Advanced Topics

• Thematic Cultural Systems Grounded in History
  • A. Religion & Cosmology
  • B. Art & Visual Culture
  • C. Gender, Family, Body
  • D. Everyday Life & Objects
• Interpretive Lenses Used After Historical Grounding

After completing the Core (sections I–IV), move to the following two sections according to your interests:

• V. Thematic Cultural Systems
  This section lets you explore major cultural domains (religion, art, gender, everyday life) across time. Work through the subsections that interest you most, or study all of them if you want a well-rounded view.

• VI. Interpretive Lenses
  This section introduces powerful theoretical perspectives that help you ask deeper questions about culture, power, and change. Read these works after you have a solid historical foundation, and return to them as needed when analyzing specific topics.

Thematic Cultural Systems (Grounded in History)

A. Religion & Cosmology

• Harvard Pluralism Project
• BBC Religions Archive (archived content)

B. Art & Visual Culture

• Smarthistory
• MET Heilbrunn

C. Gender, Family, Body

• Open Yale: Gender History (relevant courses, e.g., Early Modern England)
• Stanford Gender History Reader (related materials; exact reader may vary)

D. Everyday Life & Objects

• British Museum Collection
• Europeana

Interpretive Lenses (Used After Historical Grounding)