Understand Care & the Human Condition. Master strategies to understand care and the human condition in your personal and/or professional lives.

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Don Grant

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Caring for Others SpecializationUniversity of Colorado Boulder

What you will learn

Develop language to describe the experience of being a care worker, the recipient of care, and/or certain concepts to talk about care
Identify caring professions, describe the motivations for entering caring professions, and identify pathways into caring professions.
Understand the individual experience of suffering and care in a larger social context
Develop a deeper appreciation of the centrality of care in human society

Skills you will gain

About this Specialization

Caring for Others examines how society cares for its at-risk members and the experiences of its caregivers. This specialization addresses questions such as: How much suffering is in the world today? Does digital media sensitize/desensitize us to the anguish of distant others? What are the different types of paid care work? How do care workers manage their emotions? And much more. This specialization is relevant to individuals interested in becoming a helping professional as well as anyone hoping to improve and better understand the human condition. This specialization may be completed for nursing continuing professional development contact hours. The University of Colorado College of Nursing is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the Colorado Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. This offering for a maximum of 37.5 contact hours is provided by the University of Colorado College of Nursing Office of Continuing Education. Each course provides 12.5 contact hours. If you are an educator, you are eligible to receive 2 teacher education university credits from the University of Colorado Boulder. A portion of the proceeds from this specialization will be used to create paid internships for CU Boulder students pursuing careers in the helping professions.

Applied Learning Project

Learners will complete 3 short reflection papers throughout this specialization that are tailored to their own interests and/or professional goals. Learners are invited to explore several controversies within care work and the helping professions, including how digital media may desensitize suffering, issues surrounding humanitarian aid, re-humanizing care work, and other topics.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online courses

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible Schedule

Set and maintain flexible deadlines.

Beginner Level

Approximately 4 months to complete

Suggested pace of 1 hour/week

English

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online courses

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible Schedule

Set and maintain flexible deadlines.

Beginner Level

Approximately 4 months to complete

Suggested pace of 1 hour/week

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

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How the Specialization Works

Take Courses

A Coursera Specialization is a series of courses that helps you master a skill. To begin, enroll in the Specialization directly, or review its courses and choose the one you'd like to start with. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. It’s okay to complete just one course — you can pause your learning or end your subscription at any time. Visit your learner dashboard to track your course enrollments and your progress.

Hands-on Project

Every Specialization includes a hands-on project. You'll need to successfully finish the project(s) to complete the Specialization and earn your certificate. If the Specialization includes a separate course for the hands-on project, you'll need to finish each of the other courses before you can start it.

Earn a Certificate

When you finish every course and complete the hands-on project, you'll earn a Certificate that you can share with prospective employers and your professional network.

There are 3 Courses in this Specialization

Course1

Course 1

Suffering and the Human Condition

Suffering is an inevitable yet poorly understood feature of human existence. This course examines how societies respond to the puzzling reality of human anguish. Among the questions it addresses are the following: What is suffering? Which types of human affliction are unique to the modern world? Have the meaning and portrayal of suffering changed over time? Do digital media sensitize or desensitize us to the anguish of distant others? In addition to introducing students to academic literature and debates on these topics, Suffering and the Human Condition will give them the opportunity to learn a method for studying human affliction that identifies the actors that perpetuate it.

Course2

Course 2

Thinking About Care

Although all humans require care to develop and thrive, it is rarely the focus of academic studies. This course enriches learner’s understanding of this critical yet underappreciated facet of their lives by addressing such questions as: What is care? Who has traditionally provided it? How valued is care work? Does money take the care out of care work? In addition to advancing learner’s knowledge of the place of care in modern society and controversies surrounding it, Thinking About Care will give learners the opportunity to learn a strategy that surveys existing approaches to care.

Course3

Course 3

The Challenges of Modern Caregiving

Care workers are occasionally lauded as “heroes” of society, but the special challenges they face are not fully understood. This course examines how the organization of care has changed in modern times and the dilemmas those developments pose to helping professionals. Among the questions it engages are: How does the meaning of care change when it is performed outside the family? Do bureaucratic systems discourage individuals from taking responsibility for others’ suffering? How do care professionals manage their emotions and those of their clients? Can and should care work be rehumanized? In addition to helping learners develop informed responses to these pressing issues, The Challenges of Modern Caregiving will give students the chance to learn a method that identifies gaps in existing care systems.

Instructor

Don Grant

Professor

Sociology

1,388 Learners

3 Courses

Offered by

University of Colorado Boulder

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the refund policy?
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Can I just enroll in a single course?
Yes! To get started, click the course card that interests you and enroll. You can enroll and complete the course to earn a shareable certificate, or you can audit it to view the course materials for free. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. Visit your learner dashboard to track your progress.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
Can I take the course for free?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free. If you cannot afford the fee, you can apply for financial aid.
Is this course really 100% online? Do I need to attend any classes in person?
This course is completely online, so there’s no need to show up to a classroom in person. You can access your lectures, readings and assignments anytime and anywhere via the web or your mobile device.
Will I earn university credit for completing the Specialization?
This Specialization doesn't carry university credit, but some universities may choose to accept Specialization Certificates for credit. Check with your institution to learn more.

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Caring for Others Specialization

What you will learn

Skills you will gain

About this Specialization

Applied Learning Project