Shiller Salons on Financial Markets being filmed for Coursera

Sterling Professor of Economics and Nobel Laureate, Robert J. Shiller, is filming sessions for his upcoming Coursera online course, Financial Markets, which focuses on his undergraduate class of the same title.  The informal office hours, being dubbed “Shiller Salons”, allow four to eight undergraduate, graduate, and PhD students from the Yale Economics Department, the Yale School of Management, and the Yale Law School to have an intimate conversation with Professor Shiller.  The hour-long sessions have students “interview” the professor on a number of topics related to the course.  Topics and proposed questions are provided to participating students in advance, who then meet with Professor Shiller for a 45-minute brainstorm session prior to filming. Although the topics indicated cannot waver during the session, students can reframe given questions, and time permitting, ask personal questions related to these topics.  The topics discussed are generally accessible, meaning students do not need an advanced degree in Economics or Finance to participate.

A total of 11 sessions will be recorded at different locations around Yale campus during the spring semester.  The first three sessions were filmed at both the Economics Department and the School of Management.  The next session, this Thursday, February 25 will be recorded in the Economics Commons Room at 28 Hillhouse Ave.  Although space is limited, students interested in participating (as both active and inactive audience members) for this session or any of the future sessions are encouraged to fill out the online form.

All those “participating” must agree to be filmed for the online courses. For participants who prefer being an “extra”, a small number of students will be allowed to sit and listen to the discussion in the background, but will be asked to look studious by pretending to read or work on a computer.  The videos will be professionally edited to omit any production mistakes before being posted online.  Address any questions to Bonnie Blake at: bonnie.blake@yale.edu