On Wednesday, March 19, the Columbia University Alumni Group from the 3rd installment of the Civil War and Reconstruction MOOC—The Unfinished Revolution: Reconstruction and After, 1865-1890—were treated to an hour and a half long study session with Professor Eric Foner. During the session participants from the course were able to ask Professor Foner questions salient to the first few weeks of the course on Reconstruction. Below is a video of the Alumni study session, that includes all of the dialogue at the event.

The Civil War and Reconstruction alumni group was formed by having participants register for the MOOC, and then self-identify as Columbia University Alumni. In addition to this study group, other special features offered to this group include directed e-mail communications, a dedicated course discussion board, and exclusive Columbia University themed content within the course. One participant even brought her copy of Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad, Eric Foner’s new book, and got it signed. The study session was held at the Columbia Alumni Association.

Judging from the results of the event’s survey, participants thoroughly enjoyed the session. A few mentioned this was the first alumni event that they had ever attended. A few remarked that it was nice to have face to face time with Professor Foner in an intimate setting. A similar Columbia University Alumni Group study session will take place on April 30 with the course’s lead TA, Timothy Shenk.

Join us on Wednesday, March 25th, at 7pm for a Google Hangout with Thai Jones, the Herbert H. Lehman Curator for U.S. History at Columbia University's Rare Book and Manuscript Library (RBML), and Mary Freeman, a Columbia PhD student studying 19th century American history. They are the curators of primary sources for Eric Foner's Civil War and Reconstruction MOOC, and will provide a lively discussion about Open Educational Resources available in the MOOC.