Catalog Search Results
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 6
Language
English
Description
Observe how Florence, the most advanced community in medieval Europe, dealt with the crippling effects of the plague. Learn about the extraordinary and diverse responses of citizens, and see how city leaders took steps to slow the spread of the disease, to counteract the breakdown of laws and government, and to restore the city.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 39
Language
English
Description
After centuries of oral retellings, the myths and sayings of rural peasants were transformed into formal verse by scholars, becoming the foundation for a highly sophisticated and nuanced body of writing that profoundly shaped subsequent literature. Unfortunately, much of the originality and charm of the myths was often removed in the name of moral lessons.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 23
Language
English
Description
Move east to the Shang and Chou dynasties in ancient China, where bronze vessels cast with astonishing technical skill and artistry are the defining artifact. Excavated in 1976, the royal tomb of Fu Hao revealed a trove of precious bronze vessels, which would have been used in ancestor worship, for ceremonial meals, and to support the authority of kings.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 25
Language
English
Description
Tension between the British and the South Asians came to a boil in 1857, when a group of Indian soldiers rose up against the British army-to disastrous consequences. Consider the context and historical impact of this pivotal year, which forever changed the nature of British rule in India.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 23
Language
English
Description
As the Progressive Era ends, follow the complex events that led the United States into World War I. Learn how an initial federal policy of neutrality changed to one of preparedness and then intervention, amid conflicting public sentiments and government pro-war propaganda. Also trace the after-effects of the war on U.S. foreign policy.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 45
Language
English
Description
Grasp how the tribes of the Arabian peninsula: within only 100 years of their conversion to Islam: were able to conquer half the Mediterranean world, shattering its unity, spinning its parts onto divergent paths, and establishing religious, linguistic, and cultural boundaries that persist to this day.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 20
Language
English
Description
When German physicists split the atom, Albert Einstein warned President Roosevelt of the potential for "extremely powerful bombs of a new type." Chart the course of the nuclear bomb from this letter through the first nuclear chain reaction led by physicist Enrico Fermi, the Manhattan Project, and devastation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 32
Language
English
Description
Meet the famous Corsican who would one day crown himself emperor of France. This episode introduces you to Napoleon as a young man. The context of his early military career will enhance your understanding of the mature general, and it demonstrates his complexity as an outsider striving to gain power.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 17
Language
English
Description
Enter this great Polish city through the historic Wawel Royal Castle with its Gothic towers and imposing Room of the Envoys. From there, walk the ceremonial route of Polish kings, stopping at the 14th-century cathedral, great town mansions, Romanesque and Polish Gothic churches, and the architectural riches of Jagellonian University.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 11
Language
English
Description
Turn to the Persian Empire, one of the grandest civilizations in the ancient world. Survey the history of Persia from King Cyrus to Alexander the Great, then study the city of Persepolis. Its construction, its palaces, and its many relief sculptures all showed the breadth and power of the king.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 19
Language
English
Description
In charting the rise of Inca civilization, follow the pivotal reign of Pachacuti, the 9th Inca, whose vision to unify the Andes led to large-scale conquest. Learn how his heir, Tupac, doubled the imperial territories, and how the empire was ultimately torn apart by civil war and disease.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 23
Language
English
Description
Whether on papyrus, bamboo, clay, stone, or wood, writing shows an important relationship between medium and message. Explore the influence media have had on writing's shape, direction, and use by delving into the origins of terms used for writing implements, the process for making papyrus, the phasing out of scrolls by codices, and more.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 12
Language
English
Description
Continue your study of the Mauryan Empire with Chandragupta's grandson, Emperor Ashoka, who even today is likely the most famous individual from ancient India. After consolidating his territory in a vicious war, Ashoka became a Buddhist and a model benevolent ruler.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 10
Language
English
Description
March to Versailles with thousands of women and National Guardsmen to protest the price of bread and to lobby the king for political changes. This huge demonstration compelled the king and queen to move to Paris and revealed the power of popular activism.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 53
Language
English
Description
Journey through the Great Plains to look at new myths involving creatures and environments that can't be duplicated in other regions. Hear the fascinating story of the Buffalo Woman, and learn the way myths not only connect different groups of people, but also serve as a beacon of individuality.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 24
Language
English
Description
Witness the rise of the British East India Company and find out how it coincided with the rise of British imperialism. Company leaders often sought glory and expansion, which led to greater British influence and control of South Asia via joint-stock corporations. Take an inside look at these radical developments in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 22
Language
English
Description
Among significant 20th-century treatments of the saga, begin with T.H. White's The Once and Future King and its ruminations on kingship, power, and governance. Also explore Mary Stewart's highly original Merlin Trilogy, Marion Zimmer Bradley's feminist The Mists of Avalon, and the brilliant comic book series Camelot 3000.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 43
Language
English
Description
Was Napoleon a modernizer who brought efficient and liberal reforms throughout his European empire, or was he a cultural imperialist who tried to export his vision of a centralized, authoritarian state? Historians debate this even today, and this episodes hows you each side of the Napoleonic legacy.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 15
Language
English
Description
Perpetual violence. A destructive struggle between order and chaos. Welcome to the mythography of ancient Egypt, which includes multiple creation stories tied to different city centers; a fantastic pantheon of gods; different historical and mythic time lines; and maat, the overarching concept of morality and justice.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 12
Language
English
Description
Napoleon's expedition to Egypt is most celebrated for its discovery of the Rosetta stone, which contains ancient Greek writing, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and demotic script. Consider this icon of decipherment as the first and most famous example of a biscript, and discover just how common such artifacts are around the world.
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