The WWII continuing education track provides a rich sequence of online courses that will allow WWII experts and educators to learn at their own pace, while gaining premier knowledge that can be used in their professional careers. Learners of all backgrounds will be able to increase their knowledge of the war, as well as their critical thinking skills, while achieving quality personal growth and intellectual development through the vanguard coursework.
The Student Experience
The continuing education program aims at the student who is less concerned with grading and accumulation of academic credit hours, and more interested in the satisfaction and intellectual stimulation of lifelong learning. Continuing education courses will be briefer and more concise, while still drawing upon the combined resources and personnel of The National WWII Museum and Arizona State University.
Continuing education courses will also take participants “behind the lines” at the Museum, allowing them to see artifacts and documents that are not displayed as part of the regular exhibits. Without assignments, papers, or exams, the continuing education experience amounts to education for the purest reason of all: the challenge of learning.
Meet Our Instructors
Taught by the scholars of The National WWII Museum’s Institute for the Study of War and Democracy; Museum historians, curators, and educators; as well as leading faculty from Arizona State University, the WWII continuing education program provides lifelong learners in-depth insights into the war and its legacies. Get to know some of the course instructors:
Captured: American POWs in World War II
More than 120,000 Americans were held as prisoners of war in World War II. Their fates varied widely depending on their captors and wartime circumstances. Through artifacts, oral histories, and original research, this course will present an overview of the American POW experience in World War II, the factors involved in survival, aspects of daily life, the ways in which POWs documented their experiences, and POWs in popular culture. The course is led by Assistant Director of Curatorial Services Kim Guise and features discussions with other Museum historians and ASU faculty, along with an extensive behind-the-scenes look into the Museum’s collections vaults.
Weekly discussion topics include
- Week 1: Introduction to American POWs in World War II
- Week 2: Capture and Surrender: Becoming a POW
- Week 3: Life as a POW
- Week 4: Documenting the POW Experience
While no reading is required, course participants will also receive exclusive access to a curated list of relevant books and articles as well as an online discussion board where they can interact with instructors and fellow enrollees.
Enrollment begins Monday, August 2. Course opens Monday, August 23.
Resistance in Nazi Occupied Europe
During World War II, men, women, and sometimes children across the European continent resisted the rule of the Nazi dictatorship and its satellite regimes and movements. What “resisting” meant differed dramatically in significance and risk depending on time and place. This course examines the history of resistance thought and action during the Second World War. Through the use of artifacts, oral histories, documents, lectures, interviews, and historiography, we will look at how and why people in all areas of Europe made the decision to get involved in direct opposition to Nazism.
While no reading is required, course participants will also receive exclusive access to a curated list of relevant books and articles as well as an online discussion board where they can interact with instructors and fellow enrollees.
Enrollment begins Monday, October 18. Course opens Monday, November 8.
Explore Further
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Online Master's in World War II Studies
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