Pop Culture Courses and Certifications

History of Rock, Part One

18 ratings

Trace rock from Tin Pan Alley to psychedelia: Elvis, Chuck Berry, the Beatles, Motown and Stax soul, and the business and technology shaping each style.

• Coursera
• 9 weeks, 2 hours a week
• Self-Paced
• Paid Course

Career Certificate

Fandom and Popular Culture in the Digital Age

41 ratings at Coursera

What we love builds community: analyze fandom across social media authenticity, popular music, and comic book geek culture, and the commercial forces shaping them.

• Coursera
• 4 weeks, 10 hours a week
• Self-Paced
• Paid Course
• 3 courses

Fandom, Social Media, and Authenticity in the Digital Age

30 ratings at Coursera

Explore fandom and participatory culture online: audit your own social media use, analyze selfies and Roxane Gay's "bad feminism," and publish a fandom immersion blog.

• Coursera
• 4 weeks, 4 hours a week
• Self-Paced
• Paid Course

Comic Books, Geek Culture, and the Fandom Imaginary

Explore fandom and geek culture: analyze comic book superheroes and representation, examine toxic fan dynamics, and use close reading and self-reflection to connect with fan communities.

• Coursera
• 3 weeks, 4 hours a week
• Self-Paced
• Paid Course

Fandom, Community, and Identity in Popular Music

Explore what it means to be a music fan: analyze case studies from Kendrick Lamar to k-pop, practice close listening and self-reflection, and create your own fandom project.

• Coursera
• 3 weeks, 4 hours a week
• Self-Paced
• Paid Course

The Music of the Beatles

18 ratings

Trace the Beatles' musical development from Liverpool and Hamburg covers through Rubber Soul, Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road, examining song authorship, studio techniques and 1960s culture.

• Coursera
• 7 weeks, 2 hours a week
• Self-Paced
• Paid Course

Virtual '90s Pop Culture Bingo (Team Building)

86 ratings at CourseHorse

Journey back to the 1990s with our pop culture bingo event featuring iconic music, movies, TV shows, and products from the decade.

• CourseHorse
• 1 hour
• Self-Paced
• Paid Course

How Hamilton Revolutionized the Broadway Musical

8 ratings at The Great Courses Plus

It took exactly the right mix of circumstances for Hamilton to become the smash hit it did. Join Great Courses favorite, Professor John McWhorter, to look at a history of Broadway musicals and examine why Hamilton has received so much hype—and if it live…

• The Great Courses Plus
• 12 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Trial Available

Extra Credits

The History of D&D Hasbro Refused to Learn From

Explore the legal battles and fan challenges that shaped Dungeons & Dragons over decades. Discover how disputes and licensing agreements influenced the game's evolution and the entire RPG industry.

• YouTube
• 25 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Pop Art: Culture, Consumption, and the Postmodern (Live Online)

40 ratings at CourseHorse

Explore how a groundbreaking artistic movement reshaped ideas about culture, politics and consumer society.

• CourseHorse
• Self-Paced
• $355.00

The Olympic Games and the Media

168 ratings at Coursera

Learn how the Olympic Games are produced and communicated: television production and scheduling, TV rights and sponsorship, social media engagement strategies, brand management, and Olympic culture.

• Coursera
• 5 weeks, 2 hours a week
• Self-Paced
• Paid Course

Understanding Television

American prime-time TV read as cultural history: a medium of storytelling and myth-making examined through genres, the broadcast era, and media theory.

• MIT OpenCourseWare
• Self-Paced
• Free Online Course

Globalizing East Asia

This course explores the changing culture and society of the three East Asian countries, South Korea, China, and Japan. Students are expected to understand local representations of globalization, focu

• edX
• 8 weeks, 1-2 hours a week
• Self-Paced
• Free Certificate

Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology

Dinosaurs in the Movies

Explore cinematic dinosaur inaccuracies with Dr. Henderson, from size and color to movement, uncovering the truth behind Hollywood's prehistoric portrayals.

• YouTube
• 41 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

JSConf

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Guide to Color Theory

Learn color theory through the lens of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Explore hue, value, tone, and accessibility strategies in this fun and unique approach to understanding color relationships.

• YouTube
• 25 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk