Top Humanities and Arts Courses on SWAYAM to Pursue in 2026

Humanities and arts courses on Swayam online that you must enrol in include Mind Education, Introduction to Peace and Conflict Management, Introduction to Research Methods, Media and Information Literacy for Teachers, and many more. We’ve covered all the humanities and arts courses in this article that you can pursue. Whether you’re a student, teacher, or lifelong learner, these Swayam online courses for humanities and arts can help you deepen your understanding of society, culture, and human behavior—at your own pace and for free.

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Overview of Humanities and Arts Courses on SWAYAM Online

Here is an overview of the free humanities and arts courses on Swayam, detailed according to sub-categories:

Details of the Best SWAYAM Online Courses for Humanities and Arts

Here are the in-depth insights into the top Swayam online courses for humanities and arts:

1. Mind Education by International Youth Fellowship

Professor Kim Soo Yeon is the instructor for the Mind Education program. This self-paced program stands at the continuing education level. The program aims to create leaders who think of ‘You first’ instead of ‘Me first.’ It promotes a clean mindset in individuals so they stay away from crimes.

• Week 1: Importance and Necessity of Mind Education

• Week 2: Knowledge-based Education vs Wisdom-based Education

• Week 3: Desire & Self-Control

• Week 4: Wounds of the Heart: Causes and Cure

• Week 5: Listening: Wisdom to Gain Hearts

• Week 6: Importance and Necessity of Contemplating

• Week 7: Change in Perspective (Placebo Effect)

• Week 8: Managing the Heart

• Week 9: The Other Side

• Week 10: The Other Side 2

• Week 11: Exchanging Heart-to-Heart Conversation

• Week 12: The Cause of Fear and Its Solution

• Week 13: Essential Conditions for Happiness

The course aims to enhance the quality of expert educators, cultivating their mindset, and helping them overcome limitations and challenges they’ve set for themselves. It also focuses on bringing a true change by breaking them free from addictions, laziness, etc.

1. Introduction to Peace and Conflict Management by IGNOU

Introduction to Peace and Conflict Management by Dr. Bishnu Mohan Dash is a self-paced undergraduate-level course. It focuses on peace and conflict resolution phenomenon, especially in the Gandhian perspective society. The course layout is as follows:

• Week 1: Meaning and Topologies of Peace

• Week 2: Importance of Peace for Human Survival and Development

• Week 3: Theories of Peace-Building

• Week 4: Challenges of Peace-Building

• Week 5: Meaning and Concept of Conflict

• Week 6: Sources of Conflict

• Week 7: Types and Levels of Conflict

• Week 8: Theories of Conflicts

• Week 9: Methods of Conflict Resolution and Role of Government

• Week 10: Role of Civil Society and Media and Role of International and Transnational Organisations

• Week 11: Land Reforms and Other Development Measures and Inter-Religious Dialogue

• Week 12: Dialogue among Parties in Conflict and Individual Initiatives

The program aims to help you craft strategies that bring peace to the whole world.

1. Introduction to Research Methods by IGNOU

Dr. Sadanand Sahoo is the instructor of the Introduction to Research Methods (elective course). It’s a self-paced undergraduate-level course, dedicated to understanding ways to pursue research in Gandhi and Peace Studies. It also covers related disciplines of social sciences to assess, interpret, and understand the social world. The layout of topics includes:

• Week 1: SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH: Nature, Meaning, Objectives, Motivating Factors; Social Science Vs Physical Sciences; Basic Assumptions of Social Research; Subject Matter, Sources of Data; Difficulties of Social Science Research

• Week 2: TYPES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH; Discovery of New Theory and Development of Existing One; Applied Research and Various Other Research Categories; The Ex-post Facto Research, Advantages; Disadvantages, Laboratory or Experimental Research; Field Investigation Research, Survey Research; Evaluation Research, Action Research

• Week 3: MAJOR DEBATES: NORMATIVE & EMPIRICAL PARADIGMS; Normative Paradigm; Constitutive Norms & Ethics of Science; Values and Value Judgements in Social Science; The Feasibility of Argumentation about Norms; Empirical Methods and Applications; Nature of Assumptions; Normative vis-à-vis and Empirical; Natural Law, Dialectical Materialism; The Recent Trends

• Week 4: GANDHIAN APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL PROBLEMS; Characteristics of Gandhian Approach; Gandhi as a Social Scientist and Social Inventor, Social Problems; Poverty and Unemployment; Violence between Individuals; Groups and Nations, Disunity and Friction between Social Groups; Education, Sanitation and Public Health, Nutrition; Problems and Issues; Religion, God and Truth , Ends and Means, Non-violence; Methodological Analysis of Gandhian Framework

• Week 5: DEFINING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM (REVIEW OF LITERATURE); Selecting a Research Topic; Intensifying Knowledge; Turning a Topic into a Research Problem; The Subjects and the Time Frame

• Week 6: RESEARCH FRAMEWORK: CONCEPTS AND THEORY: Meaning of Concepts; The Concept of Abstraction, Concepts and Communication; Features of Good Concepts, Reconceptualisation; Theories and  Definition of Theory; The Role of Theory: Theory as Orientation; Theory as Conceptualisation and Classification; Another Task of Theory; Theory Predicts Facts; Theory points to gaps in our knowledge; Deduction and Induction; Difficulties of Theory Testing

• Week 7: TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGN: Defining the Research Problem; Knowledge of the Rules, Clarification of Concepts; Methods of Data Collection; Operationalisation, Sampling the Subjects; Presentation of Findings

• Week 8: DEFINING DATA (TYPES OF DATA): Classification of Data, Documentary Data, Quantitative Data; PRESENTATION OF DATA: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE: Principles of Table Construction; Qualitative Data; Modes of Analysis of Qualitative Data and Presentation; COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH: Before the Advent of Computers and After; Microsoft Programmes, Websites, Search Engines

• Week 9: FIELDWORK/ ETHNOGRAPHY: Understanding Fieldwork: Definition and Basic Elements; Understanding Ethnography: Definition and Purpose; Characteristics of Ethnography; Ethnography: Methods of Data Collection and Analysis; Ethnographic Interviews; Document Analysis; Survey, Observation,  Participant Observation; Observation: Recording and Analysis; Ethnography: Problems; Issues and Dilemmas

• Week 10: CONFLICT MAPPING: Conflict Map: Purpose; Usage and Limitations; Basic Elements of a Conflict Map; Ways of Conflict Mapping, Paul Wehr; William W. Wilmot and Joyce L. Hocker; How to map a conflict situation?; SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATION (STYLE, CITATION, FOOTNOTES ETC): Abbreviations,  Table of Contents, Lists of Tables; Charts, Figures; Special Abbreviations and Glossary; Pagination and Chapters; References and Bibliography; Quotations; Style and Language

• Week 11: NARRATIVES/ STORY TELLING: Understanding Narratives and Stories; Narrative Analysis: Definition; Origin and Features; Narrative Analysis Approach with respect to Conflict Situations; Tools for Analysis, Narrative Theories, Decisions regarding Data Collection; Practicalities of Data Collection & Data Analysis; Understanding the Interviewee’s Perception: Questions for the Researcher; Coding, Methods of Narrative Analysis

• Week 12: DIVERSE LEVELS OF ANALYSIS: Understanding Analysis; Levels and the Purpose of Analysing Levels; Conflict: Levels of Analysis; Macro & Micro Levels; Individual, Societal, International & Global Levels; Micro Issues to Systemic Concerns, Violence: Levels of Analysis; Peace: Levels of Analysis, Peace-building: Levels of Analysis; Levels of Actors and Their Approaches to Peace-building; ORGANISING RESEARCH FINDINGS: Statement of the Problem; Theories and Hypotheses; Analysis and Interpretation; Testing of Hypotheses; Organising Findings of Case Study

You will learn the basics of statistical software and how to read the analysis. You can develop research questions to find answers to, know how social scientists get general knowledge about the social world, and learn to use tools and approaches.

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1. Media and Information Literacy for Teachers by IGNOU

Media and Information Literacy for Teachers by Professor KS Arul Selvan is an undergraduate-level course to pursue at your own pace. This course will educate you on how you can learn and teach others about Media and Information Literacy. It covers crucial issues and concepts related to the field. The topics include:

• Week 1: Understanding Media and Information Literacy

• Week 2: MIL, Civic Participation, and Right to Information

• Week 3: Interacting with Media and Other Content Providers

• Week 4: MIL, Teaching and Life-Learning

• Week 5: Communication and Information, Teaching and Learning

• Week 6: Learning Theories and MIL

• Week 7: Enabling Environment for MIL in Learning Spaces

• Week 8: Audience: National and Global Contexts

• Week 9: Technology, Media, and Society

• Week 10: Freedom, Ethics, and Social Accountability

• Week 11: What Makes News

• Week 12: The News Development Process

• Week 13: News Reporting and the Power of the Image

• Week 14: Industry Codes on Diversity and Representation

• Week 15: Television, Films, Print Publishing

• Week 16: Representation and Music Videos

You’ll be taught this course based on UNESCO’s curriculum on Media and Information Literacy for Teachers.

1. Pratham Bodhah by IGNOU

Dr. Ashish Kumar undertakes the Pratham Bodhah certificate course. It’s the initial step of learning the Sanskrit language. You can take this 16-week course at your own pace and learn the following:

• Week 1: Introduction to the Sanskrit Alphabet

• Week 2: Pronunciation and Writing Practice

• Week 3: Vocabulary

• Week 4: Thoughts on Pure Words

• Week 5: Thoughts on Improper Word

• Week 6: Introduction to Numbers

• Week 7: Gender Differences in Numerals

• Week 8: Household Items List, Relative Pronouns, and Vocabulary

• Week 9: Body Parts List, Occupation Names List

• Week 10: Introduction to Inflectional Masculine Gender

• Week 11: Vowel-Sandhi

• Week 12: Consonant-Virang-Sandhi

• Week 13: Introduction to Compounds Part 1

• Week 14: Introduction to Compounds Part 2

• Week 15: Factors Introduction Part 1

• Week 16: Case Introduction Part 2

The course teaches you everything about words and alphabet knowledge of the Sanskrit language. It covers nouns, pronouns, pure and improper words, numbers, household appliances, body parts, relational words, business nouns, inflection, verbs, conjunctions, and compounds.

1. Huroof, Shanasi, Aur Talaffuz by IGNOU

The Huroof, Shanasi, aur Talaffuz course is taught by Dr. Shakir Ali Siddiqui. It’s a self-paced certificate course to learn the Urdu language. This 16-week course has around 27 units that teach you the alphabet and pronunciation in the Urdu language. You can recognise, read, and learn letters through this course. There are pronunciation exercises, phonetic features, sounds of words, and an explanation of the differences between them. Beginners will surely benefit from this course.

1. Introduction to Jainism by Flame University

Flame University, Pune, has offered the course “ Introduction to Jainism ,” taught by Professor Pankaj Jain. This 6-week course layout is as follows:

• Week 1: Introduction to Jainism

• Week 2: Origins and Scriptures, Schism, and Doctrines

• Week 3: Aspects of Karma Theory, Ethnographic Survey of Jains from Early Times to Recent Developments

• Week 4: The Ascetic and the Lay: Compared and Contrasted

• Week 5: Jains and “non-Jains”: Ahimsā and Anekāntavāda. Gandhi

• Week 6: Ecology: The Jain Way Animals and Food

Jainism stands among India’s oldest philosophical traditions, with its origins linked to Mahavira, a 6th-century BCE teacher and contemporary of Buddha. Similar to Buddhism, Jainism emerged as a response to Brahmanism, which was rooted in the Vedic scriptures. Hence, both are considered non-orthodox or nāstika darsanas. Today, Jain communities and temples flourish worldwide—in nations such as the USA, Canada, the UK, Belgium, Australia, Kenya, Nepal, Thailand, and Japan.

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The Swayam humanities and arts courses blend academic depth with practical learning, offering something for everyone. Courses like Mind Education, Introduction to Peace and Conflict Management, and Introduction to Jainism exemplify India’s growing commitment to free, inclusive education.

Enrolling in these free humanities and arts courses on Swayam gives you access to lectures from top educators at IGNOU, FLAME University, and other renowned institutions. It also enhances your critical thinking, communication, and analytical skills. In essence, Swayam’s open learning model is helping democratise higher education in India, bridging the gap between curiosity and opportunity. If you’re curious about the courses to pursue, you should contact our mentors at CollegeDekho for expert guidance.