Lately, as a way to cope with an interminably boring kill-me-now desk job, I've been listening to audio lectures from The Great Courses (formerly The Teaching Company) --> http://www.thegreatcourses.com/ . I also listen to them in a peripatetic fashion on my solo walks/hikes.
Is anyone else listening to these? Most are available online in torrent form if you're so inclined. I thought I'd start a thread here to share my thoughts on the ones I've completed. I know there's some similar stuff available online through Harvad Open Courses etc, but I haven't watched them yet. One drawback of TGC is their focus on European art/history/traditions. I'd love to see them do some history courses from other countries.
History of Ancient Rome: I always wanted to know more about Rome, and this was a great introduction. It focuses on the period of the Republic. The lecturer, Garret Fagen, structures the information very clearly. He's easy to follow without being patronizingly simplistic (no mean feat); "History Lite" this is not. Still, there's only so much you can get from the political and military history... he deliberately leaves out art history, which I think is wise but leaves some of the lectures rather bloodless. Why did these people act this way? What was important to them? Such questions remain, but this course gives you a great framework in which to seek those answers. And my pub trivia stats have gained +2.
Roman Emperors: The "sequel" course to the above, covering the period of Augustus through Constantine. Comparable quality to the prequel, just as enjoyable.
Science Wars: This was actually the first one I listened to. Its really a philosophy of science course, mainly looking at the question of epistemology in science. The first half is really interesting. I especially liked the lecture on Locke and Hume. It loses steam by the end, but I mostly attribute that to the inherent "who-cares-ness" of the post-modern, social construction theorists.
Science in the 20th Century: By the same professor as above (Goldman). The physics and quantum theory section was excellent. The soft science section, including history/economics/sociology, was pretty bad and felt like a well-intended afterthought. Cool survey of the sciences, inspired me to brush up on my mathematics. Its also edifying to compare one's thoughts about this-and-that with the current state of science... I found some cobwebs in my attic.
Free Will and Determinism: Gets really good once the questionably relevant historical stuff about fate/karma/religion are dispensed with. I say "questionably relevant", though its a fact that most of the common discourse about free will is burdened with the legacy of the Christian conception of the term. Nonsense nonetheless. I shared the hard determinism lecture with a friend who had never thought about these things. It was fascinating to see his mind deepen on the point.
King Arthur and Chivalry: About halfway through this. The professor seems a little too close to her expertise and doesn't structure things as well as I'd like. She's also prone to punctuated sighs and poetic musings that I find a little annoying. Its hit and miss, but the hits are good. I especially liked the lectures on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Was a little disappointed to find there's very little basis for a historical Arthur... understandably then, the course is really a literary analysis of the idea of chivalry through the middle ages.
Rome and the Barbarians: I've just started this, but I'm excited to learn more about the Celts, Persians, and other groups the Romans fought against. After I exhaust the Rome lectures, I'm going to doubleback and listen to the Greek stuff. Then I think I'll start the dark ages/middle ages courses they've got.
the great courses / teaching company audio lectures
the great courses / teaching company audio lectures
Last edited by blackoak on Sat Sep 07, 2013 9:33 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Re: the great course / teaching company audio lectures
You may also like these, then: http://www.dancarlin.com/disp.php/hh
Re: the great courses / teaching company audio lectures
thanks, I've heard about those hardcore history podcasts. I'll have to try them out sometime.
to anyone: are there other centralized resources like TGC, commercial or otherwise? Or other university stuff like the open Yale courses.
to anyone: are there other centralized resources like TGC, commercial or otherwise? Or other university stuff like the open Yale courses.
Re: the great courses / teaching company audio lectures
I believe that MIT and Berkeley and/or Stanford offer a wide offer of free, online courses.
Exactly which courses (and in what format) are available, though may vary a lot.
For instance, several MIT linguistics people simply do not use podcasts,
but teach with the support of power-point presentations, or other similar material, which is usually freely shared.
Some departments upload the video files of lectures, instead: I recall the MIT media department doing this.
Exactly which courses (and in what format) are available, though may vary a lot.
For instance, several MIT linguistics people simply do not use podcasts,
but teach with the support of power-point presentations, or other similar material, which is usually freely shared.
Some departments upload the video files of lectures, instead: I recall the MIT media department doing this.
"The only desire the Culture could not satisfy from within itself was one common to both the descendants of its original human stock and the machines [...]: the urge not to feel useless."
I.M. Banks, "Consider Phlebas" (1988: 43).
I.M. Banks, "Consider Phlebas" (1988: 43).
Re: the great courses / teaching company audio lectures
Thought the Justice series from Michael Sandel was interesting. Available for free http://www.justiceharvard.org/ or on iTunes U
Fascination...