Ukraine: History, Culture and Identities (Coursera)

Ukraine: History, Culture and Identities (Coursera)

Explore the history, culture and society of the people of Ukraine from the Middle Ages to the present in this introductory course developed by the Ukrainian Institute, educational studio EdEra, and the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and offered on Coursera in cooperation with the University of Washington.

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

The culture and identities of Ukrainian people have existed in this region for more than a thousand years. Like most Eastern European countries, Ukraine is a rather young country — it declared its independence in 1991. Since then, it managed to survive three revolutions struggling for the protection of democratic values and human rights; radically changed the vector of international politics; and advanced significantly in the development of arts and culture.
Learn about the events and processes that took place before independence was declared and see what historical and cultural heritage was preserved by the Ukrainian people when it entered the 21st century in this program taught by researchers, experts in history and political science, and professors from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Dr. Natalia Shlikhta, Associate Professor, Head of the Department of History, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
Dr. Maksym Yakovlev, Head of the Department of International Relations, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Director of the School for Policy Analysis
Dr. Tetiana Grygorieva, Associate Professor of the Department of History, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
Dr. Vadym Aristov, Senior lecturer of the Department of History, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
Dr. Kateryna Dysa, Associate Professor of the Department of History, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy

What You Will Learn
A short introductory course in the history, culture, and society of Ukraine from the Middle Ages to the present.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Module 1: Independence and Pre-XIX Century Ukraine
INDEPENDENT UKRAINE: You will be able to explain how Ukraine's independence was declared, list all the major Ukrainian revolutions and describe the objectives of Ukrainian foreign policy vectors. KYIVAN RUS' IN THE MIDDLE AGES: You will be able to describe the origins of Ukraine in Rus’ state, explain the historical significance of Christianization and discuss the origin of Rus’ culture. UKRAINIAN LANDS IN THE EARLY MODERN TIMES: You will be able to identify peculiarities of the Ukrainian Reformation, explain the origins of the Cossack community and interpret its course of development.

WEEK 2
Module 2: Ukraine in the XIX Century and Beyond
UKRAINE IN THE LONG XIX CENTURY: You will be able to compare the Ukrainian National Revival with similar movements in other European nations, explain the key features of the industrialization and the Ukrainian national movement. UKRAINE IN THE XX CENTURY: You will be able to summarize postwar territorial arrangements regarding the Ukrainian lands, determine the features of Stalin’s “Great Turn” in 1929, analyze the development of political movement.

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

Related Courses

William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night: Comedy, Conflict, and Community (Coursera) Coursera
University of Colorado Boulder

William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night: Comedy, Conflict, and Community (Coursera)

This course introduces and explores William Shakespeare’s classic comedy, Twelfth Night. Interviews with actors who appeared in the Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s 2019 production of Twelfth Night, as well as lectures by scholars and theater professionals who work and teach at the University of Colorado Boulder, offer students insight into Shakespeare’s artistic vision and its applications.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Journey of the Universe: The Unfolding of Life (Coursera) Coursera
Yale University

Journey of the Universe: The Unfolding of Life (Coursera)

Journey of the Universe weaves together the discoveries of the evolutionary sciences together with humanities such as history, philosophy, art, and religion. The course draws on the Emmy-award winning film, Journey of the Universe, and the book from Yale University Press. Journey explores cosmic evolution as a creative process based on connection, interdependence, and emergence. It examines a range of dynamic interactions in the unfolding of galaxies, Earth, life, and human communities. It investigates ways in which we understand evolutionary processes and the implications for humans and our ecological future.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
The History of Modern Israel - Part II: Challenges of Israel as a sovereign state (Coursera) Coursera
Tel Aviv University

The History of Modern Israel - Part II: Challenges of Israel as a sovereign state (Coursera)

This course deals with the Israeli politics, economy, society and culture, since its creation in 1948 till today. It analyzes the construction of the Israeli historical narrative as an identity-building narrative, intending to inculcate a collective memory to a diverse society. We will focus on key events and essential components that shaped the Israeli society from the fifties till the present. We will also discuss the changes that the Israeli society experiences in its almost seventy years of existence and how it affects its politics and culture.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Søren Kierkegaard - Subjectivity, Irony and the Crisis of Modernity (Coursera) Coursera
University of Copenhagen

Søren Kierkegaard - Subjectivity, Irony and the Crisis of Modernity (Coursera)

In this course created by former associate professor at the Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre, Jon Stewart, we will explore how Kierkegaard deals with the problems associated with relativism, the lack of meaning and the undermining of religious faith that are typical of modern life. His penetrating analyses are still highly relevant today and have been seen as insightful for the leading figures of Existentialism, Post-Structuralism and Post-Modernism.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Soul Beliefs: Causes and Consequences - Unit 2: Belief Systems (Coursera) Coursera
Rutgers University

Soul Beliefs: Causes and Consequences - Unit 2: Belief Systems (Coursera)

Throughout history, the vast majority of people around the globe have believed they have, however defined, a “soul.” While the question of whether the soul exists cannot be answered by science, what we can study are the causes and consequences of various beliefs about the soul and its prospects of surviving the death of the body. Why are soul and afterlife beliefs so common in human history? Are there adaptive advantages to assuming souls exist?

Aug 3rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
What Is Contemporary Art? (Coursera) Coursera
The Museum of Modern Art

What Is Contemporary Art? (Coursera)

What is contemporary art? In this course, you’ll consider this question through more than 70 works of art made between 1980 and the present, with a focus on art from the past decade. You’ll hear directly from artists, architects, and designers from around the globe about their creative processes, materials, and inspiration.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Structuring Values in Modern China (Coursera) Coursera
The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Structuring Values in Modern China (Coursera)

This sequence of four courses will propose a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of Chinese cultural history conceived of as a succession of modes of rationality (philosophical, bureaucratic, and economic). The focus will be on the moments of paradigm shift from one mode of rationality to another. For each of these moments, cultural facts and artifacts—thought, literature, ritual—will be examined in relationship to changing social, political, and economic systems.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Organising an Empire: The Assyrian Way (Coursera) Coursera
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Organising an Empire: The Assyrian Way (Coursera)

Discover the mighty kingdom of Assyria, which came to be the world’s first great empire three thousand years ago. From the 9th to the 7th centuries BC, during the imperial phase of Assyria’s long history, modern day northern Iraq was the central region of a state reaching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf, and incorporating what is now Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, as well as half of Israel, and wide parts of south-eastern Turkey, and Western Iran.

Aug 10th 2026
5-12 Weeks
A Journey through Western Christianity: from Persecuted Faith to Global Religion (200 - 1650) (Coursera) Coursera
Yale University

A Journey through Western Christianity: from Persecuted Faith to Global Religion (200 - 1650) (Coursera)

This course follows the extraordinary development of Western Christianity from its early persecution under the Roman Empire in the third century to its global expansion with the Jesuits of the early modern world. We explore the dynamic and diverse character of a religion with an enormous cast characters. We will meet men and women who tell stories of faith as well as of violence, suppression, and division.

Aug 10th 2026
5-12 Weeks