If you've been inspired by hearing about more than a 1,000 years of childhood, the Open University has a selection of courses to take your inspiration and interest further.

If the programmes have attracted you because of your interest in the changing nature of childhood and the position of children and young people in society today then the following Openings course may be for you. There's an overview course on the arts, including poetry and history and a course specifically on children

Opening courses
Making Sense of the Arts (Y160)
This course introduces some of the key ideas and ways of thinking involved in studying the arts and humanities. It explores several different areas of study including poetry, history, art history, philosophy and religious studies.

Understanding Children (Y156)
A course focusing on children up to the age of 11, Understanding Children follows a family growing up in the modern world and considers the choices and rights of the children.

Details of all the OU's Openings courses can be found on their Openings courses page.

If you want to study but don’t want to commit to a full undergraduate course one of the OU’s short courses could be perfect for you.

Short Courses
Start Writing Family History (A173)
This 12-week online course helps you interpret and write about family history. Using sources from different historical periods, you will investigate the changing nature of the family and write about your own family history, examining the ways in which the past is remembered and represented.

Longer Courses and Qualifications
Open University courses are the main 'building blocks' of our qualifications. You can take a single course or take several to build towards an Open University diploma or degree. If the historical dimension of The Invention of Childhood attracts you and you'd like to explore opportunities within the arts and humanities the following courses may be of interest:

Introduction to the Humanities (A103)
You will get from this course a lively and varied grounding in the eight disciplines in the Arts Faculty: art history, literature, music, philosophy, classical studies, history, religious studies, and history of science. The subjects are introduced in attractive case studies combined with multidisciplinary sections on the French Revolution and the 1960s. The course will help you to express yourself more clearly and develop the reading, analysis and interpretation skills you need before moving on to more specialised courses at higher level. It is not necessary to have studied in this area before.

An Introduction to the Social Sciences (DD100)
The social sciences are about people, how they act individually and collectively. This course tackles everyday issues in an approachable and accessible way, so that you can build on what you already know and draw on your own experience. You will understand some of the big issues in the contemporary world, such as changes in family, work and identity; risk and the environment; and the impact of globalisation. Course texts and carefully structured workbooks help you to improve your study skills.

Working with Children in the Early Years (E123)
Designed for people already working in an Early Years environment, this course looks at practice in relation to working with young children and adults - including parents and carers - and explores how young children develop and learn.

Supporting Children's Learning in the Early Years (E124)
Intended for people working in an early years environment, this course focuses on the student's role in working with young children including those identified as gifted or talented, those with special educational needs and those who have English as an additional language.

Childhood (U212)
What does childhood mean in today’s world? Do popular images of children as innocent and dependent match the reality of young people’s lives at home, in school and in work? In what ways is childhood affected by poverty, ill-health and adversity? Do children have different rights from adults, and if so why? How are modern lifestyles and technologies altering their play and their identities? What are children's own roles in shaping their childhood? These are some of the questions considered in this interdisciplinary introduction to childhood and youth studies, covering ages from birth to 18 and including video case studies in three contrasting parts of the world.

Exploring History: Medieval to Modern 1400-1900 (A200)
This course provides an introduction to historical study and will teach you the techniques of professional historians. Core topics are: France, England and Burgundy in the Fifteenth Century; The European Reformation; the Civil Wars of the British Isles c.1620–1690; Slavery and Freedom c.1650–1830; Creating Nations in the Nineteenth Century; and Nations and Imperialism c.1870–1900. These topics are linked by common themes, which enable you to study a long chronological period.

From Enlightenment to Romanticism c.1780-1830 (A207)
This interdisciplinary course explores the epoch-making transition from Enlightenment to Romanticism through the study of texts which include: music, philosophical and scientific writings, poetry, paintings and architecture by figures as diverse as Mozart, Rousseau, Humphry Davy, Byron, Goethe, Schubert and Delacroix, and topics as varied as Napoleon, religious revival, African exploration and slavery, the Lake District, New Lanark, the Soane Museum and Brighton Pavilion.

Medicine and Society in Europe 1500 - 1930 (A218)
This course traces developments in medicine from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century, showing how a heritage of medical thought and practice inherited from classical Greece gradually became a recognisably modern medicine. It aims to set medicine in its social, political and economic contexts, looking at the patient’s changing experience of illness, their access to care, and the role and identity of healers across Europe. It shows how western medicine interacted with ideas from contemporary science, religion, and other systems of thought. The course provides a fascinating introduction to the last five centuries of medical history.

These and other courses can be combined to lead to either a BA degree in history or a BA degree in childhood and youth studies.
See our courses page. Clicking on the individual course titles will take you to a description of that course.

If you already have an honours degree and are interested in studying history for a masters degree, take a look at our MA in history page.