Eric Foner, the DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University, is about to launch a new massive open online course (MOOC) under the auspices of Columbia’s Center for New Media Teaching and Learning. The course is entitled “The Unfinished Revolution: Reconstruction and After, 1865-1890.” It is the third of a three-part MOOC series on the Civil War and its aftermath. Completion of the first two courses in the series is not required for participation in the third course.
Professor Foner says that “no one can understand modern America without knowing about Reconstruction. In many ways Reconstruction laid the groundwork for the world we live in. Issues such as civil rights, the power of the national government over the states, the definition of citizenship, and the proper response to terrorism are Reconstruction questions that still reverberate today.”
Professor Foner won the Pulitzer Prize for his book The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery (W.W. Norton, 2010). His most recent book is Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad (W.W. Norton, 2015).
The new MOOC will begin on February 25 and will last for nine weeks. Expect a 6- to 8-hour time commitment each week. The course is free and open to the public. You may sign up here.
Here is a short video showing Professor Foner discussing the course series.
