Using case studies from the Harvard Business School, this course will cover the contemporary Chinese scene by focusing on five main themes in China’s development: agriculture, entrepreneurship, education, environment, and literature. You’ll examine the period from Deng Xiaoping’s rise in 1978 to the present, using the lenses of sociology, political science, and economics. You’ll learn how China has maintained one-party rule in an era of reform and internationalization, and how contemporary developments — like the current conception of the “Chinese Dream” — are influenced by the legacies of China’s past. You’ll also examine Greater China with a focus on the Taiwan model and Taiwan’s relationship with the People’s Republic of China. Developing your own approaches to history, you’ll gain a critical appreciation of China’s literary, philosophical, political, and cultural resources. Enroll now to understand China’s global leadership role and to learn if the 21st century is truly “the Chinese century.”

This course will tell you the reason why ritual is the core of Chinese culture, in contrast with western culture. You will be introduced to relevant ritual classical books, which will help you to understand how people behaved in ancient China. You will also learn about the rituals behind ancient Chinese adult rites, wedding ceremonies, sacrifice ceremonies, and more. Join us to start your ancient Chinese ritual journey. 中国是传承千年的礼仪之邦，声教播于海外。相传在3000多年前的殷周之际，周公制礼作乐，就提出了礼治的纲领。其后经过孔子和七十子后学，以及孟子、荀子等人的提倡和完善，礼乐文明成为儒家文化的核心。西汉以后，作为礼乐文化的理论形态和上古礼制的渊薮，《仪礼》、《周礼》、《礼记》先后被列入学官，不仅成为古代文人必读的经典，而且成为历代王朝制礼的基础，对于中国文化和历史的影响之深远，自不待言。随着东亚儒家文化圈的形成，礼乐文化自然成为了东方文明的重要特色。毋庸置疑，要了解中国传统文化，就必须了解中国礼仪文化。 本课程讲通过大量的文献材料，深入浅出地讲授中国古代礼仪文明的基本框架，建立中华传统礼仪观念的过程，培养学生人文素养，建立良好操守，并引导其在生活中践行中华传统礼仪。

Why has Star Trek , which began as a failed network series, become so influential? Instead of fading away, the Star Trek universe now encompasses feature films, additional television series, and a universe of fan conventions and memorabilia. What about the shows and movies resonate with so many people? The powerful vision of futuristic space exploration drew on real history and contemporary issues to enhance its storytelling. Star Trek inspired audiences to ask fundamental questions about who they are and how they relate to the world around them. When you enroll in this course, you will examine how Star Trek ’s live action television shows and motion pictures affected audiences around the world. With your hosts, Margaret Weitekamp and Scott Mantz, you will discover the connections between Star Trek and history, culture, technology and society. You will hear from experts, watch clips from the shows and films, debate with fellow fans. and explore your own perspectives on and understanding of Star Trek 's lasting impact. Through critical analysis and object exploration, you will examine how Star Trek tackled controversial topics, such as race, gender, sexuality, and ethics. Then, the mission is yours. Join the community to engage in civil discourse. Use evidence to understand how Star Trek shaped and still influences our technology and society. This course is offered under license by CBS Consumer Products.

In this course we use visual records as a way of understanding history at the turn of the 20th century. Learners will learn how to navigate visual primary sources and use them to investigate: the historical debates that emerged in political cartoons; issues of race and prejudice in both cartooning and photography; photography as a tool of power in conquest and colonization; the often forgotten Philippine-American war; ethnographic photography; how the theme of civilization and barbarism appeared to justify imperial wars; early use of cross-cultural photography in mass media. The roundtable discussion format of the course will set up a discursive and exploratory style of learning. Learners will be exposed to multiple points of view as the teaching team brings together scholars who have studied the topics from different disciplines. Learners will also learn how to work with visual evidence as primary sources to assemble arguments. For teachers, the course presents a number of units developed for the MIT Visualizing Cultures (VC) project. The instructors are the authors who created the VC resource, and the course provides a pathway into the VC website content. The VC website is widely taught in both secondary and college courses, and is the primary resource for this course. Educators can selectively pick modules that target needs in their classrooms; the course can be used in a “flipped” classroom where students are assigned modules as homework.

How do we understand architecture? One way of answering this question is by looking through the lens of history, beginning with First Societies and extending to the 16th century. This course in architectural history is not intended as a linear narrative, but rather aims to provide a more global view, by focusing on different architectural "moments." How did the introduction of iron in the ninth century BCE impact regional politics and the development of architecture? How did new religious formations, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, produce new architectural understandings? What were the architectural consequences of the changing political landscape in northern Italy in the 14th century? How did rock-cut architecture move across space and time from West Asia to India to Africa? How did the emergence of corn impact the rise of religious and temple construction in Mexico? Each lecture analyzes a particular architectural transformation arising from a dynamic cultural situation. Material covered in lectures will be supplemented by readings from the textbook A Global History of Architecture. Join us on a journey around the globe and learn how architecture has developed and interacted with the world’s culture, religion, and history.

By the Tang period, China was divided into northern and southern dynasties with different rulers and political systems. The north was conquered by relatively unsophisticated barbarians, but in the south, the aristocratic families established a refined appreciation of writing and literature. In this course, the third in a large collection covering all of Chinese history, you’ll learn about the Cosmopolitan Tang and the reemergence of great aristocratic clans. You’ll discover how these clans formed a kind of state aristocracy that dominated Tang government and society. This period — a product of the Medieval period, and of the development of Buddhism and Daoism — gave the world a model for modern statehood the great cosmopolitan empire that defined it is among the highest achievements in Medieval culture. Join us to discover those achievements through readings of classical Chinese poetry and a review of the ancient art of calligraphy.

Join me for an introductory course on biblical archaeology of ancient Israel and Judah during the Iron Age (ca. 1200-586 BCE). In this course, we will use cutting-edge, inter-disciplinary archaeological research to explore the fascinating field of archaeology, the history of this era, and it's "players"(e.g. Israel, Judah, Philistine, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Aram, Moab, Edom, ancient Egypt etc.). Special focus will be given to complex relationship between archaeology, history and the bible, and how modern research interfaces between these different, and at times conflicting, sources. In particular, how can archaeology be used to understand the biblical text - and vice a versa. The course will combine short video lectures with extensive illustrative materials, on-site discussions at relevant archaeological locations, display 3D images and discuss relevant archaeological finds. In addition, it includes interviews with leading researchers in the field, both to discuss specific aspects, finds and sites, as well as to present different sides of debated issues.

This course, the first in a comprehensive series on China, introduces you to the history, geography, and culture of the country. Time, space, and identity — enduring issues in Chinese history — are explored. You’ll study China’s early dynasties to understand how physical geography impacted its inhabitants and how the many ethnicities within the country affected Chinese identity. You’ll learn about China’s origins as told in ancient texts and through modern archeology. You’ll explore the first dynasties during the Chinese bronze age, the many facets of Confucianism and his Analects, and the competing schools of thought that followed. New political and moral ideas appear in Chinese culture in this period — ideas that make up the country’s intellectual foundations and still resonate today. Join us to learn about China’s origins and how early concepts in Chinese culture still matter in the 21st century.

As we see American women coming into positions of economic and political influence, we start to wonder: why now? The Women Have Always Worked MOOC, offered in four parts, explores the history of women in America and introduces students to historians’ work to uncover the place of women and gender in America’s past. Part two of this series departs from the Civil War, examining how gender shaped women's work outside the home in the late 19th century and how gender influenced the shape of the labor force. We will explore simultaneous efforts to affirm domesticity and provide women with paths to independence during this period, and will uncover how the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution impacted women’s political organizing and participation. The lives of women in the garment industry at the turn of the 20th century, and their involvement in unions, consumer's leagues, and coalitions, take center stage as we work to understand how women made efforts to improve the lives of industrial workers. Using an Intersectional approach, we demonstrate how women with different interests and identities formed alliances around legal and social causes in the early 20th Century, and how this culminated in women's fight for the vote in the early 20th century.

China has grown to become the world’s second largest economy in the last several decades. In this history course, you will learn about the governing practice and ideology of the Communist Party of China during their economic growth. This course is an introduction to the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and mainly consists of three points: Deng Xiaoping theory The important thought of "Three Represents”, which is a guiding socio-political theory Scientific outlook on China’s economic development By the end of this course, you will understand: The primary stage of socialism The Essence of Socialism and the General Task of Building Socialism with Chinese Characteristics Socialist theory of reform and opening up Theory of achieving complete reunification of China Socialistic diplomacy and international strategy with Chinese characteristics Theory on the Leading Nucleus of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics This course is a window into contemporary China. Open the window and enjoy the view with us. 本课程为思想政治理论课。课程以“历史与理论相结合、思想与现实相结合、线上与线下相结合、高雅与通俗相结合”为特色，讲授社会主义初级阶段理论和基本路线、社会主义本质理论、社会主义改革开放理论、建设中国特色社会主义的总布局、根本目的、依靠力量、领导核心等专题，引导学生正确把握中国特色社会主义理论体系的基本内容和精神实质，引导学生深刻认识改革开放的必要性、可能性和艰巨性，引导学生牢固树立中国特色社会主义的道路自信、理论自信、制度自信和文化自信。 本课程实施“转客为主”教学模式，即通过设置多重教学环节引导学生由“教学对象”向“教学主体”转化，由“被动性学习”向“主动性学习”转化，由“以听为主”向“听说读写行并重”转化。课程鼓励和引导学生实现“六化”： 一是“化耳为口”，即不仅要听，而且要说；二是“化目为手”，即不仅要读，而且要写；三是“化知为行”，即不仅要求知，而且要践行；四是“化外为内”，即将外在的知识转化为内在的素养；五是“化隐为显”，即将隐性的素质转化为显性的成果；六是“化人为己”，即将他人的素养转化为学生自我的素养。