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15 Best Literature Courses Online

We compared 15 Literature courses currently listed on edX, Coursera and Udemy, priced from $19.99 to $536.40. 11 come from a named university or institution, including Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, University of California, Berkeley and University of Cambridge. They are ordered by our CourseAsk score, which is built from how thoroughly each course describes what it teaches, whether it comes from a named institution, and how it compares on price — not from star ratings, which our course data does not include.

Courses compared
15
Price range
$19.99 – $536.40
Providers
edX, Coursera, Udemy
Last updated
30 Aug 2026
How these 15 courses were chosen

Every course below is a real, currently listed course from edX, Coursera, Udemy, matched to "literature" by our catalog and ordered by our CourseAsk score. Courses whose own title names the topic rank above those only tagged with it.

The grade on each entry scores how much the provider publishes about the course before you pay — the length and detail of the description, whether it lists learning outcomes and objectives — and whether a named university or institution stands behind it. A is fully documented and institution-backed; E is little more than a title and a price. Courses with almost nothing published are left ungraded rather than marked down, because an unknown course and a poor one are not the same thing.

There are no star ratings on this page — the course feeds we license do not include them, and we would rather leave a column out than fill it with a number we cannot stand behind. What we do have is price: these range from $19.99 to $536.40, as listed by the provider when we last updated the page.

  1. 1
    edX MOOC / Non-credit Grade C University-backed

    The Essence of Leadership: Explorations from Literature

    Offered by Indian Institute of Management Bangalore

    What does it mean to lead by example? Enter the world of classic literature and explore different aspects of leadership embodied by strong, and sometimes quirky characters and complex situations that pose dilemmas.

    $149.00
    listed price
  2. 2
    edX MOOC / Non-credit Grade C University-backed

    AP® English Literature & Composition – Part 1: Stories

    Offered by University of California, Berkeley

    Enhance your ability to read and write about great literature in preparation for the AP® English Literature & Composition exam.

    $169.00
    listed price
  3. 3
    edX MOOC / Non-credit Grade C University-backed

    Capstone: Bringing it all together

    Offered by University of Cambridge

    Having completed the seven other courses in the MicroMasters in Writing for Performance and Entertainment Industries, this course gives you the opportunity to put it all together. The course webinar will focus on the ass...

    $299.00
    listed price
  4. 4
    Coursera MOOC / Non-credit Grade A University-backed

    The Holocaust: The Destruction of European Jewry

    Offered by University of California, Santa Cruz

    The Holocaust: The Destruction of European Jewry is an adaptation of an on-campus course that has been co-taught by Murray Baumgarten, Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature (Literature Department)...

    $49.00
    listed price
  5. 5
    Coursera MOOC / Non-credit Grade C University-backed

    Age of Cathedrals

    Offered by Yale University

    An introduction to some of the most astonishing architectural monuments the world has ever known—Gothic cathedrals. We shall study the art, literature, intellectual life, economics, and new social arrangements that arose...

    $49.00
    listed price
  6. 6
    edX MOOC / Non-credit Grade C University-backed

    Theo-Humanism: God's Ways in Today's World

    Offered by Georgetown University

    This course is based on a classical method of theology that begins from the workings of our own humanity. Drawing on a heritage of humanistic literature, enriched by the work of university experts across disciplines, thi...

    $179.00
    listed price
  7. 7
    edX MOOC / Non-credit Grade C University-backed

    Shakespeare's Life, Work, and Characters

    Offered by Harvard University

    This course offers a deep exploration of Shakespeare's life, work, and the array of characters that populate his plays. You'll get to understand the historical and cultural context in which he wrote, providing valuable i...

    $536.40
    listed price
  8. 8
    Coursera MOOC / Non-credit Grade C University-backed

    The Modern and the Postmodern (Part 2)

    Offered by Wesleyan University

    This course examines how the idea of "the modern" develops at the end of the 18th century in European philosophy and literature, and how being modern (or progressive, or hip) became one of the crucial criteria for unders...

    $49.00
    listed price
  9. 9
    edX Bachelor's Degree Grade D University-backed

    Bachelor of Arts in English

    Offered by Maryville University

    The Bachelor of Arts in English on edX offers a comprehensive exploration of literature, writing, and cultural analysis. This degree empowers students to develop critical thinking and communication skills, enabling them...

  10. 10
    edX MOOC / Non-credit Grade C University-backed

    The Power of Words

    Offered by The University of Tokyo

    This course examines how words retain power amidst crises, focusing on Japanese and English literature. It explores how words aid in resilience and self-renewal. Emphasis is on understanding form's role in texts and soci...

    $59.00
    listed price
  11. 11
    edX MOOC / Non-credit Grade C University-backed

    Gender and Intersectionality

    Offered by The University of Iceland

    Gender intersects with everything. Using examples from popular culture, classical literature, and history, this course will teach you how to analyze religious texts and traditions, class divisions, racial inequality, sex...

    $30.00
    listed price
  12. 12
    Udemy MOOC / Non-credit Grade C Lowest price here

    Russian Language - Basics

    Learning Russian language is not such a difficult task! Like any language, Russian has some unique features. It has a very rich vocabulary, a huge variety of literature and amazing history. But the key to understanding R...

    $19.99
    listed price
  13. 13
    Udemy Certificate Grade C

    Kursus Menulis Buku

    Menulis itu penting, karena dengan adanya tulisan kita bisa memberikan informasi yang bermanfaat bagi orang lain yang membutuhkan. Sesederhana apapun kata yang dituliskan, pasti bermanfaat bagi yang sedang membutuhkannya...

    $19.99
    listed price
  14. 14
    Udemy Certificate Grade C

    A Psicologia do Amor

    Como a Psicologia pode nos ajudar a entender algo tão complexo quanto o amor?O amor se encontra por toda parte. Na vida, amamos, nos apaixonamos e inevitavelmente sofremos no processo. Na clínica, psicólogos recebem o te...

    $34.99
    listed price
  15. 15
    Udemy MOOC / Non-credit Grade D

    Basic Understanding of China and Chinese Culture

    This course provides a detailed introduction to the culture and identity of China, ideal for anyone looking to understand this dynamic country. Participants will learn about China's history, social structures, and cultur...

    $19.99
    listed price

Best Literature Courses Online compared

# Course Provider Offered by Price
1 The Essence of Leadership: Explorations from Literature edX Indian Institute of Management Bangalore $149.00 View →
2 AP® English Literature & Composition – Part 1: Stories edX University of California, Berkeley $169.00 View →
3 Capstone: Bringing it all together edX University of Cambridge $299.00 View →
4 The Holocaust: The Destruction of European Jewry Coursera University of California, Santa Cruz $49.00 View →
5 Age of Cathedrals Coursera Yale University $49.00 View →
6 Theo-Humanism: God's Ways in Today's World edX Georgetown University $179.00 View →
7 Shakespeare's Life, Work, and Characters edX Harvard University $536.40 View →
8 The Modern and the Postmodern (Part 2) Coursera Wesleyan University $49.00 View →
9 Bachelor of Arts in English edX Maryville University View →
10 The Power of Words edX The University of Tokyo $59.00 View →
11 Gender and Intersectionality edX The University of Iceland $30.00 View →
12 Russian Language - Basics Udemy $19.99 View →
13 Kursus Menulis Buku Udemy $19.99 View →
14 A Psicologia do Amor Udemy $34.99 View →
15 Basic Understanding of China and Chinese Culture Udemy $19.99 View →

Prices shown are the provider's listed price when we last updated this page. Confirm on their site before enrolling.

What the prices here tell you

The 14 priced courses on this page run from $19.99 to $536.40, with the middle of the range around $49.00 — a spread of $516.41. That is a wide gap for one subject. A higher price on this page usually reflects who is behind the course rather than how much material it contains, so it is worth opening two or three at different price points and comparing their syllabus before deciding.

Who is behind these courses

These courses come from edX, Coursera and Udemy. The platforms differ in how they sell: some charge once per course, others expect a subscription, and the listed price is not always what you pay at checkout after a promotion. 11 of these are produced by a named university or institution, including Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, University of California, Berkeley and University of Cambridge — which usually means a fixed syllabus and a recognised certificate, rather than an individual instructor’s own course.

Before you enrol

Open the provider’s own page and check three things this comparison cannot tell you: when the course was last updated, what the syllabus actually covers in its later sections, and what recent learners say. Prices shown here are the provider’s listed price when we last rebuilt this page on 30 August 2026 — they change often, and a promotion can move them substantially. We earn a commission if you enrol through our links, which costs you nothing and never affects the order courses appear in.

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