Modern American Poetry (Coursera)

Modern American Poetry (Coursera)

Twelve experienced faculty members from across the United States present their analyses of ground-breaking modern American poets in richly illustrated video lectures. The course highlights both major poets—from Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson through T.S. Eliot, H.D., Amy Lowell, Hart Crane, Langston Hughes, Muriel Rukeyser, and many others—and influential movements. The course mixes historical overview with close readings of individual poets and poems.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Most courses give only one instructor’s point of view. This one matches the diversity of US poetry with lectures by a score of talented faculty. They bring their special perspective to the material while also presenting a coherent view of more than fifty years of US poetry. Throughout the course the lectures are illustrated with vivid images of the events, people, and places mentioned in the poems themselves. Readings by both the poets themselves and experienced faculty highlight the texts. On screen displays of text and quotations make it easy to follow the material. This is a course that takes advantage of the medium to bring you sights and sounds that would be difficult to incorporate in classroom lectures.

Syllabus

WEEK 1: Orientation - Reassessing Modernism's Origins
WEEK 2: The Difference Women Made
WEEK 3: Poetry's Social Voice
WEEK 4: Modernism's Legacies

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Music and Social Action (Coursera) Coursera
Yale University

Music and Social Action (Coursera)

What is a musician’s response to the condition of the world? Do musicians have an obligation and an opportunity to serve the needs of the world with their musicianship? At a time of crisis for the classical music profession, with a changing commercial landscape, a shrinking audience base, and a contraction in the number of professional orchestras, how does a young musician construct a career today? Are we looking at a dying art form or a moment of reinvigoration?

Nov 30th 2026
5-12 Weeks
The Blues: Understanding and Performing an American Art Form (Coursera) Coursera
University of Rochester

The Blues: Understanding and Performing an American Art Form (Coursera)

The blues is an American art form and the most important musical form in jazz. Although there are other formal paradigms of the blues, such as 8-bar or 16-bar, this course focuses on different incarnations of the 12-bar blues. There are considerable differences between Early Jazz blues, Swing blues, Bebop blues, Modal blues, and Post Bop blues.

Nov 30th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Applied Public History: Places, People, Stories (Coursera) Coursera
University of London

Applied Public History: Places, People, Stories (Coursera)

This course introduces learners to applied public history: understanding and interpreting the past today, and engaging diverse communities in the practice of making and sharing histories. The course draws on project case studies, expert insights and diverse perspectives to model exciting approaches to researching and sharing the history of places and people. Learners will develop a toolkit to apply in their own practice, by participating in discussion, quizzes, creative activities and mini masterclasses. What kinds of stories can we discover through research into the history of places and people?

Nov 30th 2026
5-12 Weeks
The Cycle: Management of Successful Arts and Cultural Organizations (Coursera) Coursera
University of Maryland, College Park

The Cycle: Management of Successful Arts and Cultural Organizations (Coursera)

What makes a successful arts and cultural organization? Led by DeVos Institute Chairman Michael M. Kaiser and President Brett Egan, this course will introduce you to a management theory called the Cycle which supports thriving arts and cultural organizations. Learning from our work with managers from over 80 countries around the world, the DeVos Institute developed the Cycle as a simple, but powerful tool to assist managers in their effort to respond to an increasingly complex environment and propel their institutions to excellence.

Nov 30th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Android Architecture/Multimedia Framework (Coursera) Coursera
Board Infinity

Android Architecture/Multimedia Framework (Coursera)

This is an Intermediate Course intended for learners passionate about Android Development and have basic knowledge of Android Development. Embark on a comprehensive exploration of Android's architectural components, complemented by an in-depth study of its multimedia frameworks. Designed for software developers, mobile app enthusiasts, and tech professionals, this course offers profound insights into the Android operating system's inner mechanics.

Nov 30th 2026
4 Weeks
Story and Narrative Development for Video Games (Coursera) Coursera
California Institute of the Arts

Story and Narrative Development for Video Games (Coursera)

In this course, you will examine how storytelling acts as a vital mechanism for driving video gameplay forward. Looking at several historical and contemporary games, you will be asked to evaluate and interpret different story styles with the goal of identifying themes and procedures for your own game ideas. We'll examine traditional narrative story processes, such as three-act structure, and how they fit into game story flows and the strategic elements of gameplay. Ultimately, you will learn how to define character, setting, and structure to create a compelling game concept.

Nov 9th 2026
4 Weeks
Photography Techniques: Light, Content, and Sharing (Coursera) Coursera
Michigan State University

Photography Techniques: Light, Content, and Sharing (Coursera)

Welcome to Course FOUR! In Modules 1-4 you will cover the final elements of the Specialization necessary to round out this introduction to the fundamentals of Photography, and prepare you for creating your own exciting project in the Capstone! You have come a long way since the beginning of this journey from Smartphone Basics to DSLR and Beyond. Just think of all the information you have absorbed and put to use in your assignments and quizzes, and the confidence you have gained that you CAN control the camera to make pictures you are proud to share.

Nov 16th 2026
4 Weeks
The Beauty of Kunqu Opera (Coursera) Coursera
The Chinese University of Hong Kong

The Beauty of Kunqu Opera (Coursera)

This course will focus on the historical and cultural background, literary aesthetics, music, and performance of Kunqu, China’s classical opera. After viewing the lecture videos presented by scholars and renowned maestros in the field of Kunqu, students’ understanding and appreciation of Chinese performing arts, classical literature and traditional culture will be enhanced.

Nov 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
The Modern and the Postmodern (Part 2) (Coursera) Coursera
Wesleyan University

The Modern and the Postmodern (Part 2) (Coursera)

This course examines how the idea of "the modern" develops at the end of the 18th century in European philosophy and literature, and how being modern (or progressive, or hip) became one of the crucial criteria for understanding and evaluating cultural change. Are we still in modernity, or have we moved beyond the modern to the postmodern?

Nov 30th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Seeing Through Photographs (Coursera) Coursera
The Museum of Modern Art

Seeing Through Photographs (Coursera)

Although taking, sharing, and viewing photographs has become second nature for many of us, our regular engagement with images does not necessarily make us visually literate. This course aims to address the gap between seeing and truly understanding photographs by introducing a diversity of ideas, approaches, and technologies that inform their making. In this course you will look closely at 100 photographs from the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, going behind the scenes of the Museum and into artist studios through original films and audio interviews.

Nov 16th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Videojuegos: ¿de qué hablamos? (Coursera) Coursera
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Videojuegos: ¿de qué hablamos? (Coursera)

Probablemente, todos hemos jugado a algún videojuego, pero ¿qué hay detrás de él? Podemos decir que - con independencia del videojuego - hay un árduo trabajo multidisciplinar que incluye desde aspectos de diseño hasta la programación como tal del videojuego. Este curso pretende ser un curso introductorio que muestre qué aspectos hay que considerar en el videojuego, y que permita con posterioridad abordar individualmente los temas que se consideran nucleares: diseño, arte, motor del videojuego y 'game play'.

Nov 16th 2026
5-12 Weeks