Online courses directory (174)

The goal of this course is to review grammar and develop vocabulary building strategies to refine oral and written expression. Speaking and writing assignments are designed to expand communicative competence. Assignments are based on models and materials drawn from contemporary media (newspapers and magazines, television, Web). The models, materials, topics and assignments vary from semester to semester.

This course explores artistic achievement in a culture that over the past century has engaged in constant and intense imaginative self-renewal. The class studies film, narrative (e.g., Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude), and poetry. Conducted in Spanish.

French is spoken by 110 million native speakers, is an official language in 29 countries and has 190 million non-native speakers around the world. This free online course is ideal for learners who have had some exposure to the French language and want to continue improving their knowledge and understanding of both grammar and vocabulary of this wonderful language. You will start this free course by improving your pronunciation skills. This is followed by learning more useful vocabulary and further expanding your ability to count numbers in French. You will also improve your understanding and knowledge of grammar rules, in particular, the use of adjectives, adverbs and pronouns. This course will be of interest to business professionals doing business in French speaking countries and who would like to communicate more effectively with their French speaking colleagues, and to individual students learning French who would like to continue improving their understanding of this language.<br />

Do you want to sound like a native Spanish speaker? Get started by improving your accent. This course provides a practical introduction to Spanish pronunciation for students at all levels. It is taught in English and designed to provide an auditory and visual approach to learning pronunciation. Students will listen to audio files recorded by native speakers and then record themselves pronouncing the same words or phrases. In addition to playing back both recordings to compare the auditory differences, students will have an opportunity to view and compare visual sound waves of both audio recordings. These techniques will help learners assess and improve their pronunciation. Although it will be necessary to some extent, discussion of theoretical issues will be kept to a minimum with the emphasis being on accent reduction.

This course covers JSL (Japanese: the Spoken Language, Part 1, by Eleanor H. Jorden with Mari Noda, Yale University Press, 1987) Lessons 12 through 17, providing opportunities to acquire basic skills for conversation, reading, and writing. The program emphasizes ACTIVE command of Japanese, not passive knowledge. The goal is not simply to study the grammar and vocabulary, but to improve the ability to use Japanese accurately and appropriately with fluency, building on the basic skills gained in Japanese I and II. Students learn approximately 80 Kanji characters in this course.

International Women’s Voices has several objectives. It introduces students to a variety of works by contemporary women writers from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and North America. The emphasis is on non-western writers. The readings are chosen to encourage students to think about how each author’s work reflects a distinct cultural heritage and to what extent, if any, we can identify a female voice that transcends national cultures. In lectures and readings distributed in class, students learn about the history and culture of each of the countries these authors represent. The way in which colonialism, religion, nation formation and language influence each writer is a major concern of this course. In addition, students examine the patterns of socialization of women in patriarchal cultures, and how, in the imaginary world, authors resolve or understand the relationship of the characters to love, work, identity, sex roles, marriage, and politics.

This course provides an overview of Asian American history and its relevance for contemporary issues. It covers the first wave of Asian immigration in the 19^th century, the rise of anti-Asian movements, the experiences of Asian Americans during WWII, the emergence of the Asian American movement in the 1960s, and the new wave of post–1965 Asian immigration. The class examines the role these experiences played in the formation of Asian American ethnicity. The course addresses key societal issues such as racial stereotyping, media racism, affirmative action, the glass ceiling, the "model minority" syndrome, and anti-Asian harassment or violence. The course is taught in English.

This course studies representative twentieth and twenty-first-century texts and films from Hispanic America and Spain. Emphasis is on developing strategies for analyzing the genres of the novel, the short story, the poem, the fictional film, and the theatrical script. The novels read this semester are Magali García Ramis's Felices días, Tío Sergio (1986, Puerto Rico) and Javier Cercas's Soldados de Salamina (2001, Spain). We will study Lorca's play "La casa de Bernarda Alba" (1936, Spain), films from Spain, México, and Cuba, poems by Darío (Nicaragua), Machado (Spain), Lorca (Spain), Hernández (Spain), Vallejo (Perú), Cernuda (Spain), and Luis Palés Matos (Puerto Rico), and short stories from México (by an exiled Spanish writer), Chile, Argentina, and Cuba. Thematic emphasis is on the Spanish Civil War, changing attitudes toward gender, the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, and the history of race in the Americas.

This subject serves as a broad introduction to the field of European and Latin American fiction. It is taught in an historical manner—beginning with the first picaresque novel, Lazarillo de Tormes, and ending with contemporary European fiction. It is designed to help students acquire a general understanding of major fictional modes-from 18th century epistolary fiction, Liaisons dangereuses, to 20th century avant-garde fiction: Cosmicomicsi and Aura. Attention is paid not only to the literary movements these works represent, but also to the subtle interplay of history, geography, language and cultural norms that gave rise to specific literary forms. While the reading load is heavy, the books are compelling.

This course examines major social and political trends, events, debates and personalities which help place aspects of contemporary French culture in their historical perspective through fiction, films, essays, newspaper articles, and television. Topics include the heritage of the French Revolution, the growth and consequences of colonialism, the role of intellectuals in public debates, the impact of the Occupation, the modernization of the economy and of social structures. The sources and meanings of national symbols, monuments, myths and manifestoes are also studied. Recommended for students planning to study abroad. Taught in French.

This course is designed as an introduction to Latin American politics and society for undergraduates at MIT. No background on the region is required. Overall workload (reading, writing, class participation, and examinations) is similar to that of other HASS-D courses. Many of the themes raised here are covered in greater detail in other courses: 21G.020J (New World Literature), 21G.716 (Introduction to Contemporary Hispanic Literature), 21G.730 (Twentieth and Twentyfirst-Century Spanish American Literaturere), 21G.735 (Advanced Topics in Hispanic Literature and Film), 21A.220 (The Conquest of America), 21H.802 (Modern Latin America), 3.982 (The Ancient Andean World), 3.983 (Ancient Mesoamerican Civilization), 17.507 (Democratization and Democratic Collapse), and 17.554 (Political Economy of Latin America).F

This course has several purposes. The major concern will be the examination of Spanish culture including Spain's history, architecture, art, literature and film, to determine if there is a uniquely Spanish manner of seeing and understanding the world - one which emerges as clearly distinct from our own and that of other Western European nations.

This course is an introduction to modern standard Japanese with an emphasis on developing proficiency in speaking and listening, using basic grammar and vocabulary. Basic skills in reading and writing are also taught.

This course is based around the enhancement of the four basic skills, extension of basic grammar, vocabulary and kanji building, building off what was learned in 21f.501. This course consists of a lecture on grammar, and practices and labs conducted in Japanese.

This course covers Japanese: The Spoken Language lessons 17 through 22. It will further develop the four basic skills, speaking, listening, reading and writing, that students have acquired through Japanese I, II and III courses, with emphasis on oral communication skills in various practical situations. Students will learn approximately 100 Kanji characters in this course. Sessions in English cover grammar explanation, socio-cultural information and other important issues for using the language, while Japanese lessons focus on the actual use of the language, integrating students' prior knowledge with newly learned patterns, and communicating within the frame given in the class.

This course includes surveys for both cinematic and literary representations of diverse eras and aspects of Japanese culture such as the classical era, the samurai age, wartime Japan and the atomic bombings, social change in the postwar period, and the appropriation of foreign cultural themes, with an emphasis on the modern period. The directors include Akira Kurosawa and Hiroshi Teshigahara. The authors include Kobo Abe and Yukio Mishima. The films are shown with subtitles in English. The course is taught in English.

This course examines Japanese popular culture as a way of understanding the changing character of media, capitalism, fan communities and culture. Topics include manga (comic books), hip-hop and other popular music in Japan, anime (Japanese animated films) and feature films, sports (sumo, soccer, baseball), and online communication. Emphasis will be on contemporary popular culture and theories of gender, sexuality, race, and the workings of power in global culture industries.

This course is designed for high-intermediate ESL students who need to develop better listening comprehension and oral skills, which will primarily be achieved by detailed instructions on pronunciation. Our focus will be on (1) producing accurate and intelligible English, (2) becoming more comfortable listening to rapidly spoken English, and (3) learning common expressions, gambits, and idioms used in both formal and informal contexts.

For learners who have studied our first two French courses, this third course will further increase your understanding of the French language. You will build on your existing knowledge of French vocabulary and master important areas of grammar that will greatly improve your comprehension of the French language and your ability to communicate effectively with native French speakers. In this free online French language course you will be taken step by step through grammar topics such as using adverbs and prepositions, using relative and demonstrative pronouns and understanding the differences between 'depuis', 'pendant', 'pour' and 'il y a'. You will also cover a wide range of new topics and learn vocabulary related to jobs, professions, religion, law and order, driving and music to name just a few. This course will be of great interest to all learners of the French language who would like to take their knowledge and understanding to a new level and further deepen their comprehension of this language.<br />

This instance of "Media, Education, and the Marketplace" focuses on the rise of information and communications technologies (ICTs) during the age of globalization, specifically examining its effect and potential in developing nations across the world. In particular, the class will focus on the following three components:

• "Media" – ICTs, specifically the dramatic rise in use of the Internet over the past twenty years, have "globalized" the world and created opportunities where very few have been available in the past. We are entering a phase where an individual can significantly improve his or her own economical, political, and social circumstances with just a computer and Internet connection. This course investigate these profound developments through current research and case studies.
• "Education" – With projects such as MIT's OpenCourseWare, the major players in the world are beginning to understand the true power of ICTs in development. Throughout this class, we examine projects that harness the benefits of ICTs to create positive social change around the world.
• "Marketplace" – The focus is on the developing regions of the world. Specifically, the term "digital divide" is tossed around in everyday language, but what does it really mean? Is there an international digital divide, a national digital divide, or both? Should we try to bridge this divide, and how have past attempts succeeded and (for the most part) failed? Why? These are all questions that are asked throughout this course.

This course has a very unique pedagogy, which is discussed in more detail in the syllabus section.