.  AMEX is not accepted.
If you have not previously created an account for the Online Store, you will need to create an account to make a booking.

We very much look forward to welcoming both new and returning students to the University of Southampton.

We would like to advise that you will need to have the appropriate technology and suitable internet connection in place, as we will be making use of online materials. At Southampton, we use a virtual learning environment (VLE) called Blackboard which is used to deliver learning materials and real-time online teaching for our students.

Exploring Histories of Conflict: Capturing Conflict: Exploring the history of war photography

From Roger Fenton’s use of a horse-drawn ‘photography van’ to capture the Crimean War (1853-1856) through grainy black and white images to the moment-to-moment documentation afforded by smartphones today, photographs have fundamentally shaped our understanding of modern war. In this course, students will learn how photography and the role of photographers has evolved in the context of conflicts. This will include consideration of what has made certain photographs iconic and the impact of censorship, innovation, and changing norms on what captures the public’s imagination. War photography is part of the broader story about how visual documentation informs and influences perceptions about political events, and this course will encourage you to think critically about what role the increasing democratisation of information and technology plays in this story. Using a broad selection of reading and photographs, each session will highlight the various perspectives that have historically determined what we see of war via editorial and curatorial selection, and you will have the opportunity to visually analyse images as well as engage in free-ranging discussions. Weekly topics will include: the early days of photography; propaganda and censorship; photographing protest movements; humanitarian photography and the 24-hour news cycle; and photography in the Digital Age.

This 6-week course will take place at the Avenue Campus on Thursday evenings from 6:30pm to 8:30pm startting on 1st May and finishing on 5th June 2025.

Please see our price list below:

Standard price - £115.00
Staff/student/alumni price - £100.00

Unfortunately, you can only select the staff or student price option if you are a current or alumni student of the University or staff member.

When booking a course please do consult our Terms and Conditions which set out our cancellation and refund policy. 

Payment using the Online Store can only be completed via Visa and Mastercard Credit/Debit Card or PayPal.  AMEX is not accepted.
If you have not previously created an account for the Online Store, you will need to create an account to make a booking.

We very much look forward to welcoming both new and returning students to the University of Southampton. Unless otherwise stated, all courses will be taught in person at our Avenue Campus.

We would like to advise that you will need to have the appropriate technology and suitable internet connection in place, as we will be making use of online materials. At Southampton, we use a virtual learning environment (VLE) called Blackboard which is used to deliver learning materials and real-time online teaching for our students.

The Spaghetti Western: The good, the bad and the beautiful 

This course is perfect for both the devoted fans of the genre and complete newcomers.

Initially criticized for being a cheap imitation of the American western, the 1960s Italian western subverted and revolutionized the genre. Introducing irony, cynicism, black humour, sadistic violence, cartoonish action, and leftist overtones, it became a world phenomenon. It kept on surprising the public with its gradually increasing eccentricity, while also mirroring its troubled historical times, defined by growing crime and unemployment rates, riots, police brutality and corruption scandals.

This course evaluates the spaghetti western in all its glory. It focuses on its unusual evolution and historical context, but also enormous flexibility which resulted in the production of truly peculiar hybrids, combining the western with the elements of gothic horror or the kung-fu film. We will discuss the most famous and the most obscure spaghetti westerns in equal matters, using numerous film extracts to illustrate the analysed content.

This course will take place on Wednesday evenings from 7pm to 9pm starting on 30 April 2025 and finishing on 04 June 2025.

Please see our price list below:

Standard price - £115.00
Staff/student/alumni price - £100.00

Please note: if you select the staff/student/alumni price option, you must use an online store account that has been set up with your University email address and fill out your University staff, student or alumni ID number when prompted as part of the questionnaire data section.

When booking a course please do consult our Terms and Conditions which set out our cancellation and refund policy.

(Photo credit - Taylor Brandon, Unsplash)

Payment using the Online Store can only be completed via Visa and Mastercard Credit/Debit Card or PayPal.  AMEX is not accepted.
If you have not previously created an account for the Online Store, you will need to create an account to make a booking.

We very much look forward to welcoming both new and returning students to the University of Southampton. 

A Study of Women Artists: 16th to 21st Century

This practical art course will help develop analytical and creative skills by reflecting on major art movements.

The Art world has seen a remarkable range of successful female visual artists over the centuries. Their journey, so often a poignant tale of struggle, is inspiring. This 8-week course will examine the achievement of women painters in a diverse range of styles, tracking the story of art from 16th to 21st Century. It will enable students to make practical experiments in a range of genres, including Portraiture, Still Life, Landscape and Abstraction with a series of practical exercises involving drawing materials, paint and collage, using own references.

Aims and learning outcomes

On successful completion of the module you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of Female Art as illustrated by various artists including Evelyn de Morgan and Bridget Riley and will gain mastery of drawing, painting and mixed media techniques in order to develop personal art projects in a range of genres, building on artists’ examples.

This 8-week course will take place in person on Tuesday evenings from 7pm to 9pm starting on 29th April 2025 and finishing on 17th June 2025.

Please see our price list below:

• Standard price - £145.00
• Staff/student/alumni price - £125.00

Please note: if you select the staff/student/alumni price option, you must use an online store account that has been set up with your University email address and fill out your University staff, student or alumni ID number when prompted as part of the questionnaire data section.

When booking a course please consult our Terms and Conditions which set out our cancellation and refund policy.

Payment using the Online Store can only be completed via Visa and Mastercard Credit/Debit Card or PayPal.  AMEX is not accepted.
If you have not previously created an account for the Online Store, you will need to create an account to make a booking.

We very much look forward to welcoming new and returning students to the University of Southampton. Unless otherwise stated, all courses will be taught in person at our Avenue Campus

We would like to advise that you will need to have the appropriate technology and suitable internet connection in place, as we will be making use of online materials. At Southampton, we use a virtual learning environment (VLE) called Blackboard which is used to deliver learning materials and real-time online teaching for our students.

The Art of Film: Learn how to make a film in six steps, from script to editing

This intensive course takes place over a weekend, during which you will learn how to create a short film or a short audio-visual project, from theory to practice. 

The sessions will focus on different aspects of cinematography, namely six fundamentals of filmmaking: from step one, which is the script, to the last step, which is the editing and post-production.

The course begins with an introduction to the basics of scriptwriting. Then we focus on film direction and outstanding filmmakers, before moving on to learn about camera and photography operations and terminology.

Next, we examine artistic surroundings and aesthetics of cinema illustrated by examples from Art films and directors.

Finally, we cover the meticulous process of editing and post-production. This includes an opportunity for hands-on practise. By the end of the course you should be able to create your own project, using the very basic of tools, either in class or at home.

The course is organised over one weekend on the following dates and times:-

• Friday 11 April - 18:00 to 20:00
• Saturday 12 April - 10:00 to 16:00
• Sunday 13 April - 10:00 to 16:00

Please see our price list below:

• Standard price - £115.00
• Staff/student/alumni price - £100.00

Please note: if you select the staff/student/alumni price option, you must use an online store account that has been set up with your University email address and fill out your University staff, student or alumni ID number when prompted as part of the questionnaire data section.

When booking a course please do consult our Terms and Conditions which set out our cancellation and refund policy. Please note, that should we need to move teaching online, you will not be entitled to any refund other than those already set out in our Terms and Conditions.

Payment using the Online Store can only be completed via Visa and Mastercard Credit/Debit Card or PayPal.  AMEX is not accepted.
If you have not previously created an account for the Online Store, you will need to create an account to make a booking.

We very much look forward to welcoming both new and returning students to the University of Southampton. 

We would like to advise that you will need to have the appropriate technology and suitable internet connection in place, as we will be making use of online materials. At Southampton, we use a virtual learning environment (VLE) called Blackboard which is used to deliver learning materials and real-time online teaching for our students.

The Art of Philosophical Thinking: Mind, Consciousness and Personal Identity (Online)

Who am I? What is my purpose in life?

Join us in search of answers to this and many other questions about what it is that make you, you. This thematic course offers an exploration of the mind, what it is, and how it is structured. We will introduce you to key ideas on consciousness, subjective experience, and ‘the mind-body problem’. You will engage with the work of philosophers such as Wittgenstein, to help you wrestle with some of the most critical questions in the philosophy of mind and key concepts that inform this field.

Please note: if you select the staff or student price option, you must use an online store account that has been set up with your University email address and fill out your University staff or student ID number when prompted as part of the questionnaire data section.

(Image credit: Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash)

This 6-week course will take place online on Thursday evenings from 6pm to 8pm starting on
1 May 2025 and finishing on 5 June 2025.

Please see our price list below:

• Standard price - £115.00
• Staff/student/alumni price - £100.00

When booking a course please do consult our Terms and Conditions which set out our cancellation and refund policy. 

Payment using the Online Store can only be completed via Visa and Mastercard Credit/Debit Card or PayPal.  AMEX is not accepted.
If you have not previously created an account for the Online Store, you will need to create an account to make a booking.

We very much look forward to welcoming both new and returning students to the University of Southampton. 

We would like to advise that you will need to have the appropriate technology and suitable internet connection in place, as we will be making use of online materials. At Southampton, we use a virtual learning environment (VLE) called Blackboard which is used to deliver learning materials and real-time online teaching for our students.

The Serious Pleasures of Literary Reading: Women's Writing Through Time (Online)

Time travel with us on a journey to discover how women’s writing has developed over the centuries. What were the social conditions in which women wrote? How did changes in laws and different movements lead to a rise in women’s writings?

Please note: if you select the staff or student price option, you must use an online store account that has been set up with your University email address and fill out your University staff or student ID number when prompted as part of the questionnaire data section.

This 6-week course will take place online on Tuesday evenings from 7pm to 9pm starting on
29 April 2025 and finishing on Tuesday 3 June 2025.

Please see our price list below:

• Standard price - £115.00
• Staff/student/alumni price - £100.00

When booking a course please do consult our Terms and Conditions which set out our cancellation and refund policy.

(Image credit: wayhomestudio at Freepik.com)

The course will start by discussing the writings of Jane Austen and her continued influence today. It will then move on to the Victorian writers such as Mary Shelley and the Brontë sisters. In later weeks we will engage with an overview of the three waves of feminism, exploring what each of these feminist waves entailed and the writing that emerged as a result. A slight detour takes us into the world of women writing crime fiction, with a focus on Agatha Christie, to consider women writing in an often male-dominated genre. Wide ranging and varied, this course will open up new perspectives on some of literature’s greatest female writers.

Payment using the Online Store can only be completed via Visa and Mastercard Credit/Debit Card or PayPal.  AMEX is not accepted.
If you have not previously created an account for the Online Store, you will need to create an account to make a booking.