Showing results by author "The Professors" in All Categories

In this series of lectures, Professor Ken Masugi of Johns Hopkins University examines the importance of rhetoric in American politics. Political speeches have, since the nation’s inception, defined and shaped American politics. Professor Masugi demonstrates how the greatest American political speeches take their bearings from the Declaration of Independence and the Federalist Papers.

Professor Mark R. Polelle examines great military leaders in history, beginning with George Washington and moving on to Napoleon, U.S. Grant, Pershing, MacArthur, and Schwarzkopf, among others. The course also addresses the politics of military history and leadership and illustrates the circumstances that enable the rise of great leaders. Perhaps most importantly, Professor Polelle raises and answers that essential question: What is it that makes a good leader?

Naval battles have long captured the popular imagination, from confrontations between Athens and Sparta in the ancient world to the epic conflicts that took place during the World Wars and beyond. In this riveting series of lectures, Professor Timothy B. Shutt of Kenyon College explores the naval battles that have helped to establish empires and have changed history.

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.

In On Your Best Behavior: The Fundamentals of Etiquette, Professor Robert A. Shutt reviews the fundamentals of appropriate behavior practiced in the course of life. Everyday etiquette is essentially social etiquette, which has evolved to meet the needs of this century. Professor Shutt examines the historical roots of social etiquette and explains how its foundations remain relevant today - even as situations and circumstances change. All told, this program provides listeners with a solid understanding of the standards of good behavior that lead to success in everyday life.

Ideas That Shaped Mankind flows from internationally respected historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto's views on the notion that man's capacity to produce ideas in itself brings about sweeping changes in the world. This ability, seen most profoundly in individual, startling moments of genius - or equally startling moments of chance - is what separates humans from the animals and allows humans to re-imagine the world in ever more complex designs.

Noam Chomsky spoke to nearly 1,300 concerned citizens about the invasion and occupation of Iraq and the implications for U.S. foreign policy. Chomsky began with a review and analysis of the State of the Union Address and other necessary allusions. He wondered aloud when the U.S. will become a part of the world justice system instead of outside it. Chomsky pointed out how the U.S. government had opened a Pandora's Box with their loose interpretation of pre-emptive strike.

Professor of Egyptology and director of the Yale Egyptological Institute John C. Darnell delves into the history of Ancient Egypt from the Predynastic Period through the end of the New Kingdom. In these lectures, Professor Darnell shows that, despite common perceptions, Pharaonic Egyptian civilization existed within a multicultural society subject to disparate geological environments-and that its strength lay in the balancing of contrasting groups and goals.

This course explores the tenures of the men who held our nation's highest office during the 20th-century. The lectures look at each president and examine his strengths and weaknesses, as well as the times in which he served. Through this analysis, listeners will develop a better understanding not only of this supreme office and how it has taken shape, but also how it has shaped America and, indeed, the modern world.

Colin Wilson is truly a legend in his own time. His numerous books have changed the world in so many ways. Great authors and thinkers have looked to Colin's work for decades. He has influenced countless films and had movies made of his novels (Species). His work began with the mind of man and to this day the subject continues to hold a deep fascination for him.

During the early years of the Cold War, the anti-communist witch hunt that we now call McCarthyism swept through American society. It was the most widespread and longest-lasting episode of political repression in American history. Dozens of men and women went to prison, thousands lost their jobs, and untold numbers of others saw what happened to those people and refrained from expressing controversial or unpopular ideas.

One of the Modern Scholar’s most popular professors, Timothy B. Shutt, brings his literary acumen and trademark enthusiasm to the study of the epic poems that sit at the very wellspring of Western culture. The earliest surviving works of Greek literature, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey exert a continuing influence on modern culture, even today shaping people’s values and conduct. In the tales of Achilles and Hector, of Odysseus and Penelope, Homer explored the notion of arête, which translates as "excellence" or "virtue".

Everyone has their own inner philosopher - a voice within that asks, oh so insistently, philosophical questions. Everyone wants to know what the ultimate nature of the world is, what the self is, whether we have free will, how our minds relate to our bodies, whether we can really know anything, where ethical truth comes from, what the meaning of life is, and whether or not there is a God.

"My goal in this series, in addition to illuminating the patterns of women's and men's uses of language, is to enhance understanding of how language works in everyday life. I am told by students who have taken my courses that this understanding helps them in their everyday lives, as every aspect of our lives involves talking to people of the other sex - in our personal relationships, our families, at work, and in trying to get just about anything done."

Professor Fred E. Baumann looks at what some philosophers have had to say on this subject, mostly in the form of stories about utopias. Five are written by great philosophers and the last by a challenging, nearly contemporary American scholar. All have exerted great influence on the history of thought or have expressed influential currents of thought. Professor Baumann's lectures not only examine these texts, but also address the results of attempting to put these utopias into practice.

Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, James Joyce, and Samuel Beckett: These four masters of Irish literature created works of startling innovation and unparalleled literary merit. Renowned professor George O'Brien provides the biographical background of these authors and an analysis of their greatest works. In these lectures, O'Brien discusses the very qualities that set these works apart and the "Irishness" that characterizes each of them.

A nationally recognized business etiquette specialist, Professor Robert A. Shutt of Binghamton University reviews the strategies, guidelines, and appropriate behavior that can help people excel in a variety of professional environments. During the course of these lectures, Professor Shutt examines etiquette in situations such as the business dinner and the job interview. He shows how etiquette functions in the workplace and discusses such features as electronic-communications and sales etiquette.

The four main themes of this course are answers to the question, "What makes Europe distinctive compared with other parts of the world?"

Professor Thomas J. Finan conducts an enthralling series of lectures on a subject that is an enduring part of the popular imagination: the castle. Professor Finan examines the castle from a variety of contemporary perspectives, including those of history, archaeology, geography, and landscape studies. The course also covers the morphology of medieval fortifications and castles and considers the social and landscape natures of castles, as well as the role of the castle in Europe.

The best-selling If It's Raining in Brazil, Buy Starbucks introduced the revolutionary concept of Big Picture Investing as a way to not only profit - but also protect your portfolio from heavy losses. Since the publication of that book, the author has received countless requests to illustrate, in a very detailed way, just how to apply Big Picture Investing to the day-to-day management on individual portfolios. Hence, this exciting audio course.