Since Ancient Greece, we have known/witnessed the significant role of the teacher-student relationship in the advancement of the history of thought. As a graduate student, I value and believe in the importance of such – not hierarchical but emancipatory- mentor-protégé/teacher-student relationships in the learning process. Particularly these days, in the age of ever-increasing technology, when it is so easy to drown in the sea of information. Within this perspective, my search for OERs directed to the more traditional way of learning; the sources that include some guidelines. And finally, I came across some open courses that are offered by prestigious institutes such as MIT and Yale. 

The website (https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/womens-and-gender-studies/wgs-110j-sexual-and-gender-identities-spring-2016/index.htm) allow their visitors to find courses by topics. Under the title of “Women’s and Gender Studies”, among a number of courses, there is, for example, a course called “Sexual and Gender Identities” (https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/womens-and-gender-studies/wgs-110j-sexual-and-gender-identities-spring-2016/).

MIT open courses range from text to audio/video lectures. Each course has the course description, requirement, syllabus, readings, and films, along with the assignments. Although these courses offer open access to all course materials and some of the texts, some of the resources are not open to the public; instead, they offer to sell them online through particular websites. However, I think, since universities have turned into corporations and students are treated as customers and our education become commodities, these open courses are, still, a good start for those who do not have mobility and those who have library access to find a way to start/maintain their learning adventure and ease the process of learning with structured courses.