The United States has always been a source of fascination — both attraction and repulsion — for the people of France, Mexico, China, Russia, and African countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Sudan. "America Through Foreign Eyes" is a rich, interdisciplinary, international course that features Rice University faculty from a variety of disciplines and area studies. Focused on perceptions of America abroad, the course is a cross between World Cultures and American Studies. The course features five core modules, each covering the perceptions and interactions of particular regions with America, Americans and Americanization.
DB
This class was very enjoyable. It made me as an American stop and take a more comprehensive look at how other countries and people look at as and individuals and as a whole.
SM
A lot of surprising important details on how Africans view African Americans and culinary clash between Mexico and the USA ...MANY THANKS
AP
A very informative course with excellent lectures that will expand your understanding of different peoples and their perceptions of the United States.
DT
Excellent. Engaging and thought-provoking. I would be interested to see an update that takes into account recent events.
JL
Excellent format and well executed. The addition of the 2020 updates to reflect more current events was crucial.
DA
Maybe focus on a specific country in Africa instead of teaching about the whole continent
MP
I enjoyed the course and found it eductional and was pleased to see the interaction between the global instructors.
PL
This course gave me an eye opening view of the world. I can see how this course can grow into a more dynamic and interactive education experience in the future.
ZS
the main topic is quite interesting. based on also quizzes, you can learn essential information which can improve your worldview.
BE
A revealing look on how the rest of the world views the USA. Perhaps this should be offered to high school students, somt hey can better understand how other nationalities react to "Americans"
LM
One of the greatest courses I have taken. Insightful views!
Y
Very helpful but my supervisor wants me to a certificate. I don’t know what to do!
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While some of the information presented was interesting, it seemed oddly biased towards the perspective of highly educated foreigners. I had hoped to get more information about how America is seen by the (foreign) masses.
This course is very detailed in the history of perception each country holds when thinking of the United States. It was riveting, surprising at times, and deeply enriching.
This course gave me an eye opening view of the world. I can see how this course can grow into a more dynamic and interactive education experience in the future.
I have learned so much through this course and I feel that I have a much deeper understanding of the world now. It was one of the most enjoyable classes I've ever taken and I really enjoyed all the professors. This course was merely the tip of the iceberg as I have 148 books I want to read now, as were cited in the course. It'll take me a lifetime to get through all those books in addition to all the fiction I want to read, but hey it's about the journey more than the destination right?
The course offers a lot of interesting and new insights from different regions of the world. It doesn't take as much time per week as it says it will, but definitely requires some real commitment to finish. It isn't really advanced, material-wise, but is a good basic overview of how the different countries have viewed various American cultural elements over time.
I found the course material fascinating and thought provoking. Each week was different and I just really enjoyed the different perspectives. Well presented and quite interesting!
Nice course! Recommend!
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very interesting course.
Nice course
good
I truly enjoyed the warmth and the hospitable presentation by Professor Fette as well as the entire academic ensemble . It takes time and patience plus good technical skills to place a high quality MOOC, and the scholars from Rice truly achieved that. The course was clearly updated and current. The presentations were thorough and the notes plentiful. I would love to see the course expanded to include Germany as well as the U.K. and possibly Canada as well. I have taken 16 Coursera courses, this being the 16th, and I would definately place it in the top five. Good job, well done!
This was a fantastic course that really expands the learner's understanding of various international cultures' views of one of the world's most controversial superpowers. Enlightening and well-organized, I believe it presents invaluable information about political and historical relations, internal and external cultures, literature, food, and language that illuminate many qualities about the countries it portrays and the viewpoints they take on the United States.
I loved this course. I am grateful for the opportunity of getting to know the other countries' hystory more. Especially grateful I am to the author of the part on Mexico. So clear and just enough of examples! It's great that Russia also got its part in the course. I also loved the video interviews. The French female writer's was my favourite. Such honest and logical and polite person. Thank you again for this course.
I have taken many MOOC on-line courses, and I would rate this course as one of the best. The four presenters were excellent, and engaged me completely in the course. I enjoyed the quizzes and the video interviews. Is the course studied by students at Rice University? I hope so as it provides an insight into other cultures.
A big thanks to the course organisers and presenters.
George Thomas
Xàbia, Spain
I really enjoyed this course. It's eye-opening to think about how your own country is viewed externally. I found it interesting to explore how views changed over the years and how old and persistent stereotypes actually are. I strongly recommend this course, particularly to those students who have not had the opportunity to travel widely. It's a mini world-tour.
A great course, I loved the variety of information, the structure, the topics! It's impossible not to fall for each of the professors, especially in the very last group lessons which I recommend to watch. It has however, one drawback: too short. I wish there was another follow-up course with more countries to be covered. :) Thank you professors!
Very interesting course. Each module had several "surprises" that fascinated me. All the speakers are easy to understand and interesting. Would like to see Part 2 with Russia, England, Turkey, etc. Makes you aware as to how differently countries can look at the same issue.
I loved this class - so much to think about and learning to see ourselves from the outside, rather than just accepting our culture as "normal." I do hope there are more classes on this, looking at other countries' perspective of America.
Not only will you learn the individual cultures themselves, you'll learn the relationships these nations have with the U.S. and how those relationships developed to the international policies and expectations today.