In this course, you will explore the political, social, cultural, and economic revolutions that transformed Europe between the arrival of the Black Death in the 14th century and the onset of the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century.

    This rich treasury includes Tolkien's most beloved short fiction plus his essay on fantasy. Publisher's Note Tolkien's Magic Ring, by Peter S. Beagle The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son Tree and Leaf On Fairy-Stories Leaf by Niggle Farmer Giles of Ham The Adventures of Tom Bombadil The Adventures of Tom Bombadil Bombadil Goes Boating Errantry Princess Mee The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon The Stone Troll Perry-the-Winkle The Mewlips Oliphaunt Fastitocalon Cat Shadow-bride The Hoard The Sea-Bell The Last Ship

    

    Packed with eye-opening studies, experiments, and exercises to strengthen your self-control when dealing with money, fitness, personal relationships, and more, this course will have you wondering why you ever doubted yourself.Whether you're looking for new ways to resist temptation, make a strong first impression, or better control your emotions, this is your guide to understanding—and mastering—what is a frequently misunderstood subject. In clear language, your award-winning professor introduces you to the general theories behind self-control: what it is, how it works, and how you can take steps to improve it.Among the topics you'll investigate:How researchers discovered that delayed gratification can lead to better individual well-being in everything from higher self-worth to less sensitivity to rejectionOne of the most influential theories about how self-control works - the limited resource model, which argues that self-control relies on limited energy that becomes depleted after useHow scientists discovered the link between the prefrontal cortex and aggression, and how people at risk for violent anger show abnormalities in that region of the brain.Alongside groundbreaking scientific findings and research, you'll get personal exercises, activities, and thought experiments you can use to practice strengthening your self-control skills to meet whatever specific goals you want to achieve.Disclaimer: Please note that this recording may include references to supplemental texts or print references that are not essential to the program and not supplied with your purchase.©2013 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2013 The Great Courses

    Course Lecture TitlesWhat is Judaism?The Stages of HistoryThe Jewish LibraryThe Emergence of Rabbinic JudaismJewish WorshipPrayer and the SynagogueThe CalendarA Communal Life-CycleIndividual Life-CyclesGod and Man; God and CommunityPhilosophers and MysticsThe Legal Frameworks of JudaismHalakhaCommon Judaismor a Plurality of Judaisms?Judaism and Others

    There is no better way to study the big questions in philosophy than to compare how the world's greatest minds have analyzed these questions, defined the terms, and then reasoned out potential solutions. Once you've compared the arguments, the final step is always deciding for yourself whether you find an explanation convincing.This course gives you the tools to follow and create logical arguments while exploring famous philosophers' viewpoints on these important questions. Although progress has been made toward answers, brilliant thinkers have continued to wrestle with many big questions that inspire thoughtful people everywhere. These questions include: What is knowledge? Does God exist? Do humans have free will? What is right and wrong? How should society be organized?Given the complexity of these big questions, it should be no surprise that many controversies are far from settled. In fact, by the end of these 36 lectures, you may be even less sure of the right answers to some of the questions than you were at the beginning. But being a philosopher means constantly testing your views - giving a reasoned defense if you believe you are right and modifying your ideas when you realize you are wrong. You'll discover that great thinkers before you have offered convincing answers to hard questions, philosophers after them have made equally persuasive objections, and then still others have refined the debate even further - causing the issues to come into sharper and sharper focus.Join Plato, St. Anselm, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Mill, Smith, Marx, Rawls, and many others in an exploration of fundamental questions. Get ready to think big!

    

    

    In all the annals of the ancient world, few stories are more gripping than those from this era.In the opening lectures, you'll explore the enigma of Alexander, son of a brilliant father, yet always at odds with the man whom he succeeded. You'll trace his early campaigns against the Persians and follow him to Egypt, where he was acclaimed as the son of god. You'll then look at his career after this and find in him a blend of greatness and madness as he strove to replace the Persian empire of the Achaemenid dynasty with a new, mixed ruling class of Macedonians and Persians.From there, you'll delve into the catastrophic period after Alexander's death in 323 B.C., which ushered in a period of catastrophic change as ambitious warlords carved up Alexander's realm into their own separate empires. You'll learn about each of the three kingdoms that resulted: Ptolemaic Egypt, Seleucid Syria, and the Attalid Empire in Asia Minor. Just as important to these lectures are the in-depth discussions of the bounties of Hellenistic culture, which contributed landmark ideas in everything from philosophy (which became more academic), art and architecture (with its excessive, naked emotions), and religion (especially the growing popularity of cult movements). Taken all together, these lectures are an engrossing and riveting journey into ancient history-and the life and times of the man who left an indelible mark on everything that would come after.

    Today, according to Professor Phillip Cary, Augustine is recognizable even to non-Christians as the most important Christian writer outside of the Bible. Yet Augustine was also a man-a rhetorician trained in the Roman way whose life and discovery of his calling make for one of the most fascinating stories in the history of religious philosophy. Explore Augustine's Life, Teachings, and Doctrine This course paints a rich and detailed portrait of the life, works, and ideas of this remarkable figure, whose own search for God has profoundly shaped all of Western Christianity. You learn what Augustine taught and why he taught it-and how those teachings and doctrines helped shape the Roman Catholic Church. These lectures are rewarding even if you have no background at all in classical philosophy or Christian theology. This is because Professor Cary, who has taught Villanova's nationally recognized seminars on ancient, medieval, Renaissance, and modern thought, has organized an entirely self-contained course. Professor Cary (Ph.D. in Philosophy and Religious Studies, Yale University) is a scholar-in-residence at the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University, where he is director of the Philosophy program and teaches a year-long Great Books seminar. He is author of Augustine's Invention of the Modern Self (Oxford University Press). Professor Cary explains any special religious or philosophical concepts you need to know in order to appreciate Augustine's impact, with real-life examples and analogies that make even the most subtle concepts clear and easy to understand. You'll gain a sense of what Augustine was saying, how his own experiences led him to say it, and how his thoughts fit into the theological, philosophical, and political worlds that swirled around him. Who Was Augustine? A Brief Biography Augustine was born in 354. Early in his life he was inspired by the works of Cicero to devote his life to the pursuit of truth. He started this pursuit as a Rhetorician, then he became a Manichaean, and later a Skeptic. Ambrose, bishop of Milan, and Augustine's mother, Monica, were among those instrumental in his conversion to Catholic Christianity in 386. In North Africa he founded a small monastic community and in 391 was elected Bishop of Hippo at a time when people still had some say in who would lead their religious community. From 395 to 430, he served as bishop. He wrote many treatises among which we find the celebrated Confessions, published in 400 as an open letter to his congregation and a prayer to God. His works also include The City of God and On the Trinity. Many of his writings were directed against heresies, particularly Manichaeism, Donatism, and Pelagianism. He is noted for founding the Western theological tradition and establishing doctrines of the Trinity and Christology. The Life, Works, and Significance of Augustine The course begins with two extremely helpful lectures that help place Augustine in context as both a Church Father (interpreter of the Bible and teacher of Christian doctrine) and philosopher (one who has given us new conceptions of the human heart and its depths). In Lecture 1 you meet Augustine the Roman Christian, one of the Church Fathers responsible for the transition from Bible stories to actual Christian doctrine, a man writing with the end of the Roman Empire at hand. In Lecture 2 you also meet Augustine the Christian Platonist and learn the Platonic concepts-including the idea of a non-bodily, eternal mode of being and the way that concept applies to God-which so deeply influenced him and other religious thinkers of the time. With Augustine's role in-and debt to-these two worlds established, Professor Cary then looks at Augustine's life and legacy in three parts. Part 1: Augustine's Life Lectures 3 through 6 are devoted to a study of Augustine's life. You look at the Confessions, his great spiritual autobiography, written when he was a 45-year-old bishop reflecting on the spiritual path of a questing young man of whom the grown Augustine might not always approve. You examine the Confessions from three angles: The intellectual angle spotlights his passionate search for truth. The emotional angle focuses on the love that drives this search, and the aching sense of loss, grief, and yearning which the Confessions evokes in order to show how love can go wrong.The religious angle explores Augustine's search for truth that leads him to Christ and the Christian life, conceived as a journey toward heaven.The section on Augustine's life ends with a focus on his career as a Christian writer following the period of his life covered by the Confessions, which culminated in his almost 15-year effort to write the 22 books of The City of God. Part II: Augustine's Thought The next series of three lectures explains key concepts of Augustine's thought, all related to his epochal doctrine of grace. You examine how Augustine relates the human qualities of faith and love to the divine gift of grace (Lecture 7); how his doctrine of grace addresses troublesome issues like the origin of evil, original sin, and predestination (Lecture 8); and how he relates the inward gift of grace to the external side of human life in his teachings about signs, words, sacraments, and the Church (Lecture 9). Part III: Augustine's Concept of Persons The final three lectures address Augustine's concept of persons, both human and divine. You look at Augustine's distinctive conception of the human soul as a private inner world (Lecture 10); then his distinctive way of relating his concept of the soul to the doctrine of the Trinity, which is the orthodox Christian conception of God (Lecture 11); and finally his understanding of God's relationship to specific human communities in history, specifically focusing on The City of God (Lecture 12).Great Courses, #611

    Even those who don't consider themselves fans of this intriguing genre are familiar with names such as Hercule Poirot, Sam Spade, Hannibal Lecter, and Robert Langdon, and understand the deep and lasting impact this writing has had on literature as a whole. An utterly captivating and compelling genre, mystery and suspense has leapt off the pages of the old dime store paperbacks, magazines, and comic books onto big screens, small screens, radio serials, podcasts, websites, and more. You'll find elements, characters, and references permeating popular culture and news reports worldwide, and bleeding into other literary genres such as romance, political thrillers, sports stories, and even biographies. Nearly 200 years old, the genre of mystery and suspense literature is only growing more popular.How did it become so prevalent? Why is mystery and suspense a go-to genre for so many around the world? What makes the dark and sometimes grisly themes appealing? In 24 lectures of The Secrets of Great Mystery and Suspense Fiction, Professor David Schmid of the University at Buffalo examines these questions, as he guides you through an examination of the many different varieties of the genre, including classic whodunits, hard-boiled crime fiction, historical mysteries, courtroom dramas, true crime narratives, espionage fiction, and many more.Fans of the genre will be delighted by the breadth and depth of information presented, guaranteed to uncover gems they had not yet discovered. But anyone, whether they are admirers of mystery on radio and film, or simply fans of literature, history, or pop culture, will find something to enlighten and entertain in this study of a genre with such tremendous impact.

    On an annual basis, the industry is even more profitable than Hollywood. Today’s video games feature stunning, lifelike visuals and complex storylines - but they didn’t start out that way. The origin of video games can be traced back to World War II. In the 10 lectures of A History of Video Games, listeners will follow the development of the digital game from its roots in the war room to its proliferation in the 21st-century living room. Taught by journalist, podcast host, and video game historian Jeremy Parish, this lively course will track the tremendous leaps made in computing technology that allowed games to become increasingly sophisticated and the popular trends that pushed the boundaries of technology forward. The story of video games is not just about technology. It’s also about popular culture, economics, and globalization. Throughout these lectures, students will learn about the extremely profitable gaming industry, as well as the creative minds and ambitious projects that helped build it - and even encounter a few spectacular failures. Be prepared to: Witness the precipitous rise and fall of AtariExperience the birth of blockbuster gaming systems like NES and Sega GenesisLearn about the evolution of the console, PC, and portable gamingExplore the creation of iconic game series, such as Mario Bros., Pac-Man, and Pokémon From the simple pleasures of Pong to the complex online world of Fortnite, video games have come a long way over the course of seven decades, with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Listeners will surely reminisce about their own experience with gaming as they learn more about this exciting industry, phenomenon, and pastime.

    For Jay, a retired research scientist this return to the classroom is his "one last chance" to learn the great literature he'd neglected in his youth--and, even more, a final opportunity to more fully understand his son, a writer and classicist. But through the sometimes uncomfortable months that the two men explore Homer's great work together--first in the classroom, where Jay persistently challenges his son's interpretations, and then during a surprise-filled Mediterranean journey retracing Odysseus's famous voyages--it becomes clear that Daniel has much to learn, too: Jay's responses to both the text and the travels gradually uncover long-buried secrets that allow the son to understand his difficult father at last.

    It dispenses advice and reflections on family life and public manners; opinions on topics such as dress, health, food, and childrearing and safety; and more specialized tips, such as those for dealing with annoying salesmen and burglars. Culled from Twain's personal letters, autobiographical writings, speeches, novels, and sketches, these pieces are delightfully fresh, witty, startlingly relevant, and bursting with Twain's characteristic ebullience for life. They also remind us exactly how Mark Twain came to be the most distinctive and well-known American literary voice in the world. These texts, some of them new or out of print for decades, have been selected and meticulously prepared by the editors at the Mark Twain Project.

    King (William and Mary University) delves into the story of how, why, where, and when we became human. These lectures will help you understand the forces that have shaped, and continue to shape, our species. "An evolutionary perspective on human behavior," notes Dr. King, "results in more than just knowledge about dates and sites when and where specific evolutionary milestones likely occurred." "It is also a window on the past and future of our species. An entirely new way of thinking comes into focus when we consider the human species within an evolutionary perspective."A Century of ScholarshipWhile covering these subjects in this 24-lecture series, Dr. King synthesizes the best that more than a century of scientific scholarship has to offer across a variety of disciplines. Biological anthropologists study primate anatomy and behavior both to understand evolution and to learn more about our common ancestor. Biological anthropologists are joined by molecular anthropologists to better understand hominids by studying fossils, ancient skeletal remains, and lifestyle information such as cave art and stone tools. Case Studies that Clarify Evolution and Its Power Dr. King begins by explaining key mechanisms through which evolution functions, citing famous and definitive case studies that demonstrate these forces. In one such landmark study, for example, biologists Peter and Rosemary Grant returned to the Galapagos Islands more than 100 years after Darwin's first voyage to conduct research on island finches. In 1977, a drought-induced scarcity of soft, edible seeds brought forth in the very next generation a population of finches with larger, stronger beaks capable of crushing larger, tougher seeds. Extraordinarily, in 1985, heavy rains produced a surplus of softer seeds, and natural selection produced a succeeding generation of the smaller-beaked variety. Evolution had occurred in two different directions within a decade. This "natural selection" is the theoretical tool of evolution, which helps us make sense of these facts. Why Evolution Remains Important to Us Today Perhaps the greatest measure of this theory's power is its relevance to our lives today. - Did you know that the gene which causes sickle cell anemia must be inherited from both parents to cause the disease but the disease does not occur when only a single gene is inherited? - Or that the single gene, in fact, affords protection from malaria? Or that race, a category so securely ingrained in our consciousness, is practically meaningless in biological terms? - Or how to evaluate the claim that a gene can be responsible for a certain personality trait? A Glimpse Into Our Selected Primate Heritage With an understanding of the basic mechanisms of evolutionary change in hand, the course looks at how our ancient primate ancestors adapted. Consider the anatomical features we share with monkeys, great apes, and other primates. Our large brains, grasping hands, and forward-facing eyes allowing us to perceive depth are critical to the way we function in the world. Yet the fossil record tells us that some 70 million years ago these distinctive primate features did not exist. What caused the first primates to emerge from existing mammalian populations? One proposed solution was that the appearance of insects living in the lower canopies of trees offered a plentiful food resource to those species adapted to procure it. Could depth perception and grasping ability have provided an advantage here, and hence been naturally selected? This is the function of biological anthropology: confronting the facts, then suggesting and testing possibilities. A Course as Much About the Present as the PastWith so much of evolutionary history taken up with the past, the insights gained in these lectures may tempt you to add questions of your own: - Is human evolution still a force in today's world? Hasn't our modern, mobile culture rendered evolution irrelevant? - In fact, human evolution is a stronger force than ever, interacting with human culture in complex ways. Issues such as obesity, AIDS, and genetics are all discussed. And you may well find these lectures opening your eyes to the extraordinary ways in which the biological power of natural selection is still at work in the world today. Course Lecture Titles1. What is Biological Anthropology? 2. How Evolution Works 3. The Debate Over Evolution 4. Matter Arising—New Species 5. Prosimians, Monkeys, and Apes 6. Monkey and Ape Social Behavior 7. The Mind of the Great Ape 8. Models for Human Ancestors? 9. Introducing the Hominids 10. Lucy and Company 11. Stones and Bones 12. Out of Africa 13. Who Were the Neandertals? 14. Did Hunting Make Us Human? 15. The Prehistory of Gender 16. Modern Human Anatomy and Behavior 17. On the Origins of Homo sapiens 18. Language 19. Do Human Races Exist? 20. Modern Human Variation 21. Body Fat, Diet, and Obesity 22. The Body and Mind Evolving 23. Tyranny of the Gene? 24. Evolution and Our Future