I am giving this 3 stars for one reason. Although the instructor was terrific and the subject matter interesting, you cannot take the quizzes/tests without purchasing the course (I like to test my retention of the material). As I am an elderly and retired audit-only student and have NO interest in getting a certificate or using the course for college credit, I found that off-putting and dropped the class. Hopefully, other Coursera courses are not going to adopt the same requirement.

The best Modern World History course. I wish professor had a book on the course written by himself, he explains every event from a number of perspectives, which is absolutely great.

There is much to praise: nice mapwork, a steady and organized march through time, and some interesting case studies (I especially enjoyed the lecture on Henry Adams).

However, the title is a complete misnomer, as the course is regrettably white bread history. I found the approach stale and western-centric, as the content actually covers western Europe and the stretch of its influence through the time period. I also found myself questioning the veracity of many conclusions, as the lecture often had difficulty citing more than a couple specific points of evidence for his arguments.

In the 10 years, I reckon I've spent about as much time doing courses as being asleep... I've done University degrees (graduate degree, 2 masters and a PhD), personal development courses, courses on sports and activities (sailing, long distance swimming, gliding) and, in the last few monts, I must have done about 11 MOOCs.

This course goes straight into my top 10 all time favorite courses list, and is definitely the one I enjoyed the most in 2017. The course helped me understand how societies and economies have evolved over the years, which is a prerequisite for appreciating the basis on which modern societies are built on. The course is delivering by a prominent academic who knows what he's talking about. There is a good flow from lecture to lecture and the presenter makes a solid effort to presents facts, rather than his own (or others') judgements.

All in all, I felt this is a great, eye-opening and thought provoking course, and I'd recommend everybody with an interest in politics, society and modern history to give it a shot.

This is a terrific course, amazing prevention,

but it does lack reading material that Virginia's full online course has,

it would be nice to have a deeper engamente with the subjects.

An excellent synthesis of history. The teacher explains the topics very well and is entertaining. As a Latin American, I miss that nothing is mentioned about the history of independence and Spanish power at that time. It is logical that there are always topics left. Although the English and Americans have built the world since 1700, there are good stories from the Latin American side. No mention was made of the great inflation unleashed in Europe by Spanish gold. It would also be interesting to include the big scams that happened and some characters in France, who shaped capitalism. You could go deeper into banking and other characters like Robert Owen who I think was the first true socialist. But as I said the subject is extensive and I learned a lot. I am a 53 year old Colombian who studied by general culture. Convey the most sincere congratulations and thanks to the professor. A hug.

Una excelente síntesis de la historia . El profesor explica muy bien los temas y es entretenido. Como latinoamericano extrañe que no se menciona nada de la historia de la independencia y del poderío español en esa época. Es lógico que siempre se quedan temas. si bien los ingleses y los norteamericanos han construido el mundo desde 1700 hay buenos relatos del lado latinoamericano. No se menciono nada de la gran inflación que se desató en Europa por el oro Español. Seria interesante también incluir las grandes estafas que ocurrieron y algunos personajes en Francia, que moldearon el capitalismo. Se podría profundizar en la banca y en otros personajes como Robert Owen que creo que fue el primer verdadero socialista. Pero como dije el tema es extenso y aprendí mucho. Soy un colombiano de 53 años que estudio por cultura general. Transmitanle al profesor mis mas sinceras felicitaciones y gracias. Un abrazo.

I completed both parts of this course--a lot of work, but well worth the effort. My last formal history course was a two-semester sequence called "Modern Civilization," which I took as an undergraduate at UNC-Chapel Hill back in the late 1960s. It's amazing how much my perspective on history and studying history has changed over a half century.

It might be helpful for a student to have had some exposure to European and American history prior to taking this two-course sequence. A knowledge of world geography would also be beneficial. The quizzes in part 2 seemed to cover more material than the quizzes in part 1, which required me to change my study habits a bit. This two-part course, however, was well worth the time and money spent. In fact, I can't remember when I got so much out of such a modest purchase!

Dear Professor,

I am fascinated with week one, even though I work in the scientific side, also like history, nothing more rewarding than visiting and ancient place and know what happened... Thanks

You have to pay to take the the tests. You might as well watch videos on YouTube or better yet get on Khan Academy. I did like the instructor. Even though he takes a while to warm up, he's really good at showing the big picture connections of why things happened.

It does not let it show as completed unless you purchase the course and take the quizzes. Quizzes cannot be taken unless you purchase the course.

An excellent history course and very thoughtfully presented. It doesn't rely on memorizing a bunch of dates and events but pulls it together in a story. Rather than focus on "What," "When," or "How," it focused on "Why." Its professor is a very learned and notable figure in both American Academia and Politic having lead the 9/11 commission but refusing to sanction the doctrine of pre-emptive strike. Frankly if they'd have taken his course, they'd have known why. I highly recommend this course to anyone who loves history and wants a different perspective or anyone who wants to know more or wants to pull together the facts they've had swimming around in their head for years!

Es el único curso de Historia general con el que cuenta actualmente Coursera para este periodo histórico.

La amplia variedad de temas que abarca, así como la diversidad de ideas y teorías empleadas en el curso, proporcionan al alumno una formación horizontal en el estudio de la disciplina histórica y a su vez, se le genera las ansias de conocer más de cada uno de los temas. Obviamente es un curso para iniciarse en el camino de este periodo histórico pero no por ello menos esencial e importante para futuros interesados o especialistas en la materia.

"Events, dear boy": yes, yes, we know, but Professor Zelikow is determined to steer his students beyond events to a questioning of causality - to the whys as well as the mere whats. In addition, the course is very well structured, and pitched I would say absolutely perfectly for the curious generalist. Only cavil is that one or two lectures are perhaps a touch too compressed, even for such a brief course (week three, for example). Overall I would thoroughly recommend this course: I'm not sure I've ever spent €46 so well. On now to Part Two!

Excelente. Entretenido, contenido totalmente valioso, un tutor más que formado y experimentado. Muy ameno, intrigante. Muy recomendado para los interesados en historia de todo tipo, y particularmente a personas nuevas en Coursera. 10/10.

It took me a long time to finish this. By having an all-nighter, I continued learning different aspects of the world that shaped our today's world. The course materials are very informative and analyzed.

Such an informative course, and it linked together different regions & events; that's something only top-level sources of education does. I will no doubt continue on with the course to Part 2.

The explanation of the various historical events which shaped the world is beautifully explained and the transition from one era to another is very smooth, making it a wonderful experience.

The course was very informative. Teacher focused on ideas and ideologies rather than just facts.

The course helped me to know what shaped the world in the 18th and 19th century.

Hi! I'm a student and your fan from India. I'm feeling so honoured and empowered to study from an academician who has been the executive director of the 9/11 commission and Counselor of the Department of state. I know it's a part of your job but teaching is such a noble profession.

Things I Loved:

1. You explain stuff pretty simply without complicating them.

2. Effective use of maps has been made

3. I like it when you write in your own handwriting, adds a more personal touch to the videos.

Things which could be improved according to me:

1. Your Background is boring, endless stock of scary books, it makes videos monotonous. You could try changing your location sometimes or a simple background with 1-2 plants :)

2. It gets a little confusing in Week 1 especially when we are just starting out.

3. No English subtitles are available for week 7 video 1

4. Is it possible to add some sort of animation or videos or something like that?

Being a professor as well (though in computer science), I know how hard it is to get the full attention of the students. I congratulate Prof. Zelikow for his achievements. This course has capture my attention and I was eager to watch the next presentation. I learned a lot and I just have a single point (actually a suggestion), which is that each module should finish with a list of literature for those seeking more info on particular topics. Apart from this, a well balanced course. Not easy to put together stuff about 250 years of History.

I believe the assessments focus on insignificant details mentioned in the presentations rather than the big ideas that I believed was the crux of the course.

Illuminating course to help understand how the world got to be the way it is today and frankly to help understand the whys and hows the Western world dominated so much during this period. Also, extremely eye opening on non-Western histories of Africa, India, and China. I was shocked at the calamities and instability that China went through during this period and the resulting precariousness of their survival at the turn of the last century. The course also whets the appetite for more because the professor emphasizes the "whys" and not just the "hows". I've sought out other books, Hollywood movies, and web searches based on what the professor has shared in the course. I look forward to taking part two.

A great course on predominantly the western course of history from 1760 to 1910; one that focuses on ideas and movements that shaped the world, not a course that focuses on western history for reasons of eurocentrism alone. Where the course is eurocentric, it is so by necessity, a symptom of a well-balanced, well-structured course that strives for an approach that poses questions in an earnest and truthful manner.

The professor who runs this course is a highlight. His voice and presentation style makes the course that much easier to enjoy. I hope to later follow him and pay attention to his external writings and insights, even in my time beyond studying this online course.

This is a phenomenal introduction to what happened in the world between 1760 and 1910. Not only the professor is able to explain ''what'' happened but most importantly he makes a super emphasis on ''why'' things happened the way they did. The split between the ''what'' and the ''why'' is about 50/50 which I find quite rare as many of my previous learning experiences concentrated primarily on the ''what'' which is not enough to truly understand life and the world. Super course for those interested in the innerworkings of human beings, the choices they have made and the systems those chhave created.