From fashion history to memes about the Middle Ages. 7 short courses that are easy to take right now
Miscellaneous / / December 07, 2023
You can study not only to gain a profession, but also simply if you want to learn something new and interesting. We have compiled a selection of short-term courses that will help deepen knowledge in various areas.
1. Elementary Music Theory
This course is suitable for those who learned to play instruments in childhood, but have already forgotten everything, and for people without a musical background. Here, a theoretical basis will be given in a brief and intelligible form - from musical notation, the basics of rhythm and size to tonality, intervals, modes and chords. After the course, you will understand how to use music to evoke emotions in listeners. During training, you need to do homework, which will be checked by the teacher. And for my final work I will have to compose my first melody.
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2. Psychology: getting to know yourself and others
This basic course for beginners without special education does not replace sessions with a specialist. But it will help you find out how the psyche works and what influences our behavior and emotions. A separate block is devoted to communication: how to build healthy communication and by what parameters you can understand that you are being manipulated. With this information, it will be easier to become aware of your repetitive behavior patterns and possibly improve your quality of life.
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3. Drawing as a hobby
This is not just a course on drawing techniques, but classes aimed at developing your own style. The starting block of the program is dedicated to the development of intuition and understanding of creativity. Students will learn why people like this or that work, how not to depend on inspiration, what styles and techniques of fine art exist. During the learning process, you can create your own work. And not just a pencil or watercolor sketch, but a full-fledged work using the technique of collage or appliqué.
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4. Fashion history
This course will be of interest to those who are interested in history and sociology: important social processes can be looked at through the prism of changes in tastes in clothing. The program is also suitable for those who work in the fashion industry - from stylists to editors and authors of thematic blogs on social networks. The course does not cover the entire history of fashion, but only that part of it that originated in the 19th century along with regular fashion shows, specialized magazines and ready-to-wear department stores. The last block of training is devoted to modern trends: for example, students will learn how the trend for oversized and ugly shoes appeared.
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5. The World of the Suffering Middle Ages
You've probably seen memes with engravings and funny inscriptions on the Internet. To understand what they are really about, you can take this short and fascinating course on the history of the Middle Ages. The teachers are professors from the National Research University Higher School of Economics from the master's program "Medieval Studies". Lessons will be devoted to a variety of areas of life in this era: family and marriage, law, religion, science, the status of women, culture and urbanism. The course will also tell you how medieval ideas influenced modernity - literature, architecture, cinema and the judicial system.
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6. Start in programming
If you have been thinking about triumphantly “entering IT” for a long time, but have absolutely no idea where to start, then this short course will help you. Here they will talk about the main directions of the field, myths about the profession, the threshold for entry into different specialties and how you can use existing skills in a new job. The course includes homework and a small graduation project: you will be able to build your first game.
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7. History of cinema
The program was invented by the authors of the oldest film studies magazine in Russia, “The History of Cinema.” It is aimed at a wide audience: suitable for both enthusiastic viewers and professionals writing scripts or reviews. The training consists of 20 lectures, which cover the period from the origins of cinema at the end of the 19th century to the trends of the beginning of the 21st century. The magazine's experts will help trace the main stages in the development of this art form in the context of the history and cultural characteristics of different countries. Thus, you will learn to read the director’s handwriting, homages and Easter eggs in order to more deeply perceive both recognized film hits and rare festival masterpieces.
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