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Objects That Define America
Learn about the history of one of world’s most significant civilisations with Smithsonian’s Objects That Define America offered by the Smithsonian Institution.
Beginner
Online
5 Weeks
Free
Quick facts
particular | details | ||
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Medium of instructions
English
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Mode of learning
Self study
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Mode of Delivery
Video and Text Based
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Learning efforts
1-2 Hours Per Week
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Course overview
A significant part of the history of the world, the American past holds a great number of gems hidden to date from many which can be used to figure out patterns that are closely interlinked with the present of this globe, which precisely the course will be mentioned in detail. Smithsonian’s Objects That Define America boasts about a perspective of history that is unique to its contents and mentions the iconic symbols, which though were of great significance in that era, have come to be forgotten.
By the end of the Smithsonian’s Objects That Define America certification course, the candidates will have a distinct knowledge of objects narrating the key points in the history of America. They will have gained insight into the distance as well as the recent past through observation of the moments collected in Smithsonian, giving them the opportunity to recognize precious artifacts, their stories and be able to connect and create their lifetimes.
Smithsonian’s Objects That Define America course will help the candidates in all fields connected to or using the knowledge of, America’s history, valuable memorabilia, their theoretical studies, sequencing timelines, and such.
The highlights
- Smithsonian certification
- edX verified certificate
- The introductory level of education
- 5-weeks long
- Smithsonian faculty
- Online sessions
- 1-2 hours of weekly effort required
- Free course available
Program offerings
- Video lessons
- Self-paced learning
- Instructor led sessions
- E-learning
- Discussions
- Assessments
- Projects
Course and certificate fees
Type of course
- As part of edX, this program’s materials have been provided free of cost.
- The certification has to be paid for with a sum of ₹4,099 by the candidates.
Category | Amount in Rs. |
Course fee | Nil |
Certification fee | ₹4,099 |
certificate availability
certificate providing authority
certificate fees
Eligibility criteria
Work Experience
Being an introductory level program, the course has no need for the applicants to have some level of work experience.
Education
The Smithsonian’s Objects That Define America course provides an introductory level of education; thus, it does not have any educational achievement as eligibility criteria.
Certification Qualification Details
10% of the candidate’s assessment will be done through their performance in activities and the remaining 90% of the grades will be dependent on their final project submission. Applicants will have to score a decent percentage in both to be eligible for certification, provided they have opted and paid for the certification mode.
What you will learn
A new solitary perspective about American history, its concepts and culture will be gained through Smithsonian’s Objects That Define America programme.
- An introduction to the course will be given to the applicants before they start off with who the legendary people of American history are and how their roles played out.
- The course will not just discuss the memories of the American ancestors and their historical acts, it will put the names forward of the symbols which were soon forgotten, giving the candidates knowledge hidden to many.
- The course goes to details while mentioning the slavery laws that were put in the past times and how it came to be abolished.
- Religious freedom and the demand for liberty and equal rights will be of great significance to the participant’s learning and modules.
- The programme sets out an unrepeated pattern of how the natives and the settlers of the land shared some equal aspects and came up with their own ways to protect themselves and their resources.
- Applicants will deeply learn how the natives used to spend their lives, what processes they explored and how they worked to establish themselves in that period.
- It goes without saying that the colonisation which America went through will have special importance, for a better knowledge, in the subject of the applicants.
- The final part of the programme will give the candidates the correlation that American history has with its present and how it can easily be seen in their space programmes.
Who it is for
The course offers a certain distinctive notion and insight into the subject which will greatly benefit the following groups.
- Historians for history teachers who want to develop a unique concept about American history and learn the facts that make the topic further interesting to teach will attain all the right tools from this course.
- Freshers and students who are enwrapped by the thrills of American icons can get greater, more useful, and impressive details about them within the course duration.
Admission details
In order to apply for admission into the course, participants will be required to go with the instructions mentioned.
Step 1: Candidates will start the admission process by visiting the website of the course. https://www.edx.org/course/smithsonians-objects-that-define-america
Step 2: The course webpage will feature an ‘Enrol’ icon that is to be clicked by the candidates.
Step 3: The ‘Enrol’ icon will open up a registration page on which the participants can either log in, if they have accounts created priorly on edX, or they create a new one and then use it to log in.
Step 4: Once they have logged in, they will be given two options; one for either pursuing the audit mode of the course or the second for the certification.
Step 5: If candidates feel the value of certification is greater and go for it, then they will be taken to a payment page where the fee for the course has to be deposited.
Step 6: In the other scenario where applicants chose the ‘Audit the course’ icon, they will be taken to their account’s course webpage where they can continue with their studies.
The syllabus
You will learn why specific objects, from our nation’s distant past to its near present, are essential parts of U.S. History and critical elements of the Smithsonian's collection
You will discover the unusual and surprising stories behind these objects
You will identify themes in American history that unite these objects across time up to the present day
You will create your own original exhibit that applies the core themes of the course, from Rights and Liberties to the Spirit of Innovation, to the objects of today’s world
Scholarship Details
The candidates who wish to gain the edX verified certificate but are unable to pay the complete certification fee will be offered a 90% fee waiver by the course. The candidates must contact the help desk or the support team of edX for more details.
How it helps
American history, being so popular and enriched, creates quite a number of jobs across its land for those who are interested, and the course Smithsonian’s Objects That Define America not just provides a unique understanding of the relevant concepts, but considerably gives a push to their chances of getting hired in these jobs as well as increases the number and quality of employment opportunities the candidates will be able to grab afterward.
Upon completion of the program, The Smithsonian Institution will provide them with a certificate signed by the instructor and bearing the logo to acknowledge the candidate’s dedication to Smithsonian’s Objects That Define America certification course as well as their improvement and learning, resulting in a stronger advantage over the average competitors of the field. The certificate can be added to their CVs in the physical copy as well as shared online in the digital copy on well-spread sites like LinkedIn, expanding and diversifying the areas touched, and jobs offered.
A great benefit of the Smithsonian’s Objects That Define America course is the insights the candidates gain through the course materials which helps them in the long run of their professional lives, providing them a strong foundation in a distinguished manner, in turn improving their chances of career promotions. Also, if the applicants choose to pursue a higher level of education in the sector, they can use these insights to gain merit scholarships.
Instructors
Dr Richard Kurin
Instructor
Smithsonian Institution
Ph.D
FAQs
The Smithsonian Institution which has state-of-the-art infrastructure, the world’s largest museum and research complex, a national zoological park, and research facilities, is providing the candidates this course.
edX was established by Harvard and MIT universities to work in collaboration with other global institutions and offer quality education to applicants all over the planet, as a non-profit educational platform.
The instructor for Smithsonian’s Objects That Define America program is Dr. Richard Kurin. He is the undersecretary for history, culture, and art departments as well as national museums of these sectors in the Smithsonian Institution.
In order to increase the accessibility of the course, edX provides the feature of an audited version of the program which allows the candidates to learn everything in the course for free. However, they will not be able to receive assessments or certification.
The program has been made self-paced and delivered via online platforms to make the learning process convenient for the applicants. The video lessons of the course will be curated by industry expert faculties.
The course only asks for payment in the certification mode of the program and for this it has offered a 90% fee decrease as financial assistance to the candidates who are eligible and in need of it.
The procedure for applying for financial assistance begins with candidates opting for an audited course version and then submitting their application for scholarship along with 3 distinct essays. In case the applicants get chosen for the scholarship, they will be notified.
A refund can be availed on a course if the applicant unenrolled from the certified version during the refund eligibility time period; 14 days after enrolling in the certified version or 14 days after course commencement; the one with the later date will be considered.
Apart from receiving the certificates in the end, students of the paid category will also get access to graded assessments, which too can be used as proof of course completion, and unlimited access to the course.
As the term suggests, it means that even after the course has been archived, applicants will be able to access it. However, it does not provide a longer duration for course completion. To earn a certificate, candidates will have to complete the course in the given time, nonetheless.
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