HarvardX online courses

[tiganeasca]

Online courses have exploded on the internet. Although I have known about them for a number of years, I never before had the time to really devote myself to exploring what was available, much less to take any courses. Since January, however, I have taken a couple different courses, one a history class and one in literature. Although the quality will vary from course to course depending on many different things, I thought you should all be aware of the HarvardX courses for three reasons: (1) there always seems to be a reasonable selection of courses, (2) the courses offered change often and sometimes repeat [meaning they are not only offered once or twice a year], and (3) you can "audit" the course (meaning, take it for free) or sign up and pay for a certificate. I have audited both courses that I took. You can also, of course, go at your own pace. Sometimes I would listen to multiple lectures in a day and then ignore the course for a week or more.

In any case, since I just finished my history class, I was looking around for something new to take and found a good selection this time and several that might be of particular interest to folks here. Just as a sample: "The Ancient Greek Hero," "ChinaX Book Club" [reading one book each by Wang Anyi, Yu Hua, Ha Jin, Mo Yan, and Yan Lianke], "Shakespeare's Life and Work" [plus additional courses on "Hamlet" and "Merchant of Venice"], "Poetry in America" [including one course on Whitman and another on Modernism], and others. The site is fairly self-explanatory and you can learn about the instructors as well as well the syllabus is and what will be covered. For those who are interested, the website page listing the courses can be found here. Make sure that you notice under the first list of courses that there is a link to 131 additional courses. Happy learning!

 

[Leseratte]

Just skimmed though some of it. Courses that called my attention for several reasons:

HarvardX: Masterpieces of World Literature

Embark on a global journey to explore the past, present, and future of World Literature.

www.edx.org

Harvard tackling Goethe, The Lusiads, Borges, Soyinka, Rushdie and Pamuk among others.

HarvardX: Managing Happiness

Managing Happiness encourages you to explore the science of happiness, allowing you to find your truest self. Through cutting-edge survey tools, the best research, and trends in social science, positive psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, learners unlock the strategies to create a more...

www.edx.org

HarvardX: Remote Work Revolution for Everyone

In Remote Work Revolution for Everyone, you will learn to excel in the virtual-work landscape. You will learn how to build trust, increase productivity, use digital tools intelligently, and remain fully aligned with your remote team.

www.edx.org

HarvardX: Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice: Shylock

An exploration of the magnetic and ambivalent character of Shylock in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.

www.edx.org

 

[tiganeasca]

Just skimmed though some of it:

HarvardX: Masterpieces of World Literature

Embark on a global journey to explore the past, present, and future of World Literature.

www.edx.org

Harward tackling Goethe, The Lusiads, Borges, Soyinka, Rushdie and Pamuk among others.

I actually took a version of this course that focused on "modern" literature. While some of it was a bit tedious, other bits were quite fascinating. It helps to read the works in this case but you could just listen to the weekly "lectures"--which are actually more like discussions. And the two Harvard profs who teach it are quite well-known in the field of comparative literature. Feel free to send me a note if you'd like more info.

 

[Leseratte]

I actually took a version of this course that focused on "modern" literature. While some of it was a bit tedious, other bits were quite fascinating. It helps to read the works in this case but you could just listen to the weekly "lectures"--which are actually more like discussions. And the two Harvard profs who teach it are quite well-known in the field of comparative literature. Feel free to send me a note if you'd like more info.

Thanks, Tiga?. The course looks inviting. My present problem is time. If I decide to enroll I´ll send you a note to see which modules you would recomend

 

[tiganeasca]

Just thought I'd mention that I started a new course today, The Ancient Greek Hero, taught by Prof. Gregory Nagy at Harvard. It's a pretty heavy bunch of readings but Nagy is quite good and, just in case anyone else shares my interest in the topic, you may want to take a look. You can register two ways: paying (you get a certificate) or free. I have taken about half a dozen classes now (I'm thinking the course in Poetry in America: Modernism is next--though it is also offered right now) but despite the reading load, this one promises to be very good.

I'll also include a quotation that Nagy read from Nietzsche as part of his introduction to the course that I was quite taken with: "Philology is that venerable art which demands of its votaries one thing above all--to go aside, to take time, to become still, to become slow--it is a goldsmith's art and connoisseurship of the word which has nothing but delicate, cautious work to do and achieves nothing if it does not achieve it lento. But for precisely this reason it is more necessary than ever today, by precisely this means does it entice and enchant us the most, in the midst of an age of work, that is to say, of hurry, of indecent and perspiring haste, which wants to get everything done at once, including every old or new book. This art does not easily get anything done, it teaches to read well, that is to say to read slowly, deeply, looking cautiously before and aft, with reservations, with doors left open, with delicate fingers and eyes."