In the medieval world, when the first western universities formed, they did not have physical facilities. Classes were taught in whatever space was available, including churches or homes. A university was not a physical space, but a collection of individuals, banded together as universitas (Latin for “the whole,” the entire self-regulating community of teachers and scholars).

When the world shutdown for COVID in 2020, I had a weekly task of sending out education opportunities for the members of the Local I worked for.  I continued that task for many more months through the pandemic, but instead of classes offered by the Local (since we couldn’t meet in-person), I would find what was available online. Some opportunities have since gone away, or now require payment, but what I ultimately discovered was there are more ongoing free education hours available than one person could take in a lifetime. I eventually added TED talks and How Stuff Works articles on all kinds of topics, including those being discussed during that tumultuous summer.

The list I eventually created was, well, extraordinary. And long. Like really, really long.  But if you’d like to join my universitas, here’s some basics:

Free College Classes
Free Ivy League classes (a master list)

Open Yale Courses
Coursera: Yale, Duke 
Harvard University Classes: HarvardX,   Harvard (Free Courses) 
Carnegie Mellon University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Stanford University
UC Berkeley
UCLA (Extension) 

Resources for Free Books:
Open Library: https://openlibrary.org/
Open Culture:https://www.openculture.com/
Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/
Google Books: https://books.google.com/
Free Audio Books: http://www.openculture.com/freeaudiobooks

LA Public Library online Learning resources:
https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/online-learning
There are so many free resources here, LinkedIn Learning, Mango (Language), Craftsy, Great Courses, Gale, Coursera,  ArtistWorks music lessons… If you are not in Los Angeles, check your local Library system.  And while we’re at it, if your local library is under fire: List of public libraries with non-resident borrowing privileges.

Lately there has been some attention drawn to Harvard’s government classes, so here are a few I found (and – side note – these have been available for awhile):

We the People: Civic Engagement in a Constitutional Democracy
U.S. Political Institutions: Congress, Presidency, Courts and Bureaucracy
Citizen Politics in America: Public Opinion, Interest Groups, and the Media
U.S. Public Policy: Social, Economic, and Foreign Policies
American Government: Constitutional Foundations

I haven’t been able to take these myself, so if you do, feel free to drop a comment about how there were.

This wonderful learning opportunity was suggested as an add by a friend: 
YIVO – Institute for Jewish Research – dedicated to the preservation and study of the history and culture of East European Jewry worldwide. Online Self paced classes are here.

I’ll add some other posts with specific topics in coming days and weeks. Did I mention that list was long?