Showing results by publisher "Recorded Books" in Higher & Continuing Education

In 1972, when Alexandra Fuller was two years old, her parents finally abandoned their English life and returned to what was then Southern Rhodesia and to the beginning of a civil war. By the time she was eight, the war was in full swing. Her parents veered from being determined farmers to being blind drunk, whilst Alexandra and her sister, the only survivors of five children, alternately take up target practice and sing Rod Stewart songs from sun bleached rocks.

This engaging course of lectures begins by providing a detailed and accurate overview of Plato's philosophy and it's central idea - the idea of a transcendent reality that has popularly become known as the theory of the Forms. Professor Kreeft then takes us on a concise journey through Western Philosophical history to show how that central idea - the theory of forms - has either been built upon or reacted to by philosophers ever since.

Why does the cinema have the power to move the heart, stimulate the mind, and dazzle the imagination? How did the art of film develop from its origins to the present day? This course covers the history and aesthetics of the movies. It traces the experiments and innovations that gave rise to the modern cinema, developing a vocabulary that helps explain the variety of choices filmmakers make when they construct shots and edit them together.

The main aim of this course is to cultivate basic literacy in the principal religions of Asia: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism. This course explores the origins of these religious traditions in Asia and their transplantation to the United States. The course focuses on three related issues: why religion matters, what the term "religion" means, and how Asian religions - especially Buddhism and Confucianism - wonderfully complicate that term.

This documentary records the events of the most celebrated mutiny in the annals of the sea: the 1789 revolt against Captain William Bligh in the West Indies. Was Bligh a sadistic disciplinarian who terrorized his crew? Or a superb and misunderstood seaman? Over 200 years later, the controversy surrounding this legendary captain still rages. The truth may lie in this narrative based on the ship’s log, in which Bligh writes of the resentful crew, ravaging storms, and uncharted islands that led to mutiny.

Internationally best-selling author Umberto Eco is a master stylist whose books, including The Name of the Rose and Baudolino, have been savored by millions around the world. Now, with The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, Eco crafts another of the ambitious and breathtaking novels that are his trademark.

Big Brother Is Watching You: The words are inextricably associated with the classic dystopian novel 1984 and with its revered author, George Orwell. The Modern Scholar series continues its exploration of great authors with this course from esteemed professor Michael Shelden. In these lectures, Orwell, who also penned the epitome of the political satire, Animal Farm, is discussed in full, from his childhood in Henley-on-Thames to his final days.

Nanotechnology is radically altering the world in ways almost unimaginable in only the very recent past. With applications in arenas from medicine and science to warfare and even the world of sports, nanotechnology opens the doorway to a vast array of breathtaking possibilities. In this series of clearly articulated lectures, Professor Deborah Gibbs Sauder explores the world of nanotechnology and all its astounding applications, while also examining the ethical issues raised by the science and the impact nanotechnology is having on big business.

In this compelling series of lectures on literary journalism, Professor William McKeen delves into the origins of storytelling, the nature of literary journalism, and the ways in which literary journalism has affected culture and modes of expression.

The director of the Forensic Science Program at Pennsylvania State University, Professor Robert C. Shaler leads a comprehensive study of the intricacies of an intriguing, and always topical, science. In these lectures, Shaler imparts a clear understanding of crime scene investigation, from archiving the scene to the presentation of evidence in court proceedings. Covering everything from fingermarks and bloodstains to 3-D imaging and microbial forensics, the course is an essential guide for anyone intrigued by this riveting subject.

An Essence Black History Month Pick The untold story of the Harvard class of ’63, whose Black students fought to create their own identities on the cusp between integration and affirmative action. In the fall of 1959, Harvard recruited an unprecedented eighteen “Negro” boys as an early...

Black, Not Historically Black by Joseph L. Jones is a compelling exploration of the historical and contemporary challenges faced by Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Jones, a seasoned political scientist and former HBCU president, delves into the systemic issues of leadership...

How to Teach College is an invaluable resource for professors teaching in increasingly fraught American classrooms. With a special emphasis on teaching students from diverse backgrounds and potentially controversial subjects, this posthumously published book comes to us in Loewen’s vibrant, original, and inimitable voice.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) play a pivotal role in promoting social and economic mobility for African Americans and in mentoring the next generation of Black leaders. In HBCU, Marybeth Gasman and Levon T. Esters explore the remarkable impact and contributions of these significant institutions. Through inspiring personal stories and extensive research, Gasman and Esters showcase how HBCUs have mentored generations of leaders and scholars, fostering a collaborative culture of success and empowerment.

The NCAA and the Exploitation of College Profit-Athletes: An Amateurism That Never Was provides a comprehensive historical, sociological, legal, financial, and managerial argument for the reclassification of profit-athletes as employees. Such a reclassification would permit profit-athletes to gain not only fair financial compensation but also equal access to educational benefits that have been promised but systematically denied. The authors trace how Power Five college sports have morphed into a hyper professionalized and commercialized sport-business enterprise.

The ultimate guide to help Black families navigate the college admissions process. Finding the right college is a challenge for all students. But Black families face additional challenges and questions while navigating the admissions process. In The Black Family's Guide to College Admissions, veteran admissions experts Timothy L. Fields and Shereem Herndon-Brown share provocative insights and demystify this complex process to answer important questions from where to apply to how to get in.  

It's Not Free Speech considers the ideal of academic freedom in the wake of the activism inspired by outrageous police brutality, white supremacy, and the #MeToo movement. Arguing that academic freedom must be distinguished from freedom of speech, Michael Bérubé and Jennifer Ruth take aim at explicit defenses of colonialism and theories of white supremacy that have no intellectual legitimacy. They argue that the democracy-destroying potential of social media makes it very difficult to uphold the traditional liberal view that the best remedy for hate speech is more speech.

In Understanding the Holocaust, Professor David Engel examines the encounter between Germany's Third Reich and the Jews of the 20 European countries that fell under Nazi domination between 1933 and 1945. The results of this encounter stretch human comprehension to the limit and raise frightening questions about the human condition. When it was over, two-thirds of Europe's Jews, some 5.8 million people, had died - and their deaths had occurred amid the most gruesome of circumstances.

The state-directed opening of the Chinese economy in 1979 led to a number of radical transformations within Chinese society, but Western understanding of these changes is often limited by erroneous assumptions. Offering a clear picture of the vast economic and social forces of modern-day China, Professor Robert J. Shepherd addresses U.S. investment in China, China's startling economic growth, state vs. society issues in the vast republic, and the effect of social and cultural change on the Chinese people.

Professor of English at Indiana State University and the author of the literary biography Mark Twain: Man in White, Michael Shelden is the perfect candidate to lead this series of lectures on one of the most important—and most influential—of all American authors. From Twain’s early history through his landmark achievements and the defining moments of his extraordinary life, Shelden imparts a learned understanding of both the man and his astounding body of work.