HarvardX

Description Explore what it means to be human today by studying what it meant to be a hero in ancient Greek times. In this introduction to ancient Greek culture and literature, learners will experience, in English translation, some of the most beautiful works of ancient Greek literature and song-making spanning over a thousand years from…

Description The first in our Professional Certificate Program in Data Science, this course will introduce you to the basics of R programming. You can better retain R when you learn it to solve a specific problem, so you’ll use a real-world dataset about crime in the United States. You will learn the R skills needed…

Description How do we read Shakespeare? Do his plays belong to the past, or the present? To a famed dramatic genius or to readers and audiences around the globe? What do his plays really mean?Moving between the world in which Shakespeare lived and the present day, this course will introduce different kinds of literary analysis…

Description In the first act of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the Ghost of the dead King of Denmark appears to his son, setting off a chain of events that culminates in the play’s notoriously bloody finale. But how would this mysterious figure have been understood in Shakespeare’s time?Harvard professor Stephen Greenblatt guides learners through an exploration…

Description In the first act of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, the Jewish moneylender Shylock proposes a “merry sport” to the merchant Antonio: he will lend Antonio the money he needs if Antonio agrees to let Shylock take a pound of his flesh should he default. Shylock calls this contract a “merry bond,” and…

Description In this course, we’ll read William Shakespeare’s Othello and discuss the play from a variety of perspectives. The goal of the course is not to cover everything that has been written on Othello. Rather, it is to find a single point of entry to help us think about the play as a whole. Our…

Description Principles of Biochemistry integrates an introduction to the structure of macromolecules and a biochemical approach to cellular function. Topics addressing protein function will include enzyme kinetics, the characterization of major metabolic pathways and their interconnection into tightly regulated networks, and the manipulation of enzymes and pathways with mutations or drugs. An exploration of simple…

Description Fundamentals of Neuroscience is a three-course series that explores the structure and function of the nervous system—from the inner workings of a single nerve cell to the staggering complexity of the brain and the social interactions they enable.In this first course, you’ll learn how individual neurons use electricity to transmit information. You’ll build a neuron,…

Description On average, 130 Americans die every day from an overdose of opioids, the class of drugs that includes heroin, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, and fentanyl. Around 70% of all opioid overdose deaths involved a prescription opioid. Drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in the United States — opioid addiction is driving…

Description “We the People” are the opening words of the U.S. Constitution, yet the original document did not give citizens much say in the election of their officials. Though some of those issues have been addressed, substantial barriers—gerrymandering, voter registration, and voter ID laws—still restrain the power of the vote. Why? How can a country,…