November 4, 2012

Take a Harvard WWII History Course For Free

Harvard.  You've heard of it.  Now, you can take a World War II history course for free thanks to their Open Harvard Course series of video lectures.  Taught by Charles S. Maier, PhD, a Professor of History at the University, each class is presented by video in 50 minute lectures.  This is your typical undergraduate-level introductory course and a nice introduction to the academic study of history for those who might not come from this background.  Don't expect the history channel - this course is a well-taught survey of the war just as you would experience it in the classroom.  The lectures are accompanies by an outline, a few slides, and even the occasional hand-drawn chalkboard map.  In total, there are twenty four videos the cover the war from beginning to end.

http://www.extension.harvard.edu/open-learning-initiative/world-war-history

The course is truly a college class, complete with all the syllabus-day housekeeping.  Even the poor freshmen get called out, making this online lecture series feel very familiar to this history major.  If you don't want feel so nostalgic about higher education, you might want to skip ahead about five minutes into the first video.  The class is free, requires no log in, there are no hoops, and definitely no exams.  Put you pencils down and close those blue books; just sit back and learn a little something about history.

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