Ask HN: Online History Courses?
5 comments
I have a history degree.
Most of the value comes in not recitation of facts, where you absorb dates and events, but in producing essays and your own thoughts backed thoughtfully by evidence. Much of the education is really about historiography: how we know what we know and how to interpret primary sources. What biases (conscious or otherwise) are in the sources? How might even first hand memory be flawed? Can all those pieces fit together into a narrative or understanding of what happened?
I’m not sure how many online courses give you exposure to these issues, but IMO, it’s key to how we understand the past.
Most of the value comes in not recitation of facts, where you absorb dates and events, but in producing essays and your own thoughts backed thoughtfully by evidence. Much of the education is really about historiography: how we know what we know and how to interpret primary sources. What biases (conscious or otherwise) are in the sources? How might even first hand memory be flawed? Can all those pieces fit together into a narrative or understanding of what happened?
I’m not sure how many online courses give you exposure to these issues, but IMO, it’s key to how we understand the past.
Not quite the same as the now usual coursera and edx(short videos quizzes and exams), but Open Yale Courses are fascinating (lecture based). I've finished and I recommend early middle ages. And these days I'm watching ancient Greek civilization also recommend.
https://oyc.yale.edu/courses
I did the early middle ages one and you're right, it was great! Very deep. It was hard to find some of the associated resources that the professor mentioned though.
Great idea!
You might try listening to the 29 archived lectures from this U.C. Berkeley class.
"History 5, The Making of Modern Europe, 1453 to the Present, Spring 2008"
https://archive.org/details/ucberkeley_webcast_itunesu_46111...
In general, I've always wanted to do something like what you're talking about: track down some deeply interesting online courses from top universities, and then just gorge myself on learning.
You might try listening to the 29 archived lectures from this U.C. Berkeley class.
"History 5, The Making of Modern Europe, 1453 to the Present, Spring 2008"
https://archive.org/details/ucberkeley_webcast_itunesu_46111...
In general, I've always wanted to do something like what you're talking about: track down some deeply interesting online courses from top universities, and then just gorge myself on learning.
If you are willing to pay, Great Courses https://www.thegreatcourses.com/category/history has many courses authored by history professors.
There are some things that have proved to be easy (or possible) to learn online: Data Science, programming, etc.
Is there anybody doing the same for history courses? Anything to recommend?