The great courses pdf download

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Read Mode. Reading Guide. Useful Links. Professor Ramon P. Financial institutions in the s began taking enormous risks particularly in the housing market. Helped out by low interest rates and fewer regulations, banks and investors mismanaged their risks while mortgage defaults were rising. Using many analogies to help us understand the complex economic forces at play, Professor DeGennaro takes a long view of economic best practices to demonstrate how many financial institutions were brought down during The Great Recession.

Can Adult Brains Change for the Better? Hear about the exciting new science of adult neurogenesis, which is the process by which new neurons are generated in the adult brain. Professor Indre Viskontas, Ph. But recent science has proven that new development is possible, especially in the hippocampus of the brain which is associated with memory.

Viskontas also examines some of the ways in which brain power can be boosted and how exercise, food, and pills affect the brain. Learn how you can start growing new neurons today! He first discusses the power of using a story as evidence for an argument. He then describes the use of empirical evidence such as data and statistics.

He provides examples of how authority can play an important role in evidence used in a debate. And lastly, he tells of the importance of the personal narrative in debate, which is usually more persuasive than describing the narrative of someone else. He applies all these types of evidence to a hypothetical debate about assisted suicide.

Expand your power to debate with these strategies of using evidence. Mind-Body Philosophy: History of the Soul. In this lecture Professor Patrick Grim, Ph. Grim demonstrates how early conceptions of the soul differed from what would become more modern conceptions in thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and St.

Augustine which emphasized a dualistic approach between a temporal body and an eternal soul. At the end of the lecture Professor Grim marks some thinkers who led to a decline in the discussion of the soul in philosophy and psychology, including Rene Descartes and William James.

History of Slang in the English Language. This entertaining lecture from The Great Courses provides some history to the often used, but seldom studied subject of slang in language.

Professor Anne Curzan, Ph. She provides examples of how slang is used among youth and subcultures to rebel against the mainstream and formal communication. The lecture is sure to produce a few chuckles as Professor Curzan explains in scholarly terms many words and terms which are generally not used in the college classroom. Unsolved Mysteries of the Universe: Inexplicable Space.

Popular science communicator Dr. He's become a superstar of teaching astronomy and physics and even hosted the popular TV update of Cosmos which aired on the Fox Network and on streaming platforms back in He also examines what is going to happen in 4.

Religion: Its Meaning and Importance. He feels there are many reasons for this including the reluctance of schools to teach about world religions in K education.

Berkson gives his arguments for why he feels literacy of religion is so important. He then sets out on the complicated task of defining religion, in which he provides a multifaceted approach that seeks to encompass the aspects of all major religions and how they differ from other disciplines such as science and philosophy. Learning French Verbs, Adjectives, and Adverbs.

Enjoy this free lecture on French language and culture from The Great Courses. Much more than a listen-and-repeat French learning program, this video course called Learning French: A Rendezvous with French-Speaking Cultures gives viewers an introduction to the French-Speaking World providing language learning, travel tips, French customs, and much more.

Professor Ann Williams is an enthusiastic presenter and the course includes visuals cues and words that she is using along the way. In this lecture you'll learn about the rules of French verbs, adjectives, and adverbs and how they are commonly used in French culture.

She moves along quickly and you'll probably want to have some basic understanding of the French language to supplement this course, but it seems to be an excellent introduction particularly for French learners who want to travel to France someday. Wells and Utopian Science Fiction.

The final decades of the 19th century saw the birth and development of science fiction as a new literary genre, with the concept of utopia in particular being a favorite subject of early writers. Wells that ask the question: is imagining a utopia inherently a part of science fiction? Using both Wells' classic The Time Machine and a lesser known work called A Modern Utopia as her texts, Professor Bedore demonstrates how science fiction can be utilized to explore how current societies might evolve if certain trends predominate, leading to interesting utopian futures that sometimes look positive on the surface, but often come with hidden costs.

The Economics of Racial Discrimination. Can economic data be used to track discrimination practices in the United States? As Professor Timothy Taylor demonstrates in this lecture for The Great Courses, the numbers sometimes do tell the tale.

Using various data collected across standard U. Even with measures taken on a policy level to even the playing field for minorities, Professor Taylor effectively notes how small discriminatory choices made on an institutional level can add up to a widespread phenomenon of racial bias.

A Tour of Central Turkey. Hale, Ph. Homeland of the great Persian poet Rumi, central Turkey features a wide range of locations, from cosmopolitan cities to astonishing natural and man-made archeological sites. Hale serves as your field guide through his favorite destinations, including the capital Ankara, Rumi's Konya, and the exotic Cappadocia. The highlights of this video tour include a look at Rumi's birthplace, the otherworldly volcanic formations in Cappadocia, and a nearby underground cave network miraculously built by Christian refugees.

This is an unparalleled introduction to a part of the world that goes beyond the well-traveled paths of Istanbul into a remote region that few have seen in such detail. In many ways the late 18th century American revolutionary period remains a somewhat ambiguous moment for the role of women. Looking back, Professor Peter C. Mancall sees a time when women were culturally omitted from official documents e. Despite these factors, key voices do emerge that would later cause historic waves, most notably Abigail Adams, whose writings are a remarkable testament to her important role in early government leadership.

The Declaration's language can also be traced to the later women's suffrage movement, which realized astutely that women needed formal inclusion in the political system in order to legally erase their status as second-class citizens. Alexander the Great's Impact on the Jews. During the 4th century BC, Alexander of Macedonia made an incredible push into the Far East, leaving ripples in his wake that had an impact across many different cultures.

In this free lecture provided by the Great Courses, Professor Jodi Magness discusses Alexander's influence on ancient Palestine, and the various legends that came up about his supposed time in the region. Professor Magness also uses scriptural citations to demonstrate how the ancient Jews drew parallels between Alexander the Great and Jesus Christ, using the former as a semi-divine precursor to the new Christian era.

Learn the twisty history of how the Pope is elected in this free minute lecture provided by the Great Courses. Professor Thomas F. Noble guides listeners, starting with Saint Peter's origins in Rome as the first pope, and how the church Cardinals became key officers in electing every Pope thereafter. The papacy went through a period of political interference throughout the Middle Ages that led to a succession of differing election methods that were often factional, or overtly biased, leading to the more streamlined Papal succession ritual we know today.

Does Technology Make You Stupid? It is frequently suggested that technology is making people more stupid, but in this lecture from The Great Courses , Professor Indre Viskontas, Ph. This minute lecture is from her course Brain Myths Exploded: Lessons from Neuroscience and she takes on many of the common myths involving smartphones, social media, and computers.

She covers a lot of ground in this lecture and cites many recent studies that have dealt with how these new technologies are transforming our world and our minds. This is an enjoyable lecture for grammar nerds of all ages. Professor Curzan is on the usage panel for The American Heritage Dictionary and she provides examples of how she and her fellow language experts weigh in on word usage that is controversial or problematic.

This lecture will give you a better idea about how best grammar practices are determined and how they change over time. How England Colonized India. Bellenoit, Ph. Within three generations the British East India Company would supplant the reigning Mughal dynastic empire to become the masters of the Indian subcontinent.

Bellenoit explains some of the factors that brought about such a remarkable shift in India, starting in the s until the rise of Mahatma Gandhi.

Professor Bellenoit skillfully lays out three main points that led to British dominance, including decentralization of the empire's power base, the strong worldwide demand for Indian goods, and the willingness of prominent banking families to play ball; all of which set the stage for one of the most ruthless examples of colonialism that the world has ever seen.

An Analysis of Odysseus. For this free minute lecture provided by The Great Courses, Professor Kathryn McClymond gives a close-up analysis of Odysseus, the Greek hero of Homeric myth, master schemer, and perhaps one of the earliest "everyman" superheroes. Odysseus's clever nature serves him well during the Trojan War, but becomes a liability as he and his men encounter countless obstacles in a year effort to return home.

Themes of identity are also at play throughout the epic of The Odyssey, as Odysseus can't help but hide his true nature under different guises before coming to peace with himself in the arms of a loving wife and son. What we see in Professor McCymond's lecture is a complex hero who is capable of withstanding incredible physical hardships, yet finds the ultimate challenge to be his own flawed character. The Unfolding Ukraine-Russia Crisis. In the first half of the lecture, Professor Liulevicius gives a quick summary of Ukraine-Russia relations over the centuries and explains how groups of people in the Ukraine are split between their affinities to Russia and to the West.

The last half of the lecture focuses on the current Ukraine-Russia crisis in which Russian military intervention led to the annexation of the Ukrainian territory of Crimea by Russia in Learn about this political hot spot that is continuing to play a major role in geopolitics today.

Napoleon: The Revolutionary Emperor. Essentials of Tai Chi and Qigong. National Geographic Masters of Photography. Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation. Understanding the New Testament. Ancient Civilizations of North America. Native Peoples of North America. Understanding the Old Testament. Understanding the Quantum World. How to Look at and Understand Great Art.

A Visual Guide to the Universe with the Smithsonian. The Real History of Secret Societies. Understanding and Applying Self-Defense Strategies. Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior.

The Great Tours: France through the Ages. The Science of Natural Healing. Biblical Hebrew: Learning a Sacred Language. Books that Matter: The Federalist Papers. The History and Archaeology of the Bible. Understanding the Fundamentals of Music. Effective Communication Skills. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Daily Life.

The Life and Works of Jane Austen. Getting Your Legal House in Order. Fundamentals of Photography II. America's Long Struggle against Slavery. Tai Chi for Strength, Balance, and Tranquility. How to Write Best-Selling Fiction. The Wonders of America's State Parks. How to Plan for the Perfect Retirement. Experiencing Hubble: Exploring the Milky Way. England, the s, and the Triumph of the Beatles. The Scientific Wonder of Birds.

The World's Greatest Paintings. The Complete Painter: Lessons from the Masters. Pioneering Skills for Everyone: Modern Homesteading. Understanding the US Government.

Understanding and Overcoming Fear. Africa's Culinary Diaspora in the Americas. The Middle East in the 20th Century. Old English Literature: Language as History. How to Raise Lifelong Learners. The Scientific Guide to Health and Happiness.

Communism in Power: From Stalin to Mao. Ordinary Americans in the Revolution. Extreme Offenders: Psychological Insights. How the Medici Shaped the Renaissance.

Understanding the Periodic Table. The Mathematics of Everyday Life. Watch any course anytime, anyplace! Learn from award-winning experts and professors from the most respected institutions in the world.

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