Want to know more about the stories and histories explored by the series? The Open University has a range of courses:

Introduction to the Humanities (A103)
An introductory course to a range of arts subjects. It includes an introduction to history, which will enable you to distinguish the proper study of the past from mere anecdote. It also takes in the study of paintings and architecture, listening to music, reading poetry, drama and a novel, discussing philosophy and religion, and evaluating historical sources. The historical section uses the French Revolution as a case-study.

Making sense of the Arts (Y160)
In this course you’ll explore several different areas of study including poetry, history, and art history. We’ll also advise you on general study skills. We’re not assuming that you have any recent experience of studying, just that you will have an interest in some aspect of the Arts, and that you will want to discover more.

Start Writing Family History (A173)
This short online course helps you to interpret and write about family history. It offers a guide to the principles of studying history that are a foundation for more advanced historical studies. Among other things, it will teach you about historical sources, interpreting evidence and selecting suitable examples. To get a taste of the course, you can try our Writing Family History sample

Heritage, whose heritage? (A180)
If you are passionate about any aspect of heritage, this course is for you. The course title ‘Heritage, whose heritage?’ refers to the relationship that we have to a heritage managed largely by institutions and public organisations.

The arts past and present (AA100)
This course is a broadly focused course that introduces you to university-level study in the Arts across a range of subject areas, including history, art history, philosophy, classics, history of science, religious studies, music and literature.

People's War Study Pack
The pack includes a book, The Second World War, which provides a concise account of the war, a DVD with a selection of film extracts from newsreel, documentary and feature film as well as original radio broadcasts from the period, and a Study Guide to take you through the book and the DVD.

An Introduction to the Social Sciences: Understanding Social Change (DD100)
An introductory course to the social sciences. This builds on what you already know to tackle big issues in the contemporary world, such as changes in family, work and identity, risk and the environment and the impact of globalisation. It includes sections on 'power and institutions' and 'knowledge and knowing'.

Planets: An Introduction (S196)
An introduction to planets and minor bodies in our Solar System as well as planets around other stars.

Exploring History: Medieval to Modern 1400-1900 (A200)
A second level course which looks at some of the people, places and events that were significant in the development of the modern western European and Atlantic world. The main themes of this course are state formation; beliefs and ideologies; and producers and consumers.

Understanding Media (DA204)
This second level course will help equip you with a robust and practical understanding of the main issues facing media business, governments and ourselves. It feature examinations of the way that stories are constructed and explores the question of how well they represent the world.

Princes and Peoples: France and the British Isles 1620-1714 (A220)
A second level course which takes a comparative look at France and the nations of the British Isles in the 17th century. Included is a consideration of the distance between the images of monarchs and the realities of their governments.

Exploring Psychology (DSE212)
A second level course introducing basic perspectives and methods in psychology and explaining their application in practice. One of the areas it addresses is how remembering is fundamental to everyday learning, to constructing our identities and making sense of others.

Planetary Science and the Search for Life (S283)
If you were inspired by the Space Race programme, you might be tempted by this course. It covers the origins and evolution of the solar system, planetary processes and the structure and atmospheres of planets. It also explores the search for extra-solar planets and the possibility of life existing beyond the Earth.

Europe: Cultural Identities in a Contested Continent (AA300), online version (AAZX300)
A third level interdisciplinary course which examines the complex nature of identity in today’s Europe. Among other issues, it explores the relationships amongst identity and history, religion, nation and language. It shows how different ways of remembering a shared history of war and division have contributed to different definitions of identity.

Total War and Social Change: Europe 1914-1955 (AA312)
An advanced (third level) course that looks at the relationship between war and the transformation of society in the first half of the 20th century. It involves detailed surveys, of (amongst others) the arguments about the causes of the first world war, and the nature and impact of the second world war.