Larry Sabato Coursera Course: The Kennedy Half-Century

[Bolo Boffin]

https://class.coursera.org/kennedy-002/class/index

This is a free online class talking about Kennedy and his legacy 50 years after his death.

Here's a list of the video lectures:

Week One Topics (Video Lectures and corresponding lesson numbers posted below)

If you're following along in the book (not required), the first ten video lectures correspond with material in the book's Introduction and Chapters 1-3

Welcome and Guidelines
Introduction
JFK: The Rise to Power
Kennedy's Legislative Career
JFK Takes to the National Stage
The 1960 Campaign for the Presidency
Religion and Politics in the 1960 Election
the 1960 Presidential Television Debates
Heading to Election Day
The 1960 Election Results: How Kennedy Won


Week Two Topics (Video Lectures and corresponding lesson numbers will be posted on October 28, 2013)

Kennedy's Inauguration: The Torch is Passed:
Civil Rights
The Space Exploration
Containing Communism, The Bay of Pigs Disaster
The Berlin Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis (Part One)
The Cuban Missile Crisis (Part Two)
The Kennedy Assassination in Dallas, Texas
The Assassination: Parkland Hospital, A New President and a National Funeral

Week Three Topics (Video Lectures and corresponding lesson numbers will be posted on November 4, 2013)

Lee Harvey Oswald
Aftermath of the Assassination
The Warren Commission
Who Killed JFK? The Rise of Conspiracy Theories (Part One)
Conspiracy Theories Then and Now (Part Two)
Lyndon Johnson – Pretender to the Throne
Richard Nixon: JFK’s Repudiation and Revival

Week Four Topics (Video Lectures and corresponding lesson numbers will posted on November 11, 2013)

Gerald Ford
The House Select Committee on Assassinations and the Warren Commission Revisited
Jimmy Carter: Democratic Hatfields and McCoys
Ronald Reagan: Opposites Attract
George H.W. Bush: Dynasties and Public Pressure
Bill Clinton Grabs Kennedy’s Torch
George W. Bush: Back to the Republican Kennedys
Barack Obama: The Twinning of JFK
Conclusion: A Flame Eternal?

As I said, the course is free, and purchase of Sabato's book is not required.

[Bolo Boffin]

1. First week was very good.

It follows JFK's life all the way up to being elected president. Several extensive clips of him speaking are the highlights of the series.

This is just a four-week course, so it's not too late to get into the lectures.