HarvardX

Description How did the Communists conquer China? What role does culture play? What are the successes and failures of the Chinese Communist Party after seizing power in 1949? What constitutes liberation?This course will help you answer these important questions as you explore the profound cultural, intellectual, political and economic changes of this period. You’ll learn…

Description The weather forecasts we see every day are based on an army of meteorological sensing networks and intensive computer modeling. Before the rise of these technologies, predictions were made by methods like discerning cloud formations and wind directions. This course will explore the science behind weather systems by teaching the observational skills needed to…

Description In 1854, a cholera epidemic swept through the London neighborhood of Soho. In the course of about three weeks, over 600 people died. This incident was, tragically, not unusual in London or the rest of the 19th century world as a whole. The scourge of cholera seemed unstoppable and, even worse, unpredictable. But one…

Description Humans have been navigating for ages. As we developed the tools and techniques for determining location and planning a route, navigation grew into a practice, an art, and a science. Navigational skill has long been tied to commercial, economic, and military success. However, the ability to predict when and where one will reach a…

Description Humans have always sought to know their own future, be it the destiny of an empire or an individual’s fate. Across cultures and history, we find people trying to find their place in the Universe by attempting to gaze into the future. Join us for this one-week, immersive learning experience as we explore “pre-scientific”…

Description During each module of this course, chefs reveal the secrets behind some of their most famous culinary creations — often right in their own restaurants. Inspired by such cooking mastery, the Harvard team will then explain the science behind the recipe. Topics will include: How molecules influence flavor The role of heat in cooking…

Description In this course, which investigates physical transformations in food, we will be visited by world-famous chefs who use a number of different styles and techniques in their cooking. Each chef will demonstrate how he or she prepares delicious and interesting creations, and we will explore how fundamental scientific principles make them possible. Topics will…

Description Probability and statistics help to bring logic to a world replete with randomness and uncertainty. This course will give you tools needed to understand data, science, philosophy, engineering, economics, and finance. You will learn not only how to solve challenging technical problems, but also how you can apply those solutions in everyday life.With examples…

Description Using case studies from the Harvard Business School, this course will cover the contemporary Chinese scene by focusing on five main themes in China’s development: agriculture, entrepreneurship, education, environment, and literature.You’ll examine the period from Deng Xiaoping’s rise in 1978 to the present, using the lenses of sociology, political science, and economics. You’ll learn…

Description We will learn the basics of statistical inference in order to understand and compute p-values and confidence intervals, all while analyzing data with R. We provide R programming examples in a way that will help make the connection between concepts and implementation. Problem sets requiring R programming will be used to test understanding and…