Excellent course - I highly recommend this course for anyone who is interested in social justice movements and how they have evolved throughout history. Dr. Athepler is a very good presenter of historic and current information and she has first hand knowlege of the events surrounding these important cases. I really enjoyed this course - thanks for providing this for FREE! It really piqued my interest and gave me a great perspective on how "women's rights are human rights".

Great course. My only critique is that it was too short. I would love to learn more about the feminist aspect of the Free Angela movement. Id also like more detail on the various waves of feminism and the theory behind women and black women feminists especially. I know that's a longer course, but I would love to take that. In any event, this was a really interested and engaging overview and I definitely want to learn more on my own. Thank you for the course and for your work!

It was an absolute privilege to be taught (even if through a screen) by Professor Bettina Aphteker. Her poignancy, fluency and wide-ranging knowledge about the feminist struggle have made the lectures an absolute joy to assist, and her direct experience in the field - in the academic realm, as well as on the ground through her active involvement in civil rights movements - truly inspiring. Thankful for the University of Santa Cruz and Coursera for making this possible.

The quality of this course was exceptional. The hour-long session on defining feminism was crucial in understanding how feminism must be thought of if we want social justice for everyone on our planet. I really appreciated that specific exemples were given to bring light to broader issues. These examples were detailed, explained with accurate words that were clear and simple and made the whole course accessible for students whose English is not their first language.

With a warm countenance, Prof. Bettina Aptheker welcomes you into this short but delightful introduction to feminism and the recent history of the movement in the US. I tremendously enjoyed taking the course, not to mention how terrifically privileged I felt to learn from someone so involved in the Free Angela movement, a childhood friend of Dr Davis no less! Thank you to Prof. Aptheker for providing this delightful resource to eager learners around the world!

Ein großartiger Kurs, in dem man wahnsinnig viel durch spannende Vorträge von Bettina Aptheker erfährt und das Wissen durch das dazugehörige Quiz vertiefen kann. Ich habe den Vorträgen von B. Aptheker mit solch einem Interesse gelauscht und da bekommt man auf jeden Fall Lust mehr zu erfahren und in dieser Richtung zu machen. Ein sehr wertvoller Kurs, kompakt, aber detailliert, mit vielen Ausführungen, einfach nur TOP! Vielen Dank / Thank you so much / Спасибо!

The lectures were educational as well as inspiring. The struggles women faced and many challenges they still face now, together around the globe connects us to form a bond. It gives us, women a perspective and vision into what many women are still facing; not all struggles are similar, but nonetheless we all are collectively united in our beliefs that one day things will be better than its today; till then the struggles, confrontations and equality goes on.

I really enjoyed this course, I was always a feminist but this course really helped me find more passion for the movement and fight for the rights of women globally by knowing more about the issue and certain popular figures like Angela Davis, inspired me to continue to be a voice for change. Thank you to Bettina for having such an in-depth and human approach to the feminist theory and sharing personal stories along the course, I enjoyed learning with you!

this was my first experience. it was incredible. i never had the opportunity to attend college. i am 50 years old and a stay at home mom caring for my disabled son. i was looking for a way to take classes. sharpen my mind. i wasn't even sure i could do this because of my schedule and also because it feels like a lifetime since leaving the 10th grade. i feel such a sense of accomplishment. and look forward to taking more courses. i would highly recommend.

Really informative. Great start on the path to learning more about feminism. Excellent lecturer. Easy structure to follow. Thoroughly engaging. I Finished it way before I thought I would, simply wanted to keep learning about the history of the female struggle in a world where we hold the major population. We have so many heroines to look up to and follow their example. Thank you for the opportunity to learn about this. I shall now go forth and concur.

It was a great course, I am so glad I took it! The lectures are interesting, especially because they try to highlight the importance of intersectionality in feminism. I think it is an enjoyable course for beginners who want to have a better understanding of feminism, but also for people who have knowledge about it, as it reviews key events and concepts from an interesting perspective. I would love to take more courses with professor Bettina Aptheker.

I learned so much from Bettina Aptheker. It was amazing to learn from someone who can offer not only factual information but was also a first person witness and participant in some of the cases discussed in class. I just finished reading the Autobiography of Angela Davis, in which Professor Aptheker is mentioned, and it was an absolute delight to learn from her accounts of the Free Angela Davis movement. I would love to take another course from her.

I loved that this course addressed interesectionality so wholly, because I feel that otherwise, interesectionality is not given as much importance in the teaching of feminism. The professor was extremely lucid in her lectures, and kept me engaged throughout. I also particularly appreciated that she did not shy away from 'subjective' topics, and did not try to give us an 'objective' understanding of events. Would love to see more courses like this!!

I highly recommend this course to any woman AND man. I had no idea that feminism was so broad, so beautiful and all-embracing. The more people take this course, the better our human experience will be. Turns out the course is not about women. It's about the complexity and diversity of the world. It's about new ways for us to co-exist, evolve and thrive as humans. I am beyond impressed and empowered by this course. Thank you so much, Dr. Aptheker!

It was a really perfect course.during this course I learned a lot about feminism movements and how the fighting against women oppression started and continued until now. It was also really interesting to me that I was able to learn something about American law and political structure and the role of them in developing women conditions.Now I know how feminism and other social matters including racism are intertwined and can effect on each other.

Short but interesting history of feminism in the US. I would have liked more information about other parts of the world (though I understand and accept that Coursera is a US-centric website).

I found the most value in the theme of the intersectionality of feminism - I was aware of it prior but Prof Aptheker's detailed knowledge expanded my understanding, and gave me more ways to understand and articulate my own intersectional feminism.

Thank you.

In only four sections, this course very clearly demonstrates key issues regarding women's rights as they intersect with class and race issues. I found the lectures to be very thorough (for the time taken) and crucial to forming a clear understanding of multiple intertwined problems that perpetuate a tremendous power imbalance in society. The course focuses on U.S. history but these issues are worldwide and older than colonialism itself.

This class was extremely inspiring. I am so glad I took this course. I learned so much more in-depth on feminism than I would have just googling or watching youtube videos. I began this course to gain a better understanding of the definition of feminism, but I learned throughout this course that the definition continues to evolve to represent all that is affected by sexual discrimination. Great course and amazing instructor. Thank you!

It is a very imformative, thoughtful and interesting course, especially on Week 2. Suffering is suffering. But sometimes, the suffering let the spirit of humanity out. It encourage us to stand for something, which could be bigger than the life of ourselves. What worth noticing is that, even retired, the professor still takes effort to make some difference by contributing and making this open course online. Respect and Best Wishes!

Phenomenal. I just wish it were longer or covered a range of other topics related to feminism and social justice such as elaborating on more theoretical concepts or general ideas along with the stories and narratives about women. The videos were also engaging and Ms. Aptheker was a fantastic lecturer. I wish the videos were more broken up but the content and learning experience did make up for the length. Thank you for the course.

Definitely learned a lot in the course of 4 weeks. I'm still on my last lecture but I really love it. What the woman who'd oriented me at the beginning of this course said was right-I did learn a lot from Prof Bettina Aptheker. I am proud to be amongst the many learners of this course, albeit through the screen, I will truly miss it.

This one's a life-changer and I cannot wait to finally read some of Bettina Aptheker's books <3

A refreshing course indeed that explained the concepts of not just feminism in general, but how class, race, genders and ideologies are intertwined to become more than just a movement. The course also makes you become more aware of society in general and how a change should began from day one. Interesting course that I would recommend if you required a short course to get some intro to feminism, movements and social justice.

I cannot express in words how moving this course was. It hits all the feels. I laughed a few times, but mostly got sad and angry. It shares some of the most horribly discriminatory times of American history (although discrimination is still very much alive), but it's usually these awful events that are most important, politically and morally. Great job on information and delivery, and thanks for your help with Angela Davis.

I learned so much about the social justice movements that have brought us as humanity to where we are now, their background origins and the people (women) who started them. It definitely is a course that inspires you to be a better much more active member in society, giving you the tools to not only make a change in the world but in your own way on how you percieve life. Plus, Bettina Aptheker is a helluva woman! Love her!