This is an online course which requires your attendance to weekly meetings which take place online using Microsoft Teams meetings.
This short course will combine pre-recorded lectures with live, weekly, online meetings where discussion and debate will take place between students and the tutor. Visit our How our live online courses work page for full details.
The existence and sustainability of human civilisation has reached a crisis point with the convergence of the impact of a number of factors.
These include climate change, developments in biotechnology, developments in artificial intelligence, increased migration from developing to developed countries and increases in global populations.
In this context, this course will evaluate the existence of human civilisation.
Course starts: 17 April 2025
First live webinar: 24 April 2025, 17:00-18:00 (UK time)
Week 1: Introduction
Week 2: Climate Change 1
Week 3: Climate Change 2
Week 4: Migration, Climate Change and Population Growth 1
Week 5: Migration, Climate Change and Population Growth 2
Week 6: Biotechnology 1
Week 7: Biotechnology 2
Week 8: Artificial Intelligence 1
Week 9: Artificial Intelligence 2
Week 10: Conclusion
All weekly class students may become borrowing members of the Rewley House Continuing Education Library for the duration of their course. Prospective students whose courses have not yet started are welcome to use the Library for reference. More information can be found on the Library website.
There is a Guide for Weekly Class students which will give you further information.
Credit Application Transfer Scheme (CATS) points
To earn credit (CATS points) for your course you will need to register and pay an additional £30 fee for each course you enrol on. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online. If you do not register when you enrol, you have up until the course start date to register and pay the £30 fee.
See more information on CATS point
Coursework is an integral part of all online courses and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework, but only those who have registered for credit will be awarded CATS points for completing work at the required standard. If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education, you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.
Digital credentials
All students who pass their final assignment, whether registered for credit or not, will be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so.
Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail.
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course Fee | £285.00 |
| Take this course for CATS points | £30.00 |
If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:
Sangaralingam Ramesh is an Economics Tutor in the Department for Continuing Education at the University of Oxford and a Senior Teaching Fellow in Economics at University College London, UK. He has been an Associate Professor in Economics at the Université Paris Dauphine GBD and Economics Module Leader at Kings College London
This course aims to help to gain a better understanding of the four main factors which are converging on humanity in the contemporary world.
This course will enable students to:
Learning takes place on a weekly schedule. At the start of each weekly unit, students are provided with learning materials on our online platform, including one hour of pre-recorded video, often supplemented by guided readings and educational resources. These learning materials prepare students for a one-hour live webinar with an expert tutor at the end of each weekly unit which they attend in small groups. Webinars are held on Microsoft Teams, and provide the opportunity for students to respond to discussion prompts and ask questions. The blend of weekly learning materials that can be worked through flexibly, together with a live meeting with a tutor and their peers, maximise learning and engagement through interaction in a friendly, supportive environment.
By the end of this course, students will be expected to understand:
Discuss the ways in which you think that climate change, changes in the population, advances in biotechnology, the emergence of AI and increased migration from developing countries to developed countries will impact on contemporary human civilisation.
Evaluate how this course may have affected your pre-course views on the ways in which you thought that climate change, changes in the population, advances in biotechnology, the emergence of AI and increased migration from developing countries to developed countries would impact on contemporary human civilisation.
Coursework is an integral part of all weekly classes and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework in order to benefit fully from the course. Only those who have registered for credit will be awarded CATS points for completing work the required standard.
Students must submit a completed Declaration of Authorship form at the end of term when submitting your final piece of work. CATS points cannot be awarded without the aforementioned form - Declaration of Authorship form
We will close for enrolments 14 days prior to the start date to allow us to complete the course set up. We will email you at that time (14 days before the course begins) with further information and joining instructions. As always, students will want to check spam and junk folders during this period to ensure that these emails are received.
To earn credit (CATS points) for your course you will need to register and pay an additional £30 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.
Please use the 'Book' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an Enrolment Form (Word) or Enrolment Form (Pdf)
The Department's Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, i.e. first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.
Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS)
To earn credit (CATS points) you will need to register and pay an additional £30 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online. Students who register for CATS points will receive a Record of CATS points on successful completion of their course assessment.
Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process can either register for CATS points prior to the start of their course or retrospectively from the January 1st after the current full academic year has been completed. If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.
