Showing results by publisher "The Great Courses" in All Categories

Daunted by the "great big books" of the Western canon? Looking for the same pleasures, satisfactions, and insights from books that are shorter, more accessible, and less dependent on classical references and difficult language than tomes such as Moby-Dick and Ulysses?

Trace the growth of communism from Stalin’s consolidation of power to the establishment of communist regimes in Eastern Europe, China, Korea, Vietnam, and elsewhere in Communism in Power: From Stalin to Mao. These 12 half-hour lessons shed intriguing light on a revolutionary movement that played an outsized role in the 20th century and continues to shape 21st-century geopolitics.

Great powers no longer fight great wars. But how exactly did countries like the United States go from confronting powerful adversaries in 1914 and 1939 Europe to waging lengthy counterinsurgency campaigns in places like Iraq and Afghanistan? The answer lies in the profound geopolitical and technological changes that came in between.

Globalization continues to be a force in our economic climate. And the origins of this globalized economy, its effects on important contemporary concerns, and its future trends are just a few of the intriguing issues you explore in these 36 lectures. Go beyond the economy of the United States and examine the recent history of economies in other countries and regions. As you journey with Professor Taylor through the last 50 years of world economic history, you'll explore international perspectives on the new global economy and develop a richer understanding of our increasingly interconnected world.

Know thy enemy. That's what the wisdom of history teaches us. And Adolf Hitler was surely the greatest enemy ever faced by modern civilization. Over half a century later, the horror, fascination, and questions still linger: How could a man like Hitler and a movement like Nazism come to power in 20th-century Germany – an industrially developed country with a highly educated population? How were the Nazis able to establish the foundations of a totalitarian regime in such a short time and hurl all of Europe – and the world – into a devastating war that would consume so many millions of lives? Professor Childers has designed this gripping 12-lecture course to shed light on these and other questions that have plagued generations.

Trying to live a completely stress-free life is a zero-sum game. The true goal of your relationship with stress is to figure out how to manage it effectively, how to use it to build and support a meaningful, resilient life. In these 18 enriching and inspiring lectures, discover how to manage and minimize the stress in your life. You'll explore the nuances of stress in ways you never really considered. Rooted in scientific findings from experiments, research papers, and case studies, these lectures offer you nothing less than a bold new way of facing (and appreciating) daily life.

Twice in the first half of the last century, the great powers engaged in wars that killed nearly 70 million people, with the aftermath of each shaking the international political system, changing the maps of the world, and setting the scene for the next great conflict. And for most of the past 50 years, the Cold War dominated international politics. Is this the history we are condemned to repeat? This series of eight lectures about international politics will hone your ability to approach that question with knowledge and insight.

In Understanding Nonverbal Communication, you'll discover that nonverbal communication is less intentional and harder to control than the words you choose to speak. Because you are less aware of it than you are of your words, it provides better clues to what you are feeling and thinking.

What can we still learn from C.S. Lewis? Find out in these 12 insightful lectures that cover the author's spiritual autobiography, novels, and his scholarly writings that reflect on pain and grief, love and friendship, prophecy and miracles, and education and mythology.

Virtually all of the major building blocks of our culture (law, government, religion, science, medicine, drama, architecture, and more) derived ultimately from the ancient Greeks. In these 12 lectures, you'll explore the continuing influence of the classical Greek achievement on contemporary life. The point is not the often tedious claim that there is nothing new under the sun. Rather, it is to underscore the remarkable continuity of the Greek perspective and ethos preserved over several millennia.

America stands at a dramatic crossroads: Massive corporations wield disturbing power. The huge income gap between the one percent and the other 99 percent grows wider. Astounding new technologies are changing American lives.

These 24 inspiring lectures introduce you to the sages who, as a group, represent the "missing page" of the history of philosophy. Although their names are sometimes familiar to us, as in the case of Cicero and Plutarch, their philosophy is not. Studying these thinkers offers some surprising ways to think about philosophy. This course offers ample opportunity to hear, in their own words, the philosophers' prescriptions for healthier living.

The Spanish Civil War was a local conflict on the margins of Europe—a short yet bloody series of battles in a lull between the great World Wars—but the conflict was a microcosm of war in the 20th century. Not only did the Spanish Civil War foreshadow the global conflagration to come, but it also had its roots in the modern era’s central divides: urban versus rural, religion versus secularization, rich versus poor, progress versus tradition, democracy versus fascism and communism.

Meet some of Christianity's luminary figures-the followers of Jesus who have practiced and preached their beliefs for centuries. Whether well known or obscure or even nameless, their actions and achievements, their abilities and energies have changed the course of history and the nature of belief. These 24 inspirational lectures will inspire you by the many ways these figures found to live lives of faith.

What is the essence of Judaism? Is it the Ten Commandments, given by God to Israel at Mount Sinai? Or is it the totality of teachings in the Hebrew Bible? Or is it symbolized by something outside the Bible? Find out with this illuminating 12-lecture investigation of the fundamental concepts, beliefs, issues, and themes in the ever-changing, 4,000-year-old saga of Judaism, one of the world's most ancient and influential faiths. Throughout the lectures, you'll study Judaism from within-as it was understood by its adherents in the past and by those who practice or identify with Judaism today.

Since the publication in 1859 of Charles Darwin's remarkable On the Origin of Species, the modern science of biology and genetics has added surprising new dimensions to evolutionary theory. In this course, you’ll discover what Darwin didn’t know, covering much of the curriculum of an introductory college course in evolutionary biology. No background in science is needed to follow these engaging lectures, delivered by Professor Scott Solomon of Rice University, a gifted teacher and widely traveled field biologist.

For much of the past five centuries, the history of the European continent has been a history of chaos, its civilization thrown into turmoil by ferocious wars or bitter religious conflicts - sometimes in combination - that have made and remade borders, created and eliminated entire nations, and left a legacy that is still influencing our world.This 36-lecture series from an award-winning teacher and honored scholar pursues an explanation for this chaos that goes beyond the obvious ones of political ambition, religious intolerance, the pursuit of state power, or the fear of another state's aspirations.

Born to the ranks of the lower English gentry in 1775, Jane Austen led what some have mistakenly described as an ordinary and unremarkable life - a life that ended all too soon at the age of 41. But from this life, Austen drew inspiration for six novels that all rank as literary masterpieces, including the widely beloved Pride and Prejudice. So, what do we really know about Austen’s life and influences?

We all want to live long, healthy, and happy lives. But the path to achieve this-fitness and nutrition-is fraught with popular yet dangerously misleading myths about personal wellness. How do you separate the fact from the fiction? How can you recognize when you're doing your body more harm than good? Scientific knowledge has greatly expanded our understanding of how the human body works, laying many previously held ideas about fitness and nutrition to rest.

No understanding of the past is complete without an understanding of the legal battles and struggles that have done so much to shape it. Inside a survey of world history's greatest trials are the key insights to critical issues we still talk about today, including freedom of speech, the death penalty, religious freedom, and the meaning of equality. Join Professor Linder for these 24 lectures that investigate important legal cases from around the world and across the centuries.