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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Journey of the Universe: The Unfolding of Life by Yale University

4.7
stars
424 ratings

About the Course

Journey of the Universe weaves together the discoveries of the evolutionary sciences together with humanities such as history, philosophy, art, and religion. The course draws on the Emmy-award winning film, Journey of the Universe, and the book from Yale University Press. Journey explores cosmic evolution as a creative process based on connection, interdependence, and emergence. It examines a range of dynamic interactions in the unfolding of galaxies, Earth, life, and human communities. It investigates ways in which we understand evolutionary processes and the implications for humans and our ecological future. The Journey course, thus, is based on a new integration that is emerging from the dialogue of the sciences and humanities. Journey tells the story of evolution as an epic narrative, rather than as a series of facts separated by scientific disciplines. This changes our perception so that we begin to see ourselves as an integral part of this narrative. By situating ourselves within this story we can better appreciate the complexity and beauty of processes such as self-organizing dynamics, natural selection, emergence, symbiosis, and co-evolution. As we discover these intricate processes of evolution, we awaken to the beauty and complexity of our natural environment at this critical juncture in our planetary history....

Top reviews

DS

May 4, 2020

Very, very insightful. Best course that I participated in. I simply loved it. And if you (the reader of this review) have any sort of curiosity regarding reasons of existence, this course is for you.

DH

Oct 20, 2018

I love everything about this. Plan to go back sometime later and explore more of the websites and links that are referenced. I especially enjoy material from the American Museum of Natural History.

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101 - 119 of 119 Reviews for Journey of the Universe: The Unfolding of Life

By Mona A A

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May 31, 2021

GOOD

By JEETENDRA K 1

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Aug 6, 2020

tq

By Michael B

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Feb 22, 2024

The introduction varied significantly from the rest of the course. Was hoping for a bit more depth on the teachings in the intro / first week. Also, the movie was presented as a whole, at the 2nd week, and then re-presented again over the course. It felt a bit redundant. Needs to dig a bit deeper into the physics of the universe, and it's relation to humanism / religion to hold the course title properly. It was mostly a sustainability course. The quizzes were significantly too easy. Overall, fun, but needs improvement.

By Al A

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Oct 21, 2017

I liked this course however it seemed to center on the film as the core content, sometimes feeling like an elaborate advertisement for the film/book. It would be great to have a course that went deeper into the scientific findings that are described, and didn't draw on only the film as the source material.

By Susan H

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Feb 23, 2017

Awesome documentary! Just sad that we can't do this course without having to subscribe. Is there any way to make it more accessible? Such as allowing the non-paying students to submit quizzes and assignments?

By Andrew V

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Nov 29, 2020

This course has been a beautiful elucidation of the creative and self organizing nature of the evolution of the cosmos and of life itself.

By Aditya P

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Feb 8, 2021

The Quizzes should be reworked since the they can be given and answered easily by option elimination

By Lee S Y

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Jan 24, 2023

i love the film! It's interesting and comfortable to watch with all the relaxing music and scenary

By Kathy A M

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Feb 24, 2024

very interesing and thought provoking. beautiful films

By Vedant A

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Dec 25, 2017

Great course for understanding history of universe.

By Aahan R

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Aug 21, 2020

Quite brilliant actually.

By Miracle

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Sep 20, 2017

interesting hh~

By YASHASWI S 1

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May 9, 2020

.

By pieter d p

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Feb 17, 2021

I have a deep interest in your program. I am a professional working on topics of a similar nature. I think the course is quite interesting and informative and I plan to take more of your courses; but you should be very concerned about the Coursera Platform that it is presented on. I have spent hours and hours trying to navigate within it. I watch the videos and this is apparently not recorded. Then I watch them again to see if the fact that I watched them shows up. The layout of the page is scattered; its use being indecipherable. The platform is a disaster. An institution of higher learning should take exception to the total lack of logical layout or (let's say intuitiveness) of what Coursera presents here. Three stars are for Yale and the two empty ones are for Coursera.

By Leslie G

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Jan 28, 2017

The material was amazing (thank you!), but for those who audit, being excluded from the discussions and the tests at the end of each unit made for a "less than" experience. Please don't call yourself a MOOC if the free content is so different from the paid version. I'd like for my Coursera listed courses to show this as complete (but without the badge or Yale specific recognition) but it shows that I didn't complete the course, didn't meet the deadlines because I can't do (although I can see) the needed assignments. For me, I don't need badges or certificates, but I do like being able to access and do everything within a course. This "less than" experience isn't how most Coursera courses work. If the content wasn't so amazing, I would have given even fewer stars.

By Juan M

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Nov 3, 2016

The basic ideas exposed during the course are interesting and good food for thought. However the course contents practically depend on the film and book by Swimme and Tucker; so at the beginning of the course one is shown the complete film, and over the ensuing weeks a particular book chapter and its corresponding fraction of the film is presented again; the quiz (which is very little demanding) at the end of the week is basically based on those contents. I paid for the certificate since the idea of a "specialization" appealed to me, but I am not sure it was worth.

By MichCak

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Nov 15, 2023

Rather shallow

By Peter M

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Oct 14, 2020

If you like 5th to 6th grade level material presented in the spirit of an Allen Alda type on a PBS special then this is for you. I cant believe Yale would sponsor such dribble.

By Joy S

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Jan 28, 2017

The gobbledygook mooc. Worst bunch of talking a lot and saying nothing I ever encountered.