great-course-video

5 great ‘Great Courses’ worth sharing


From the origins of Earth to the greatest orchestral works, here are some Great Courses worth sharing with your students

great-course-videoThanks to massive open online courses (MOOCs), video lectures are currently all the rage.

Of course, pre-recorded lectures are not anything new. They’ve been around for decades, sent out as part of distance education courses through snail mail.

Since 1990, one company has even been producing slick videos of college lectures that rival the production value of today’s flashiest MOOC lectures.

Called The Great Courses, the company was founded by Thomas Rollins, the former chief counsel of the United States Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources under Senator Ted Kennedy. If that wasn’t an impressive enough pedigree, Great Courses has worked with hundreds of high-profile professors and partnered with the National Geographic Society and Culinary Institute of America.

The courses are available on DVD, and CD, and through transcript books and video and audio downloads. Some can be pricey, while others are the cost of an average music album (and can be purchased through Audible.com.)

Here are some Great Courses worth seeking out.

(Next page: 5 great Great Courses)

1. The Origin and Evolution of Earth: From the Big Bang to the Future of Human Existence

Taught by George Mason University professor Robert M. Hazen, this course tells the story of Earth — “an epic filled with crises, catastrophes, and remarkable, repeated change.”

2. The 30 Greatest Orchestral Works

Renowned composer and musicologist Robert Greenberg walks you through 30 focal works of orchestral music, from Haydn’s Symphony no. 104 to Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring.

3. Mathematics, Philosophy, and the “Real World”

Pitzer College professor, and acclaimed math historian, Judith Grabiner teaches this “36-lecture series that explores mathematical concepts and practices that can be applied to a fascinating range of areas and experiences.”

(Next page: More Great Courses, including one you can watch on Netflix)

 4. Classical Mythology

The characters and stories of classical mythology “have inspired and shaped everything from great art and literature, to our notions of sexuality and gender roles, to the themes of popular films and TV shows.” Whitman College professor Elizabeth Vandiver introduces you to these important and eternal tales.

5. The Inexplicable Universe

Before taking us on a journey through the Cosmos, everybody’s favorite astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson, taught a handful of Great Courses. In this course, currently available on Netflix streaming, Tyson “explores the most tantalizing, mind bending questions at the forefront of scientific inquiry using visually stunning 3D virtual environments.”

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