At least here in the United States, we’re entering the Dog Days of Summer. In New York, it’s expected to hit 92 degrees today. That’s hot, but not nearly as bad as the temperatures in St. Louis (95), Phoenix (103) and Las Vegas (107). It’s time, my friends, to let Mother Nature declare victory (even if we’ve given her an artificial hand) and find ways to stay cool and productive at the same time. Here’s one option to consider: Even though most college students have gone home for the summer, there are 55 MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) starting between today and August 31, plus another 40 launching in September. They’re sponsored by some of the world’s leading universities and cultural institutions; they’re all free; and many offer certificates if students successfully complete their courses. Below, we’ve highlighted several courses that speak to our interest in the liberal arts. You can find the course that speaks to you by visiting our regularly-updated page: 500 Free MOOCs from Great Universities.
- History of Rock: Part 2 – University of Rochester – July 8 (6 weeks)
- How to Learn Math – Stanford – July 15 (5 weeks)
- Design Thinking Action Lab – Stanford – July 22 (5 weeks)
- The Modern and the Postmodern – Wesleyan – July 29 (14 weeks)
- A Brief History of Humankind – The Hebrew University of Jerusalem – August 11 (17 weeks)
- Think Again: How to Reason and Argue – Duke – August 26 (12 weeks)
- Age of Globalization – UT Austin on edX – September 1 (15 weeks)
- Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas – Curtis Institute of Music – September 3 (5 weeks)
- Ideas of the 20th Century – UT Austin – September 15 (13 weeks)
Related Content:
525 Free Audio Books: Download Great Books for Free
425 Free eBooks: Download to Kindle, iPad/iPhone & Nook
535 Free Movies Online: Great Classics, Indies, Noir, Westerns, etc.
160 Free Textbooks: A Meta Collection
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