Catalog Search Results
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 14
Language
English
Description
Lady Gregory, Yeats, and others recognized the need for a national Irish theater. Witness the founding of this great project in 1897, and meet some of the Abbey Theatre's early playwrights. Professor Conner connects this beacon of Irish cultural heritage to the changing political landscape of the early 20th century.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 25
Language
English
Description
Much of the world in 200 B.C. was entering nearly 600 years of instability: but something different was happening in China and Rome. Focus on the first of these two powers, each of which would shape a stable empire for the next four centuries.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 17
Language
English
Description
Begin a study of the great Inca civilization by tracing the culture's origin myth, featuring a creator deity who made the cosmos and charged the Inca to found a kingdom in a fertile valley. Compare the mythology with archaeological evidence that suggests that the myths were based in part on historical truths.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 21
Language
English
Description
Succession is a key challenge for any empire. As Emperor Akbar aged, follow the rise of his son, Jahangir, who, once emperor, ruled with aplomb and introduced many new innovations to the subcontinent. His own son, Shah Jahan, then constructed the Peacock Throne, the Taj Mahal, and other glorious architectural triumphs.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 8
Language
English
Description
First, get an introduction to the five preconditions or 'pillars' necessary for decipherment to be possible, paying particular attention to the first pillar, known as script type. Then turn to the typology of the three main categories of signs found across the world (logograms, phonograms, and semantic signs) and consider how these signs are combined in different writing systems.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 19
Language
English
Description
In a relatively sparse era of Arthurian literary output, trace noteworthy currents of the saga in Spenser, Milton, and the work of Renaissance historians. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, note the rise of Arthur's presence in popular ballads, songs, and poetry, and his remarkable portrayal on the stage in English and Cornish.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 52
Language
English
Description
The Southeast region of the United States was home to many different Native American cultures. Five major languages were spoken in the area, and a sign language was invented for easier inter-group communication. Learn how the constant cultural exchange resulted in an encompassing body of myths that tie the peoples together.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 8
Language
English
Description
In these dramatic conflicts, the Islamic Rashidun armies toppled two long-established empires. Learn about their defeat of the Byzantine army at Yarmouk and the Sassanid forces at al-Qadisiyyah, which determined the cultural, linguistic, and religious nature of the Middle East for the next 1,500 years.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 1
Language
English
Description
Grasp how Thomas Morley's madrigals in praise of Queen Elizabeth I engaged with English national self-perception and myth, and how Leon Janáček and Frédéric Chopin responded to political events in key works. Take account of how magnified emotions stirred by human conflicts feed artistic creation, and how artists have managed to convert the most terrible of human experiences into transcendent art.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 33
Language
English
Description
Many societies in this course have used art to communicate ideas, especially state propaganda. But Andean elites took a different approach. Rather than creating massive stone sculptures, artists made usable, practical objects. This episodes hows you some of the beautiful pots created in a culture isolated from the Western tradition.
91) Archaeology: An Introduction to the World's Greatest Sites: The Nazca Lines, Sipán, and Machu Picchu
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 22
Language
English
Description
Continue with three stellar South American sites: First, ponder the mysteries of the Nazca Lines, giant animal and human figures etched in the soil of the Peruvian desert. Then visit the New World's richest unlooted tomb, that of the Lord of Sipán, and finish at Machu Picchu, glorious city of the Incas.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 20
Language
English
Description
In assessing Berg's operatic masterwork, investigate the aftermath of World War I in Germany and its imprint on the opera-a psychological climate of rage, disillusion, and alienation in the wake of the war's barbarity and hypocrisy. Observe how Berg's own wartime experience linked him with the life of Franz Wozzeck, the opera's protagonist.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 32
Language
English
Description
This providential clash critically shaped World War I. Study the German and French preparations for warfare and vital errors in planning by each side. Follow the offensive that began the war, the German commander's fateful change of plans, and the ensuing battle that left both sides enmeshed in a horrifying, four-year stalemate.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 7
Language
English
Description
Trace how Anton van Leeuwenhoek's striking discovery fit into the larger Scientific Revolution and shifted intellectual authority from classic texts to that which is observable and measurable.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 23
Language
English
Description
Journey into the archaeological heritage of North America, beginning with the excavation of the Hunley, a Confederate submarine from the U.S. Civil War. Investigate the unearthing of colonial Jamestown, Virginia; consider the impact of the 9,000-year-old Kennewick Man; and learn about legislation enacted to protect archaeological finds in the U.S.
96) Archaeology: An Introduction to the World's Greatest Sites: Pyramids, Mummies, and Hieroglyphics
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 8
Language
English
Description
In the first of two lectures on the wonders of Egyptology, learn about the deciphering of hieroglyphics through the legendary Rosetta Stone. Also explore the intriguing techniques of ancient Egyptian embalming and mummification, and get the stories behind the building of the Step Pyramid of Zozer, the Pyramids at Giza, and the Sphinx.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 18
Language
English
Description
Here, visit three superlative sites in Jordan and Syria. Begin at Petra, with its breathtaking tombs and temples carved into the face of cliffs. At the desert oasis of Palmyra, explore the site's extraordinary Greco-Roman and Persian architecture. Finish at the great citadel of Ebla, famous for its enormous cache of ancient tablets.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 16
Language
English
Description
The site of Megiddo in northern Israel comprises more than twenty ancient cities, built one atop the other. Trace the excavations there over the last century, and examine the discovery of Neo-Assyrian palaces, lavish Bronze Age tombs, monumental temples, and other treasures at one of the most important archaeological sites in the Near East.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 5
Language
English
Description
Learn how Beethoven identified, almost mystically, with the figure of Napoleon. Witness the military clashes after the French Revolution between Napoleon and the Austrian Habsburg empire. Grasp the highly personal meanings in Beethoven's Farewell Sonata, which depicts the departure and absence of the composer's aristocratic patron in the face of Napoleon's 1809 march on Vienna.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 30
Language
English
Description
Lesser divinities are often heavily involved in human affairs, even going so far as to wed or otherwise have close relations with mortals. The interactions between African gods and mortals express many different ideas about the relationship between mortal life and the divine. Examine the stories of Mregho and Ruwa, Miseke and Thunder, goddesses and mortals, and how Tricksters get involved in mortal relationships.
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