Sabato’s Kennedy MOOC Has a Companion Book and a TV Special

If there’s going to be a MOOC equivalent to a Hollywood blockbuster, it may well be Larry J. Sabato’s course this fall called “The Kennedy Half Century"—a course that will have as media companions an hourlong PBS documentary starring Mr. Sabato and his latest book, The Kennedy Half Century: The Presidency, Assassination, and Lasting Legacy of John F. Kennedy.

Mr. Sabato, the University of Virginia politics professor who is a frequent guest on news broadcasts, is recording about eight hours of video for the monthlong course, which will begin with John F. Kennedy’s early legislative career and then cover both his presidency and his influence on the decades since his assassination 50 years ago this November. The course, which starts on October 21, will be broken into 40 lessons, each 10 to 20 minutes long and each incorporating a quiz. A final examination is “not optional,” according to the course Web site, which is now accepting registrations.

Here is the trailer for the course: