The MIT OCW August 2008 Newsletter is promoting a course originally offered in 2007 called How to Stage a Revolution
Course Description:
21H.001, a HASS-D, CI course, explores fundamental questions about the causes and nature of revolutions. How do people overthrow their rulers? How do they establish new governments? Do radical upheavals require bloodshed, violence, or even terror? How have revolutionaries attempted to establish their ideals and realize their goals? We will look at a set of major political transformations throughout the world and across centuries to understand the meaning of revolution and evaluate its impact. By the end of the course, students will be able to offer reasons why some revolutions succeed and others fail. Materials for the course include the writings of revolutionaries, declarations and constitutions, music, films, art, memoirs, and newspapers.
For the last four years, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has made all of it’s courses free to the public. Through the Open Course Ware program, anyone, anywhere can download entire courses, syllabi, readings, lecture notes, videos, exams and more at any time. No registration is required. To date OCW has posted 1,800 courses ranging from Introduction to Aerospace Engineering and Design to Writing on Contemporary Issues: Imagining the Future. Watch a video about this amazing resource here.