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| Jan 01, 1991
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I listened to these eight lectures in the hope that I might become better informed about literary history. I've been co-leader of Great Books KC group
I listened to these eight lectures in the hope that I might become better informed about literary history. I've been co-leader of Great Books KC group since 2004, and I'm pretty sure that most of the group's participants have more formal education in the field of classic literature than me. I was hopeful these lectures would help me catch up with the rest of the group. I've tried to leave enough notes about each lecture below so that if I cross paths with certain artists names and terms related to literary modernism I'll be able refer to them and remember a bit of the lecture's contents. Lecture 1—Introduction: Modernity and Modernism There are two kinds of modernism, paleomodernism (the original modernism) and neomodernism (new modernism). A poem by William Carlos Williams is offered as an example of neomodernism, and it is noted that it has difficult syntax, intensely ideological, and can be construed to be an assault on T.S. Eliot through the use of simplicity. The poem Mr. Eliot’s Sunday Morning Service by T.S. Eliot is offered as an example of paleomodernism which is more complex than the Williams poem but ends up at the same place—everyday life. Neomodernists generally admire anticlassism, as was also true for iconoclasm and regionalism. Artist who are examples of neomodernists includes William Carlos Williams, Gertrude Stein, the Dada movement, and the surrealist movement. Examples of paleomodernist includes T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, William Butler Yeats, and Igor Stravinski. Neomodernism and paleomodernism begin at roughly the same time, with paleomodernism dominating prior to the Second World War, and neomodernism coming to the fore after the war. Lecture 2—Transition Eliot developed as a philosopher first, then as a poet. He said that philosophy was a conversation, not a science, and that meaning is a matter or context. Eliot said the neomodernists were arbitrary. The. Neomodernists felt that their preference for the objective statement is a return to pure theory. Lecture 3—Against Theory W.B. Yeats moved from romantic, to symbolist, and to realist, though his essays continued to attack realism. Conversely, Henry James' career is examined because it moves from realist to symbolist. At the end of the lecture we hear T.S. Eliot's assertion that romanticism and neoclassicism are personalities that were once joined Lecture 4—Waste Lands The effects of the Depression and the Second World War were profound, and the modernists reflected their concern in art. T.S. Eliot, D.H. Lawrence, and others viewed their role to be therapists to the world. Eliot's and works by Lawrence called for a new religion to lead to the rebirth of society. Lecture 5—The Complete Consort James Joyce's is presented as the ultimate paleomodernist novel. Joyce was trying to capture the full circle of history and the novel's structure uses chaos and opposing themes to create one phenomenon. Even postmodernists admire the work because of the use of chaos. Lecture 6—Modernist Theater While modernist literature thrived, we learn from this lecture that modernist drama failed to win popular support. Some poets such as Yeats decided to do battle with the middle class through drama. By the. 1940s, T.S. Eliot had decided that art should respond to the public and he was able to find commercial success. Lecture 7—Apocalypse The Depression and the Second World War altered the focus of the modernists. Most modernists were involved in politics but the movement was represented on both the right and left. The Spanish Civil War had a tremendous impact on the writers. The politics of Ezra Pound are examined at the end of the lecture. He was arrested by American troops in 1944, found not guilty of treason by reason of insanity, and sent to a mental hospital. (His Cantos was introduced as evidence of insanity) Lecture 8—Postwar, Postmodern, Postculture This final lecture takes us from Evelyn Waugh, who presented us with a "Hollywood metaphysics" in which the fake world is ideal, to Samuel Beckett, who unites the themes of modernism and thus helps define modernism's end. The modernists are no longer against the bourgeoisie and are trying to find ways to understand and influence the middle class. ...more |
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| 0385689225
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| 763,699
| Nov 15, 2016
| Nov 15, 2016
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“Born a Crime� is a memoir by Trevor Noah about his childhood and teen years in South Africa. The book's narrative is filled with experiences of child
“Born a Crime� is a memoir by Trevor Noah about his childhood and teen years in South Africa. The book's narrative is filled with experiences of childhood curiosity and teenage angst trying to fit within his social surroundings. But these experiences which are typical for most of us while growing up were magnified for Trevor by the reality of strictures within which he was forced to live. The son of a mother and a Swiss-German father, Trevor Noah had light skin that indicated mixed heritage, but his birth certificate gave him the apartheid classification of “Black African� because of his mother. Physically he appeared to fit among the "colored," but culturally and socially he felt most comfortable associating with blacks. I found detail realities of the apartheid system shocking. When visiting relatives in the black neighborhood, Trevor as a child was not allowed to play outside with his cousins because if a light skinned child was seen by the authorities playing in a black neighborhood the child would be removed and placed in an orphanage. Trevor recalls that “the only time I could be with my father was indoors.� “If we left the house, he’d have to walk across the street from us.� It was dangerous, as a light-skinned child, to be seen with his mother as well: “She would hold my hand or carry me, but if the police showed up she would have to drop me and pretend I wasn’t hers.� The legal penalty if convicted of carnal intercourse across racial boundaries was up to five years in prison. The legacy of apartheid forced Trevor Noah to learn how to be socially nonthreatening—and thus welcome—within the various racial circles of South Africa. This included learning to speak the multiple languages of South Africa—including English, , and many of the . These exercises in communication surely must have contributed to his picking up the necessary skills needed to be a standup comedian as an adult. Trevor Noah was six when apartheid officially ended and ten years old when Nelson Mandela became president, thus he entered his teenage years when the apartheid laws were no longer enforced. But the the effects of that past didn’t go away quickly, and in some instances economic conditions for blacks became worse during the transition. Trevor spent his post high school years involved in petty crime and brushes with the law. He developed a reputation as a popular for dances, but his career was ended by a police officer shooting his computer which caused the loss of thousands of songs stored on his hard drive. The book ends with a traumatic event with takes the reader’s breath away. Upon reflection after completion of the book, it is apparent that the book is very much a love letter to the author’s remarkable mother. She, beginning from poor and humble beginnings as a Black South African, did all possible within her power to give her son every possible advantage so he wouldn’t have the pay the “black tax.� (Click on "view spoiler" for definition of black tax.) (view spoiler)[ “the black tax� � black families having to “spend all of their time trying to fix the problems of the past,� using their skills and education to bring their relatives “back up to zero,� because “the generations who came before you have been pillaged.� (hide spoiler)] Unfortunately, his mother made some mistakes that caused problems for both of them, and Trevor’s high energy and impulsiveness made him a difficult child to raise. But we as readers know that since Trevor is currently on late night TV he must have somehow managed to survive these rough early circumstances. ...more |
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| B01NC3634M
| unknown
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really liked it
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These twenty-four lectures provide interesting commentary about 's
. These lec
These twenty-four lectures provide interesting commentary about 's
. These lectures can be used as helpful interpretive guidance for someone reading The Decline, but for me the lectures are simply an easy way to become familiar with a classic work of literature without actually reading all six volumes. Gibbon devoted much of his life to this work (1772�89), and he is generally credited with furthering historical methodology and scholarship by basing his narrative on thorough research and provided copious footnotes which was an innovation at the time. As literature the book is noted for its carefully crafted paragraphs using construction that follows an engaging middle path that avoids the extremes of dry pompous or shallow casual. In particular his use of dispassionate irony, much of which is contained in the footnotes, maintains the interest of the modern reader. His subtile disrespect for religious enthusiasm appeals to modern secular sensibilities. It's interesting to note that whenever the footnotes quote a Latin or Greek source it is provided in its original language untranslated. Leo Damrosch, the lecturer, was quick to provide his own translations of some of the more interesting footnotes; some of which were so explicit of prurient material that translation into English during Gibbon's time would have been scandalous. Gibbon's critical view of religion is typical for Enlightenment writers of his era. He was surprisingly positive about Islam, not because he liked the religion but because its message was so much simpler compared to the repeated convoluted Christian controversies about the Trinity and the nature of Christ. Historians since Gibbon's time have been critical of his coverage of religion, economics, Byzantine civilization, and the subject of culture. But Gibbon's depiction of the history of political and military events is still respected within the limits of sources available to Gibbons. The following are some personal observations about the subject of decline of the Roman Empire: � I was surprised how "un-barbaric" the barbarians were. When the city of Rome was sacked in 410 A.D. for the first time in almost eight hundred years by the led by , I found it interesting to note that the invaders considered themselves to be Christians (i.e. ).The following is a listing of the lecture titles and a short description of their contents. The descriptions are copied from the website. 1. The Greatness of Gibbon's Decline and Fall Ground your understanding of Gibbon's masterpiece with this helpful introductory lecture. Why was Rome so important to Gibbon and his readers? What makes the periodic style so essential to the Decline and Fall's accessibility? Why should we want to read it today in the 21st century? 2. The Making of Gibbon the Historian Follow Edward Gibbon's intellectual development: his childhood obsession with reading, his military service, his disappointed love, his social circles, his personal politics, and his life as a gentleman "scholar of leisure." Your primary source for this biographical study: fragments from Gibbon's posthumously published Memoirs. 3. The Empire at Its Beginning Before plunging into the Decline and Fall, which starts in the second century A.D., you need a little background in early Roman history. Professor Damrosch reviews the Empire's important provinces (including their strange names), the excessive influence of the Roman military, the emergence of imperial dictatorship, and other facts Gibbon's original readers took for granted. 4. The Theory and Practice of History It's no accident that the Decline and Fall survives as a great work of history. Here, explore how Gibbon understood the role of the historian; consider what he thought of Hume, Voltaire, and other Enlightenment writers; and discover how he revolutionized the use of extensive documentation in his work. 5. The Golden Age of the Antonines Meet the Antonines: the subject of the first three chapters of the Decline and Fall. From Nerva to Hadrian to Marcus Aurelius, these "five good emperors" ruled the only period of history in which the happiness of a great people was the sole object of government. 6. The Hidden Poison Begins to Work After the peace of the Antonines, things quickly began to fall apart. Describing the horrific reigns of emperors like Commodus, Caracalla, and Elagabalus, Gibbon illustrates the "hidden poison" by which one-man rule produced a vicious cycle of incompetent, power-corrupt emperors. 7. Diocletian and the Triumph of Constantine Get a close reading of Chapters 8 to 14 of Gibbon's masterpiece. In these pages, follow the first assaults of the barbarians who would eventually bring the Empire to its knees: the Goths. Also, meet two emperors who would radically reshape the structure of the Roman Empire: Diocletian and Constantine. 8. Enlightenment Skepticism Consider just how dangerous Gibbon's sociological treatment of Christianity in Chapters 14 and 15 (while grounding the faith in extremely detailed historical analysis) seemed to most of his readers. Rather than focusing on divine providence, the Decline and Fall documents the human causes behind Christianity's evolution into the dominant ideology of the ancient world. 9. The Rise of Christianity Continue your look at Chapters 14 and 15 of the Decline and Fall. In these pages, Gibbon takes up five causes for Christianity's success, including proselytizing zeal the promise of a future life in heaven, but also unprecedented organizational ability. What Gibbon leaves out, however: any imaginative empathy with religion. 10. Constantine and Athanasius Chapter 17 is the major turning point in the Decline and Fall. What are Gibbon's thoughts on the transferring of the capital to Constantinople, and on Constantine's famous vision of the cross? Why does he give so much attention to theological controversies, and why was he so impressed by Athanasius, the archbishop of Alexandria? 11. Julian and the Return to Paganism Paganism in the Empire didn't go down without a fight. Enter Julian the Apostate, who tried to reinstate the Olympian gods. Here, study Chapters 22 to 24, which are devoted to this last dying gasp of paganism-struck down by Julian's death during an ill-advised military campaign, and afterward by pushback from the Christians. 12. Barbarian Advances and Theodosius In the wake of Julian's death there was great confusion, which occupies Chapters 25 to 28. Topics covered here include increased barbarian threats from in Britain, Germany, the Middle East, the Danube, and North Africa; the "chaste and temperate" rule of Theodosius; and Gibbon's intriguing thoughts on Christian veneration of saints' relics. 13 East and West Divided With Rome's fracture into eastern and western camps, the story of the empire's decline begins to get complicated. Learn how to navigate the tricky waters of Chapters 29 to 33, which examine cataclysmic events including the sack of Rome in 410 A.D. and the loss of North Africa to the Vandals. 14 Huns and Vandals Professor Damrosch guides you through successive waves of barbarian invaders, beginning with the assault of the Huns, led by Attila. You'lI also get Gibbon's insights on the development of barbarian kingdoms, a sequence of nine Roman emperors in just 20 years, and his biased views on the growth of monasticism. 15 Theodoric and Justinian The first was a Gothic king; the second Rome's eastern emperor. Theodoric and Justinian (along with his general, Belisarius, and his wife, Theodora) dominate Chapters 39 to 44 of the Decline and Fall, which also examines Constantinople's massive building program (including the Hagia Sophia) and the codification of Roman Law. 16 The Breakup of the Empire After the fall of the empire in the West, how did Byzantium in the East persist for another nine centuries? Start with this look at Chapters 45 to 47, which cover the consolidation of France under Clovis, the establishment of the papacy as the center of Christendom, and a new swarm of religious heresies. 17 The Byzantine Empire and Charlemagne Turn now to the fifth volume (of the original six) of the Decline and Fall, where the narrative starts to speed up. In addition to covering historical moments like the reign of Charlemagne and the Comnenian dynasty, you'll also consider the implications of Gibbon's "great man" approach to history from the 7th to 11th centuries. 18. The Rise of Islam Step back in time to get Gibbon's account of the rise of Islam. Occupying Chapters 50 to 52, this narrative emphasizes how, in Gibbon's view, Islam arrived at a fortunate historical moment when it faced only weak opposition from surrounding powers; he also pays warm tribute to Muhammad's qualities of character. 19. The Byzantine Empire in the 10th Century At the end of the Decline and Fall's fifth volume, you'll survey the ever-shrinking form of the Byzantine Empire (Chapter 53), early Russians (Chapter 55), Norman conquests in the Mediterranean (Chapter 56), and the expanding dominion of the Turks (Chapter 57) 20. The Crusades Gibbon's account of the Crusades focused on the way religion was used to rationalize European military and territorial aggression. Learn what this master historian has to say about the rivalry of Richard the Lionheart and Saladin, the birth of the Crusader States, and military orders like the Knights Templar. 21. Genghis Khan and Tamerlane Unpack another turning point in the Decline and Fall: Genghis Khan and the dawn of the Ottoman Empire. Central to this lecture is another of Gibbon‘s charismatic figures: Tamerlane (known as "the scourge of God"). Then, end with Gibbon‘s account of the discovery of gunpowder-which would forever change history. 22. The Fall of Constantinople Chapters 66 to 70 chronicle the final defeat of Byzantium. Topics you'll explore in this lecture include the exiled papal court at Avignon, Mahomet the Second's capture of Constantinople, and the Great Schism from 1378 to 1417. 23. The End of Gibbon's Work How did Gibbon keep the Decline and Fall from simply petering out in its Final chapter? What were some of his assumptions about the "darkness and confusion" of medieval Europe? See how his visit to the physical ruins of Rome inspired Gibbon's final thoughts on the collapse of the empire and helped to bring his great work to a close. 24. Decline and Fall in Modern Perspective Professor Damrosch ends his course with reflections on the Decline and Fall in the 21st century. You'lI consider why some historians reject the term "fall" in favor of "transformation," together with insistence by recent specialists that there truly was a fall; and also three major blind spots Gibbon exhibits in his history: toward religion, toward Byzantine civilization, and toward the persistence of deep cultural rhythms as contrasted with political and military events. ...more |
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| 4.32
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| May 27, 2016
| May 27, 2016
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If I'm ever in a time machine facing the decision of what time in history to visit, I think I'll avoid Europe in the years 1347 to 1353, the years of
If I'm ever in a time machine facing the decision of what time in history to visit, I think I'll avoid Europe in the years 1347 to 1353, the years of the black death. The death toll in different communities varied from twenty to eighty percent with an overall average of fifty percent. These twenty-four lectures provide a thorough description of what we know about history's worst pandemic. It's agonizing for a twenty-first century reader to read about all the possible causes for the black death that the fourteenth century physicians came up with. They developed all sorts of theories but never thought to suggest rats and fleas as a possible factor. Apparently fleas and rats were so endemic that it didn't occur to anybody that they might be a vector of transmission. Scholars today debate the actual cause of the pandemic. Current consensus regarding the cause is the bacterium Yersinia pestis. There are reasons to believe that some of the deaths were caused by other diseases such as anthrax, some form of hemorrhagic fever, or other flu like diseases. Another mystery is why, after many years of reoccurrences, that in about the year 1700 the plague stopped reoccurring in significant numbers in Europe. People in 1700 didn't understand any more about microbes than those in the 1300s. Sewers and water treatment improvements didn't occur until the late nineteenth century. So what changed? I found it particularly interesting that a case can be made that if it weren't for the pandemic that the Renaissance would not have occurred when it did. The Medieval social structure was stable and entrenched before plague struck and would have probably continued indefinitely. But the high death toll increased the relative value of common labor and decreased the relative wealth of the nobility. Also the staffing of church positions was shuffled and replacements generally had less training and experience. All these changes combined to provide opportunities for change that simply wouldn't have occurred otherwise. Below is a listing of the lecture titles and short descriptions of each. The descriptions are taken from website. 1. Europe on the Brink of the Black Death Begin to contemplate the enormity of the Black Death's impact on the medieval world. As context for the harrowing events to come, take account of the state of medieval society on the eve of the plague. In particular, investigate the religious, economic, and political structures of mid-14th-century Europe. 2. The Epidemiology of Plague Explore the medical understanding of plague, as seen in the 6th-century Plague of Justinian, the Black Death of the 1300s, and the 19th-century Third Pandemic. Examine the three predominant varieties of plague, the symptomatology of each, and scientific theories as to the nature and transmission of the disease that ravaged Europe in the 14th century. 3. Did Plague Really Cause the Black Death? In recent years, scholars have reassessed the causes of the Black Death, questioning how it spread through medieval Europe with such astonishing speed and virulence. Here, investigate additional factors that may have contributed to the devastation, such as other diseases, bacteria, and other possible forms of transmission. 4. The Black Death's Ports of Entry Now examine the plague's first sustained appearance in Europe, at the Crimean trading port of Caffa. Learn about the Mongol siege of the city that preceded the outbreak, and how the plague moved west with escaping sailors. Follow the spread of the plague to Constantinople, to Italy, and into France and England. 5. The First Wave Sweeps across Europe Explore how the plague traveled by sea across the Mediterranean, invading port cities and then radiating inward. To get a view of the unfolding devastation, study the events in Sicily, Mallorca, and Avignon, highlighting first-person accounts. Assess ways of measuring the plague's impact and the difficulty of comprehending the scope of the disaster. 6. The Black Death in Florence 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. 7. The Black Death in France Witness the plague's horrific impact at Marseille, and uncover how citizens responded with unusual solidarity. Study the ravages and drastic measures taken at Bordeaux, and see how news of outbreaks sparked violence and the scapegoating of Jews. Grasp the monumental death toll in Paris, whose traumatized public reacted with unbridled hedonism, resignation, and numb indifference to the ubiquitous suffering. 8. The Black Death in Avignon As the 14th-century seat of the papacy, Avignon presents an exceptional case. Learn about the lavish, hedonistic lifestyle of the papal court under Pope Clement VI, and review the range and complexity of Avignon's responses to the Black Death, encompassing both religious and science-based efforts. Investigate the populace's surprising resilience. 9. The Black Death in England The plague ravaged England with stunning ferocity. Consider evidence of other possible disease agents that added to its effects, as well as factors in the environment that exacerbated the epidemic. Follow how the plague spread through inland waterways, with staggering losses to peasant populations and monasteries, and a resulting search for explanations of God's wrath. 10. The Black Death in Walsham The village of Walsham provides a vivid view of how English society was upended by the plague. Learn about the manorial system, where peasants lived under a local lord and landholder. Discover how the plague's death toll dramatically altered the balance of power between labor and management, transforming the economic opportunities of peasants. 11. The Black Death in Scandinavia The Black Death reached Scandinavian countries at different times, by different routes Follow the plague's arrival by ship in Norway, then its movement into Sweden and Denmark, and observe how Scandinavian social customs worsened its toll. Learn also about a unique form of folklore and mythos that arose in Scandinavia in response to the plague. 12. The End of the First Wave Track the final stages of the plague's initial path through 14th-century Europe, from its incursion into Germanic lands to its devastation of Poland and Russia. Study the socioeconomic conditions within Russia, where lack of labor led to a slave-like system of serfdom, and consider psychosocial responses such as the building of one-day votive churches. "" 13. Medieval Theories about the Black Death Observe how learned minds responded to the plague through the writing and dissemination of plague treatises. Review theories regarding the plague's appearance, from astrological conjunctions and weather to those of corrupted" air, eclipses, and earthquakes. Take account of contemporary sanitation procedures, medical remedies, and the practices of plague doctors." 14. Cultural Reactions from Flagellation to Hedonism Delve into the range of psychosocial responses people had to the plague and to the knowledge of its inescapability. Explore the flagellant movement, whose adherents tortured themselves publicly to atone for the sins of the world. On the opposite end, learn about extreme hedonistic responses, from sexual licentiousness to choreomania"-obsessive ritual dancing." 15. Jewish Persecution during the Black Death Examine the history of anti-Semitism in medieval Europe and the unfolding of conspiracy theories during the plague that Jews were poisoning the Christian population. Witness how anti-Semitic hysteria led to horrific violence and the execution of Jewish populations, even as both Christian and secular leaders attempted to quell such actions. 16. Plague's Effects on the Medieval Church The Black Death dealt serious blows to the institution of the Church. Learn how the plague's death toll among the clergy upset the hierarchy and management of religious affairs. Also investigate how the Church's failure to affect any cure or relief from the plague led to a weakening of its authority and status. 17. Plague Saints and Popular Religion Religious devotion at the popular level proliferated during the Black Death. Follow the dramatic increase in activities such as religious pilgrimage, the building of chantry chapels, and the veneration of saints. Witness the struggle between the official Church doctrine and popular religious beliefs, as people searched desperately for comfort in their darkest hour. 18. Artistic Responses to the Black Death Discover how artists confronted the plague through new and innovative forms of expression. Among these, study the creation of transi tombs with graphic sculptural efligies of the dead, as well as the remarkable paintings, murals, and woodcuts of the memento mori tradition, which sought to remind viewers of their mortality. 19. Literary Reponses to the Black Death The events of the Black Death inspired some of history's greatest literary masterpieces. In this lecture, uncover the range of textual responses to the plague, highlighting William Langland's dream-vision poem Piers Plowman and Boccaccio's Decameron. Learn how the plague set Geoffrey Chaucer on the path to literary immortality. 20. The Economics of the Black Death Investigate how the plague initially brought massive loss of labor, administrative manpower, and the tax base, as well as far-reaching disruption of farming. Grasp the process by which economic opportunities for the lower and merchant classes-including women-were transformed, and how those who survived were, in most cases, much wealthier than before. 21. The Black Death's Political Outcomes The social and economic changes brought by the plague were inextricably linked to the sphere of politics. Witness how numerous governmental functions dramatically broke down during the plague, and study how, in the aftermath, many governments attempted to maintain the pre-plague status quo, which was untenable in the new world order. 22. Communities That Survived the First Wave Despite the vast spread of the Black Death throughout the European continent, several communities were notably spared during the first wave of the 14th century. In the examples of Finland, Milan, and Nuremberg, investigate how factors of geography, timing, preventive action, and hygiene contributed to saving certain populations. 23. Later Plague Outbreaks: 1353-1666 Chart subsequent occurrences of plague across Europe following the Black Death of the 14th century, culminating with the Great Plague of London of 1665-66. Learn how people developed critical strategies to combat outbreaks, from administrative bodies created to deal with the plague to the phenomena of pesthouses for the sick, plague pits, and quarantines. 24. How the Black Death Transformed the World In conclusion, reflect on how the economic, social, and political worlds of Europe reinvented themselves to accommodate the deep changes brought about by the plague. Finally, through examples ranging from medieval smallpox to the recent occurrence of Ebola, consider how diseases and pandemics have shaped human societies and individual behavior throughout history and continue to do so today. ...more |
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These are twenty-four lectures on the history of Japan that provides extensive coverage of cultural components in additional to the usual political as
These are twenty-four lectures on the history of Japan that provides extensive coverage of cultural components in additional to the usual political aspects of history. This production by The Great Courses is published in partnership with the Smithsonian which I suppose made available their collections of Japanese artwork and archival material. I listened to the audio version, so any visuals were not available to me. The lecturer, Mark J. Ravina, has extensive background in studies of East Asia and Japan in particular. In Lecture 4 that discusses interesting aspects of the Japanese Language it becomes obvious that he's fluent in the Japanese language. A significant point made by the lectures is that the impression we received in our world history classes that Japan had always been isolated from the world community of nations until Admiral Perry sailed into Tokyo harbor in 1853 is an over simplification of history. Japan has historically gone through cycles of isolation followed by involvement in world affairs. In the late 500s a strong centralized emperor-led state emerged partly influenced by powerful states in China and Korea during that era. Then Japan went through its first period of isolation from the 800s to the 1300s during the era. Japan's second wave of globalization stretched from the 1300s to the 1600s. This era ended with the failed attempt of the powerful warlord to invade China by way of Korea. Japan then slipped into a 250 year period during which globalization and Christianity were curtailed. Then the third major period of Japanese globalization occurred with the in the late 1800s. Lectures 18 and 19 provide an interesting description Japan prior to World War II as it stumbled into wars in China without a master plan. It appears that rouge military officers set up a puppet government in Manchuria (Manchukuo) without orders from the central Japanese government. Similar independent initiatives in the field led to the invasion of China. A review of history from our post war perspective suggests that Japan's initiating the war was a classic example of "" that was nation wide in scope. The lack of preparatory planning for the invasion of China resulted in a Japanese army with inadequate logistical support that caused them to depend on looting the land they were invading. Their shortage of supplies meant they had no ability to take prisoners of war. Thus killing prisoners was their alternative. Looting and killing led to a state of mind that resulted in the "." I was interested in the description of Japan's economic growth and the subsequent bursting of the Japanese real estate bubble and the dramatic stock market crash because they occurred within my own life time. In the final lecture there is a suggestion the Japan's lack of economic growth since the 1980s has not resulted in deterioration of the quality of life in Japan. For example they still have the world's longest average life spans. Perhaps static economic growth is OK. Lecture Titles and Summaries (Source of descriptions taken from ) 1 . Japan: A Globally Engaged Island Nation How has Japanese culture been shaped by powerful cycles of globalization and isolation? When was the earliest human habitation of Japan, and what are the origins of its rich culture? These and other probing questions are the perfect starting points for dispelling common Western misconceptions about this great island nation. 2. Understanding Japan through Ancient Myths Get an engaging introduction to ancient Japanese myths, collectively known as Shinto ("Way of the Gods"). Focusing on the oldest written compilation of Japanese oral tradition, the Kojiki, you'll examine fascinating stories about gods and heroes, the origins of the universe, the Rock Cave of Heaven, rival clans and more." 3. The Emergence of the Ritsuryo State In the late 500s, Japan began an unprecedented project of state building that evolved into the highly centralized, emperor-led Ritsuryo state. As you examine the state's laws and accomplishments, you'll uncover how this political centralization was actually inspired by -- and responded to -- the emergence of powerful states in China and Korea. 4. Aspects of the Japanese Language Make sense of one of the world's most complex writing systems, and discover how spoken Japanese reflects a long-standing concern with order, hierarchy, and consensus. Why is social context so important when speaking Japanese? And what are the linguistic consequences of adopting Chinese characters in Japanese writing? 5. Early Japanese Buddhism Professor Ravina explains why Buddhism was so appealing in ancient Japan. He reveals three key observations about the re|igion's earliest form (including its spread with direct support from Japanese rulers) and discusses the two main strands of Japanese Buddhism: the more esoteric tradition of Shingon and the more accessible Pure Land. 6 . Heian Court Culture Journey through Japan's first period of isolation (from the 800s to the 1300s) and the rise of the Heian court, ancient Japan's cultured and exclusive aristocracy. Along the way, you'll meet the powerful Fujiwara family and unpack how the novel The Tale of Genji reveals the court's penchant for scandal and intrigue. 7. The Rise of the Samurai Turn away from the court in Kyoto to the countryside, where political infighting led to the rise of Japan's first shogunate ("warrior dynasty") and the emergence of the samurai. You'll also explore the rise of warrior culture through the lines of The Tale of the Heike, an epic ballad spread by wandering minstrels. 8. Pure Land Buddhism and Zen Buddhism How did the decline of the court and the rise of the warrior class shape the evolution of Buddhist aesthetic, spiritual, and philosophical concepts? Find out in this illuminating lecture, which covers the massive growth of Pure Land Buddhism (the dominant form in Japan today) and the two main schools of Zen Buddhism. 9. Samurai Culture in the Ashikaga Period Samurai culture was not fixed but constantly adapting to larger social and cultural changes. Central to these changes was the Ashikaga dynasty. As you'll learn, political turmoil under the Ashikaga led to the samurai defining themselves with a culture of extreme loyalty and a new sense of valor, independent of imperial court culture. 10. Japan at Home and Abroad, 1300 - 1600 Japan's second great wave of globalization, the subject of this lecture, stretched from the 1300s to the early 1500s. It's a fascinating period that includes competition with China's Ming dynasty; the new influence of the West (which brought with it guns and Christianity); and the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Japan's most powerful warlord. 11. Japan‘s Isolation in the Tokugawa Period Lasting for over 250 years, the Tokugawa shogunate curtailed both globalization and Christianity. How did this feudal government come to power? How did its policies isolate Japan? Along the way, you'll get an insightful look at what we really mean by "isolation" - and how Japan was shaped by foreign cultures even when most Japanese were banned from traveling overseas. 12. Japanese Theater: Noh and Kabuki Explore two major forms of Japanese theater: Noh (the high classical form) and Kabuki (the more popular form). In looking at two important theatrical works - Atsumori, rich in lofly ideals and elegant aesthetics, and The Scarlet Princess of Edo, full of crude decadence and mayhem - you'|l uncover what these traditions share, and what they make their own. 13. The Importance of Japanese Gardens Japanese gardens are popular tourist destinations, cultural treasures, and even UNESCO heritage sites. Here, consider the splendor and harmony of some of Japan's most important gardens (including tea gardens, rock gardens, and strolling gardens) as part of a history of aesthetics and also as expressions of religious and cultural ideals. 14. The Meaning of Bushido in a Time of Peace Professor Ravina adds more depth to your understanding of Japan's warrior ethos, bushido ("the way of the warrior"). As you look at historical snapshots, such as a samurai's petulant memoir and the vendetta of the 47 ronin, you'll discover the deep nostalgia that lies at the heart of this misunderstood aspect of Japanese cutture. Bushido is full of a longing for a lost age. 15. Japanese Poetry: The Road to Haiku Journey through some of the best-known styles and voices of Japanese poetry. You'll start with the oldest surviving Japanese poems and follow the development of tanka, the classical fve-line form, and renga, a single poem written by multiple poets. We conclude with the master poet Bash? and the emergence of haiku, now Japan's most famous and popular form of poetry. 16. Hokusai and the Art of Wood-Block Prints Katsushika Hokusai, the renowned Japanese artist, is the perfect entryway into the history of both Japanese wood-block prints and late Tokugawa society. Among the topics covered are ukiyo-e ("floating world") pictures; Hokusai's iconic masterpiece, The Great Wave off Kanagarwa; his encyclopedic collection of manga ("sketches"); and more." 17. The Meiji Restoration Investigate the Meiji Restoration: the start of the third major period of Japanese globalization, defined by a vibrant synthesis of tradition and modernity. From the abolition of the samurai class to the creation of a new educational system to the restructuring of land ownership, how did Japan achieve revolutionary change through a smooth political transition? 18. Three Visions of Prewar Japan Take a fresh approach to the story of early 20th-century Japan. Rather than a review of major events, focus instead on the ideologies of three individuals whose competing views shaped Japan's actions on the eve of World War II: Nitobe Inazo and Shidehara Kiuro, both proponents of democracy and international cooperation; and Ishiwara Kanji, a die-hard militarist. 19. War without a Master Plan: Japan, 1931 - 1945 A political culture dominated by fanatics. The quagmire of the Sino-Japanese War. The takeover of Manchuria and the puppet government of Manchukuo. Japan's surprising failure in attacking Pearl Harbor. Learn about all these and more in this lecture on the disorganized chaos (and legacy) of World War II-era Japan. 20 . Japanese Family Life You can't truly grasp a country's culture without understanding its ideas about the family. Explore the three main models of Japanese family life: the aristocratic model (uji}, the samurai model (ie), and the postwar model. Along the way, learn about shifting attitudes toward domestic life, including women's rights and family planning. 21. Japanese Foodways There's so much more to Japanese cuisine than just sushi. Move beyond the basics and plunge into the enormous diversity and complexity of Japan's culture of food. How do foods like soda noodles, tempura, and yakitori (and the rituals of eating them) reflect the waves of globalization and isolation you've explored in previous lectures? 22. Japan‘s Economic Miracle From 1955 to 1975, the Japanese economy grew more than 435% - an astonishing rate that economists refer to as the Japanese Miracle." Take a closer look at the six factors that led to this unprecedented growth, including the country's cheap and motivated workforce, as well as the critical influence of the United States." 23. Kurosawa and Ozu: Two Giants of Film Meet Japan's greatest tilmmakersz Ozu Yasujir? and Kurosawa Akira. How do their best films retiect lasting connections to world cinema? Revisit Ozu's 1953 masterpiece Tokyo Story (inspired by an American domestic drama) and Kurosawa's rousing 1961 adventure Yojimbo (which fused samurai culture with the American Western). 24. The making of contemporary Japan What makes 1989 the turning point for contemporary Japan? Explore four pivotal moments from that year Whose repercussions are still being felt in the Japan of the 21st century: the death of Hirohito, China‘s Tiananmen Square Massacre, the bursting of the Japanese real estate bubble, and a dramatic stock market crash. ...more |
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There's a saying that Ulysses can't be read; it can only be reread. In other words if you read through only one time you'll not grasp its significance
There's a saying that Ulysses can't be read; it can only be reread. In other words if you read through only one time you'll not grasp its significance as a work of literature. This is a big book, and I'm not willing to invest that much time in any one book. And even if I read it a dozen times I'm not sure I would understand the book. So one way around the dilemma is to listen to these lectures. The lecturer, Heffernan, does a good job explaining many of the nuances and interconnections from Homer to 1904 current events in Dublin. I figure that the combination of listening to these lectures combined with reading Ulysses and meeting three times with Great Books KC to discuss the book that I have experienced the equivalent of a three hour college level class. Although one difference from a college class is that I didn't have to write a paper about it. Anyway, I think the way I was exposed to the book is the best possible way to do it. Below are some of the material from the these lectures that I made available to my book group. The first is a chart showing a comparison between Homer's Odyssey and Joyce's Ulysses. Following that are a number of links to lecture outlines with each lecture focused on a chapter (or part of a chapter) from the book. Some interesting charts: (Here's a to the chart that is easier to read) (Here's a to a discussion about chapter divisions.) [image] [image] Here are some chapter outlines of the book Ulysses. They are from these lectures. , PART ONE , PART ONE Another link of interest from Wikipedia: ...more |
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I found these lectures interesting because they were the product of a lecturer who has given a lot of research time to collecting information about wh
I found these lectures interesting because they were the product of a lecturer who has given a lot of research time to collecting information about what life was like for ordinary people in the ancient world. When I read history I often try to image what everyday life was like, but my thoughts are imaginings based on few clues or evidence. Here's a lecturer who's done the work for me. There are forty-eight lectures in this collection, and they cover history from the Paleolithic, through the ancient Mediterranean civilizations, and then on through Medieval times. I thought they were well done, and I enjoyed them very much. The following is a list of lecture titles which can give an idea of the various civilizations discussed. 1 Taking on the Other Side of History ...more |
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Listening to these twenty-four lectures was an enjoyable way to shore up my knowledge of a historical era of which my knowledge is a bit hazy. The lec
Listening to these twenty-four lectures was an enjoyable way to shore up my knowledge of a historical era of which my knowledge is a bit hazy. The lecturer, Robert J. Allison, successfully balances historical facts with interesting stories to maintain the listener’s interest. I thoroughly enjoyed the lectures. One of my motives for listening to these lectures was to see what the lecturer said about my Amish ancestors in Pennsylvania during the French-Indian War. There was no mention of them, however the following quotation caught my attention because of its mention of Anabaptists.  The following quotation is making the point that New Amsterdam (later New York) in the 1600s had a unique religious and ethnic diversity not found in the other colonies. "In 1643 a visiting French priest reported from New Amsterdam that he heard eighteen different languages spoken on the streets of New Amsterdam -- European languages, Indian languages, and African languages.  Most of the whites in the colony incidentally are not Dutch. In 1687 an English governor wrote that ‘New York has a chaplain belonging to the fort of the Church of England, secondly it has a Dutch Calvinist, thirdly a French Calvinist, fourthly a Dutch Lutheran. Here there not be many of the Church of England, few Roman Catholics, abundance of Quakers, preaching men and women especially, ranting Quakers, singing Quakers, Sabbatarians, Anti-Sabbatarians, some Anabaptists, some Independents, some in short of all sorts of opinions there are some, and the most part none at all.�  ""I found the following quotation interesting. It is Patrick Henry providing closing arguments in a lawsuit trial in which he is questioning the actions of the clergy. "Do they manifest their zeal in the cause of religion and humanity by practicing the mild and benevolent precepts of the Gospel of Jesus? Do they feed the hungry and clothe the naked? Oh, no, gentlemen! Instead of feeding the hungry and clothing the naked, these rapacious harpies would, were their powers equal to their will, snatch from the hearth of their honest parishioner his last hoe-cake, from the widow and her orphan child their last milch cow! The last bed, nay, the last blanket from the lying-in woman!"The above is taken from what is commonly referred to as the "Parson's Cause Speech." The jury must have been convinced that this was a correct description of the clergy because the jury reached a verdict for Patrick’s side, and after the trial the jury carried him out of the court house on their shoulders. Any person interested in history will find these lecturers educational and interesting. ...more |
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If you have a casual knowledge of the history of the Christian Church, you have probably heard the following two quotations: --"The blood of martyrs isIf you have a casual knowledge of the history of the Christian Church, you have probably heard the following two quotations: --"The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church," (Tertullian, 2nd-century)The above statements are not true according to these lectures. The persecution of Christians was more scattered and inconsistent than commonly imagined, and there is no evidence that the percentage of the population that was Christian changed appreciably in response to persecutions. Also, Christianity wasn’t made the official religion of the Roman Empire until 380 AD which was 74 years after Constantine became emperor in 306 AD. What Constantine did was recognize Christianity as a legitimate sect under Roman law, and he made funds available for construction of basilicas. Even after Christianity was adopted officially as the state religion, over half of the population remained pagan well into the 5th century. It wasn’t until the implementation of a “persecuting society� by Justinian (527-565 AD) that one could finally say that Christianity was pervasive throughout the Western world. So how did such a dramatic change in the course of history come about? These lectures do a good job of answering that question by describing a complicated story with numerous twists and turns. Those of us on this side of history presume that the eventual outcome must have been a sure thing. But for those living through the history the outcome was not evident. These lectures provide a historically focused discussion of the interaction between Judaism, Christianity, and paganism from the 1st to the 6th centuries. The lectures explore the reasons why Christianity was able to emerge and endure and, in turn, spark a critical transition for religion, culture and politics. Those of us living today in a pluralistic society where everyone is free to chose (or not chose) their own religion should feel some sympathy for the pagans of this era. They had a pluralistic society that was accepting of all gods and religions. Most of the persecutions that occurred of the Christians were because they were unwilling to indicate loyalty to the Emperor (by making token sacrifice to the Emperor’s genius). As long as any cult or religion didn’t cause civil unrest, they were tolerated in the early Roman world. But by the 6th century when the Christians were completely in control, anyone who wasn’t a Christian was persecuted. Here's a to an interesting Huffington Post article about the "Myth of Christian Persecution." The following is a quotation from a 4th century pagan: "The problem with you Christians is that you empty the world of gods and you make it a lonely place. The human and the divine no longer interact. Henceforth the divine is transcendent, it is a great magistracy of the universal God. But that God can only be approached by the holy ones and through the imperial Church.�Most of the resistance from the pagans was in the form of inertia of customary belief and actions. Many pagans were pragmatic about it and concluded that sufficient Greek Platonism had been appropriated into the Christian culture that they could live with it. ...more |
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I was a member of a book group that decided to read and discuss the book "The Federalist Papers" for our December 2011 meeting. The Federalist Papers
I was a member of a book group that decided to read and discuss the book "The Federalist Papers" for our December 2011 meeting. The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 essays written in 1787 and 1788 to promote the ratification of the United States Constitution. It's the equivalent of reading a 600 paged legal brief written by an 18th century lawyer. Actually, that's exactly what it is. Therefore, it's not an easy read for a 21st century reader, or at least I didn't experience it as an easy read. Therefore I was very appreciative of this collection of twelve lectures that provide an easy to follow explanation of the debate between the anti-federalists and the the federalists. I grew up being taught that the U.S.Constitution was next to the Bible (almost) as being sacred. It's surprising to learn that its adoption was a close vote in many of the states, and that many of the leading politicians of the day opposed it. There are many examples of prophetic warnings made by the anti-federalists that subsequently came true. However, if the Constitution had not been approved surely many of the warning prophecies of the Federalist would have come true. Frankly, it's miraculous they came up with a system that worked as well as it did. One has to remember that they didn't have any proven examples to follow. Of course they had the British parliamentary system as one model, but it was a monarchy and they knew for sure they didn't want that! Then there was the Dutch Republic and the Swiss Confederation but they had their deficiencies that were clearly pointed out by the Federalist Papers. Beyond that there were the examples of the ancient Greek and Roman republics. Anybody who has read "Plutarch's Lives" or "The Peloponnesian War" knows that those repulics were short lived and filled with intrigue. French social commentator, Montesquieu, in 1748 had written a book titled "De l'esprit des lois (The Spirt of the Laws) in which he articulated the possible merits of republics and the means by which they could avoid many of the problems experienced by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Montesquieu had many good ideas such as separation of powers. However, he envisioned small republics populated by people of similar religion and culture and with minimal diversity of wealth. That model simply didn't fit the United States, and the anti-federalists feared that centralization of power in a federal government was moving in the wrong direction away from the model envisioned by Montesquieu. It was the genius of James Madison (supported by Alexander Hamilton) to envision his concept of the Madisonian republic where a centralized government could be designed in such a way that the larger and more diverse the population, and the greater extent of the land within the country, the more stable and safe the country would be from the influence of mobs and despots. His point was that democracy was too prone to be self destructive at the local level and that the distancing of the central government from the local government increased the likelihood that the better types of representatives would be selected to represent the states at the federal level. The larger the population the less likely an unruly minority (or religion) could improperly influence the central government. It has occurred to me that perhaps the development of instantaneous communications through the advent of the internet has diminished the effectiveness of the Madisonian republic model by creating virtual mobs and despots. This could perhaps explain the apparent increased polarization of modern societies. We need the wisdom of James Madison to suggest tweaks to the system to keep it functioning as intended. This ends the review in my words. The rest of the text contained below are partial transcriptions of parts of Lectures 7 and 8. I include it here to provide an example of the nature and quality of the lectures. However, it is quite long so you the reader have my permission to stop reading at this point. (this is an introductory paragraph is lifted from Lecture 8) The anti-federalist following the classical republicanism are concerned to prevent or repress the spirit of faction from becoming prevalent in the citizenry. The anti-federalists are still guided by the ideal of a homogeneous and harmonious fraternal citizenry while the new Madisonian vision not only accepts faction but makes the spirit of faction an animating spirit of the republic. (the following is from lecture 7) Madison’s definition of faction in the 10th paper. “By a faction I understand a number of citizen’s, whether amounting to a majority or minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse, passion or of interests adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent or aggregate interests of the community.� Faction for Madison implies the predominance of passions and interest that moves groups of citizens in ways that threaten injury to the rights of others citizens or to the good of the whole community. It is crucial that we keep this precise and pejorative definition of faction firmly in mind as we follow Madison’s argument through the 10th Federalist Paper, or otherwise we won’t recognize how radical or shocking his argument is. Madison proposes that this new constitution frames the first kind of republic in all of human history which has an “effective tendency� to break and control the violence of faction. And the new unclassical spirit of the Constitution becomes clearer when we follow Madison’s argument when we follow his argument how this breaking and controlling of the violence of faction is to be accomplished. Madison begins by submitting that there are only two methods of curing the “mischiefs of faction.� The one by removing its causes. The other by controlling its effects. The first method, removing its causes, means somehow preventing factions from becoming major factors in civic life. And there are only two ways of accomplishing this. The first is despotically doing away with liberty, and thus preventing citizens from being able to form politically effective interest groups which would attempt to dominate or exploit one another. And this suppression of groups is out of the question for Americans. The second way is to that the path of the classical republican tradition, that is to try to make the population homogeneous in its outlook, a fraternal community. ... An this is what Madison makes clear is what the Constitution rejects as impracticable. The proposed constitution is based upon the deep premise that any attempt to build a fraternal community of public spirited citizens, sharing the same outlook, is simply against human nature. As Madison put is, “The latent causes of faction are thus sewn in the nature of man, and we see them everywhere.� ... “The first object of government is the protection of these faculties from which the rights of property originate.� And then Madison observes that when government succeeds in this prime purpose of protecting the acquisitive selfish faculties the necessary result is the emergence of different degrees and kinds of property and thereby great economic diversity and great economic inequality among the citizens. .... This faculty for acquiring property are themselves unequal or unequal distributed and this necessarily divides society into mutually opposed parties or factions from the protection of different and unequal faculties of acquiring property the possession of different degrees and kinds of property immediately results and from the influence of these on the sentiments and views of the respective proprietors ensues a division of the society into different interests and parties. But it is not only the competing economic interests that necessarily split human society into warring factions. Madison also stresses a zeal for differing opinions concerning religion as the first in a list of differences of opinions that always have this effect of creating factions of mutually hostile groups. The list also includes zealotry for conflicting political opinions. But also zealotry for all sorts of other opinions in theory and in practice. And in addition attachment to different leaders ambitiously contending for preeminence in power. .... ... Madison’s conception is complex. He does not rule out the role of enlightened statesmen. But He insists that such statesmen rarely prevail over the immediate interests of which one party over another. ... He also recognizes strong bonds of friendship among Americans but he contends that such natural bonds are by no means strong enough to prevent the more natural emergence of fierce and mutually hurtful factional competition. Economic competition is the most powerful source of the natural hatred and animosity that overwhelms kinship and public spirit. ... .. The regulation of these various and interfering interests forms the principal task of modern legislation, and “involves the spirit of party and faction in the necessary and ordinary operations of government.� This last phrase is pregnant and a most important phrase in the entire Federalist Papers. ... In their new solution to the problem of faction, the spirit of faction, what he call mutual animosity, is going to be accepted as a routine intrinsic and even necessary part of American republican government. Faction is going to be used as the primary tool to combat and control faction. The new American government will fight fire with fire. ... The new American republic is to be the first republic in history that is going to tolerate and foster and in some measure depend on promoting faction. Mutually antagonistic competition among selfish groups seeking to exploit one another throughout society and inside the government itself. ... Madison’s next step is to argue that once we have admitted this basic and rather grim truth we have to realize that in a republican society where the majority has the preponderant power, where the majority is the legitimate authority, the most serious danger is not from any minority faction but rather from the majority if and when it becomes united as a faction. For since the majority has the greater power and the greatest legitimacy, it can defeat in the long run and over all a check on a regular basis all minority factions. But who or what can check the majority if an when it becomes a united single faction? The experience of the failure of classical republicanism shows that most likely and most pernicious single faction is most likely to be the poorer factions uniting against the wealthy who are always the fewer. The poorer faction often proceed under the leadership of demagogs to place the rights of property under such threats that either the economy is ruined or the property classes are compelled to fight back in ruinous civil conflict. It’s this problem of majority faction that is the great problem of all past republics that has never before been solved. And this is why the cause of republicanism has fallen into disrepute. So its the solution of this problem, the problem of majoritarian faction which is then the great object of which our inquires are directed. ... By what means is this object obtainable? ... Either the existence of the same faction or interest in the majority must be prevented or the majority having having such a passion or interest must be rendered by their number and local situation unable to concert and carry into effect schemes of oppression. In order for either of these effects to happen we must avoid setting up a pure democracy. What Madison means by democracy is “a society consisting of a small number of citizens who assemble and administer the government in person.� For is such a pure democratic society the assembled assembly has direct political power, and will easily coalesce into a unified faction. Some degree of mob rule guided by demagogues is the all too common fate of direct democracies. Madison is here contradicting a basic premise of the Anti-Federalists. ... What we must set up instead of democracies in the classic sense is a republic by which he means, “a government in which the scheme of representation takes place.� ... The two great differences between a democracy and a republic are: First, the delegation of the government to a small number of citizens elected by the rest. Second, the greater number of citizens and the great sphere of country over which [the republic] may be extended. Here we see the heart of the new Madisonian republican vision. The new American constitution aims not a confederacies of small democratic participatory republics. But instead at one large extended mass republic where the people never can assemble to govern directly. And hence the majority can never unite and become directly oppressive of minorities and individuals. But the most important consideration in this regard is not simply that the country’s territory and numbers will be too big for the majority to ever physically assemble in one place. More important is the fact that the majority will be so diverse, and so riven by conflicting factional interests trying to oppress one another, especially economic, that it will rarely share the same interests. Or when it does it will have great difficulty in becoming aware of that sharing. As Madison puts it in his most important single statement explaining what, as he puts it, “what principally is to render factious combinations less to be dreaded� is to extend the sphere and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests. You make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens. Or if such a common mode exists it will be more difficult for all to feel it and discover their own strength and to act in unison with each other. Hence it clearly appears that the same advantage that the republic has over a democracy in controlling the effects of faction is enjoyed by a large [republic] over a small republic, is enjoyed by the union over the states composing it. The influence of factious leaders may kindle a flame within their particular states but it will be unable to spread a general conflagration through the other states. A religious sect may degenerate into a political faction in a part of the confederacy, but the variety of sects dispersed over the entire face of it must secure the national councils against any danger from that source. ... Madison places the Anti-Federalist argument on its head in two major respects. Where the Anti-Federalists follow classical republican theory in seeking homogeneity of the populous to avoid clashing of interests, Madison is saying that such clashing is the key to maintaining liberty in a republic. (the following is from lecture 8) ........ The anti-federalist following the classical principles want to keep the reigns of government more directly in the hands of the people. And so they worry about the distancing of the representatives from the people and from the people’s control. But for Madison it just such removal of the representatives from their constituents that is one key to safe as well as effective government. And Madison states even more emphatically and explicitly that the new constitution aims at the unclassical goal of excluding the people as a whole from any direct role in their government. In Paper 63 he says that while the classical republics were not totally unfamiliar some version of representation the true distinction between the classical democracy and the new American republic lies in the total exclusion of the people in their collective capacity from any share in the government. Unlike the citizens of any classical democracies and republics, the American citizenry will be only indirectly engaged in the politics and governance of their society to a much greater degree than in the classical republic. The American people will be absorbed in their private factional pursuits and they will become politically engaged chiefly in order to protect those factional pursuits and the private liberties they express. It appears that Madison’s republican vision is based upon the assumption that virtue can be dispensed with, or mostly replaced by the checking and balancing of the competitive struggle of economic selfish interest groups. But this impression is very incomplete. It’s too simple, and one sided. And we must look now at the higher ingredient in Madison’s republican vision. For Madison has in Paper 10 additional argument for the new conception of representative government removed from the populous. He praises such representative government not only for its ability to channel the selfish interest group struggle, but it can have a crucial elevating effect by putting the levers of power in the hands of a tiny minority of representatives elected by the rest. It has the effect of refining and enlarging the public views by passing them through the medium of a chosen body of citizens whose wisdom may best discern the true interests of their country, and whose patriotism and love of justice will be least likely to sacrifice it [the true interests of the country] to temporary or partial consideration. Under such a regulation it may well happen that the public voice pronounced by the representatives of the people will be more consonate to the public good than if pronounced by the people themselves convened for the purpose. For this we see that Madison does continue to count on virtue, on wisdom, on patriotism, on love of justice, as he says, but as found in the few of a tiny minority elected by the rest. Madison reveals here that his new republicanism does not all together break with the classical republican tradition in its original aristocratic dimension, as opposed to its Montesquieuien more democratic dimension. Madison even indicates here that his new republican vision hopes to succeed better at achieving some measure of that original aristocratic aspiration, than the classical republics themselves ever did in practice. But we must immediately note that Hamilton in the subsequent Papers 35 and 36 explains more concretely that the character of the representative elite expected in this new American system is rather unclassical. The new elite that the American system expects will be dominated by what Hamilton calls “the members of the learned professions,� which is a flattering term for what he means, namely lawyers. Who he expects to feel a neutrality to the rivalships among the different branches of industry. And be likely to be an impartial arbiter between them. So the virtuous are not so much expected, as they were in the classical republican vision to be found among the farmers great and small. The virtuous in this new republican vision are expected to be much more sympathetic to commerce and to commercialism, to money making, to material acquisitiveness than were the elite as envisage in the classical republicanism. ...more |
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| Jul 08, 2013
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really liked it
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These twenty-four lectures begin with a summary description of the processes at work in human "memory" by defining episodic, semantic and procedural m
These twenty-four lectures begin with a summary description of the processes at work in human "memory" by defining episodic, semantic and procedural memory. It was interesting to compare the descriptions of these components of memory with my own experiences of dealing with my own memory or lack of memory. After a couple lectures covering strategies to improve memory and discussion of rote memorization and the science of forgetting the lectures proceed to a deeper discussion of the different kinds of memory and how they function in more detail. Then in lectures 11, 12, and 13 the subjects of (1) Sleep and the consolidation of memories, (2) Infant and early childhood memory and (3) Animal cognition and memory were covered. I was particularly impressed to learn that chimpanzees can beat the pants off humans (figuratively speaking) in a game of memory. A dramatic illustration of this can be seen at . Chimpanzees simply have better short term memory than humans. I don't mind conceding that dogs have a better sense of smell, but it hurts to lose to a chimp in a game of memory. (Some peer reviewers have questioned the video.) The lectures then cover the various parts of the brain and their functions. There is a lecture describing recent attempts to model neural network brain functions with computer models. Another lecture discusses what can be learned from patients who have suffered some form of brain injury. One lecture focuses on Alzheimer's Disease which is one of our most frightening diseases for both the sufferer and their family and caregivers. The lecture series is rounded out by discussions of sensations of "familiarity", déjà vu, recovered memories, false memories, and effects of aging. In a final discussion of ways to preserve memories, I particularly noticed one recommendation that fit well with what I already do. That is to use writing and conversation with others reinforce things learned. That's what I'm doing when I write these reviews on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ.com. Acquaintances of mine already know that in our conversations I often refer to interesting things I recently learned in things that I've read. ...more |
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Jan 07, 2012
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Jan 10, 2012
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Nov 16, 2011
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| 159803149X
| 9781598031492
| 159803149X
| 4.17
| 204
| 2001
| Jan 01, 2001
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it was amazing
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This is a good summary review of the "Patriarch of the Enlightenment." I listened to these lectures in preparation for a book group that will be meeti
This is a good summary review of the "Patriarch of the Enlightenment." I listened to these lectures in preparation for a book group that will be meeting to discuss the book, Candide. Voltaire was a prolific writer. He wrote poetry, plays, novels, histories, philosophy, and letters. During his long life of 84 years he wrote 2,000 books or pamphlets. Scholars have found 20,000 letters written by him (an equal number of additional letters may have been lost). At around fifteen million words, the total of his collected works exceed the 800,000 words in the Bible by a factor of 19. His contemporaries thought he would be remembered by history mostly for his poetry and plays. Instead history has remembered him as a champion of the Enlightenment and advocate of religious toleration. His satirical and philosophic tale, Candide, remains a classic of international fame. Link to my review of Candide. This is my favorite quotation by Voltaire (translated into English): "I always made one prayer to God, a very short one. Here it is: 'O Lord, make our enemies quite ridiculous!' God granted it." The above is a classic example of his ironic humor. He demeans his enemies without directly calling them names. And he claims the power of prayer while being well known as a Deist who doesn't believe in special providence. One fascinating bit of trivia I learned is that Voltaire never said the following quotation (even though popular attribution probably makes it his most famous quotation): "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Dr. Kors says that if Voltaire said the above quotation, he was not the sort of person to mean the "defend to the death" part. Voltaire was a pacifist and too much of a rationalist to be a martyr for a cause. Though these words are regularly attributed to Voltaire, they were first used by Evelyn Beatrice Hall, writing under the pseudonym of Stephen G Tallentyre in The Friends of Voltaire (1906), as a summation of Voltaire's beliefs on freedom of thought and expression. ...more |
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May 17, 2011
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May 19, 2011
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May 20, 2011
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Audio CD
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| 1565853180
| 9781565853188
| 1565853180
| 4.45
| 2,268
| 1999
| 1999
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These lectures combined with reading a translation of Homer's text has to be one of the best ways to become familiar with The Odyssey. I used these le
These lectures combined with reading a translation of Homer's text has to be one of the best ways to become familiar with The Odyssey. I used these lectures to get ready for a meeting with a "Great Books" reading group. There were many people in this group that were more knowledgeable about Homer and this epic than I was. But because of my exposure to these novels I was able to keep up with the flow of conversation. The final lecture of the twelve is an interesting discussion of the archeological work in the vicinity of ancient Troy. ...more |
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Feb 20, 2011
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Feb 24, 2011
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Feb 20, 2011
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| 1598036408
| 9781598036404
| 1598036408
| 4.40
| 1,006
| 2010
| 2010
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it was amazing
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The decline of China began in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries when the opium trade shifted their trade balance into negative territory. (Why do
The decline of China began in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries when the opium trade shifted their trade balance into negative territory. (Why do I have this ominous feeling that China is currently getting their revenge?) Indeed, many people predict that the 21st Century will be the Chinese Century. Given China’s prominence in the world today I figured that this was a good time to listen to these 48 lectures. The course progresses with all the drama of a great story. From time to time Professor Baum shares from his personal experiences of travels in China. His engaging and occasionally humorous style is always interesting. The treatment of China by the Western powers during 19th Century has been likened unto "sharing among thieves." In the first half of the 20th Century Japan demonstrated that even a country that's not part of Christendom can behave badly. Japan was simply trying to do what the colonial powers had been doing all around the world for hundreds of years. (The arrogance of the colonial mindset is beyond belief!) It can be convincingly argued that if Japan hadn't invaded China (1937-45) that Chiang Kai-shek would have been able to completely wipe out Mao's People's Liberation Army (PLA). But of course, that's not the way history played out. The communist takeover of China in 1949 was within my lifetime, but I was too young at the time to know what was going on. So I'm glad to finally have the story told to me in detail. I was astounded to learn that, according the Chinese government’s own numbers, they executed 710,000 people in the early years of 1949-53. (Some historians believe the number of deaths range between 2 million and 5 million. In addition, at least 1.5 million people, perhaps as many as 4 to 6 million, were sent to "reform through labor" camps where many perished.) Then I learned that there were 1 million Chinese killed in the Korean War. Then I learned that an estimated 35 million died from famine caused by the Great Leap Forward. And then I learned about the mass insanity during the Cultural Revolution when it's estimated between 3/4 to 1 million were killed and approximately an equal number maimed and crippled. A million here, a million there, after awhile one becomes desensitized to the numbers. It's amazing that China has been able to recover from this history as well as they have. Some of the weird consequences of the misapplied incentives and social expectations of this era appear to be potential fodder for an absurdist comedy. It was instead a tragedy of huge scale and almost beyond belief. The Chinese have experienced considerable cognitive dissidence in their recent history (e.g. Mao is always correct while his many mistakes are obvious). It's fascinating to hear examples of Chinese "right thinking" struggling to change, sometimes turning on a dime, other times slowly changing in face of much controversy. The following is a quotation of Professor Baum's regarding the insanity of the Cultural Revolution: "How to explain all this madness? In numerous memoirs and reminiscences of the events of this period, former red guards have acknowledged the brutality of their own behavior, yet without being able to satisfactorily explain how the boundaries of conventional civility had been so easily breeched. Clearly, peer group pressure and absence of adult supervision were important factors. Much as they had been key factors in William Golding’s account of adolescent brutality in his vivid novel, Lord of the Flies. In the case of the Red Guards mass hysteria was an additional factor. A psychological contagion had been induced by the student’s frenzied devotion to Chairman Mao. In giving vent to their most destructive impulses, they truly believed they were acting on behalf of their living deity. In such a hyper charged atmosphere the license to defy authority interacted with immature youthful absolutism and over active teenage hormones to create an explosive and potentially deadly mix."The worst rampages of the Cultural Revolution continued from 1966 to 1969. It was finally brought to an official end with the government sending, within a 6 month time period in 1969, 10 million Red Guard youths to the rural areas. They were duped into accepting the one-way trip with slogans about the patriotism of working with the peasants. They only did what they understood Chairman Mao wanted them to do, and they were rewarded with their potentially educated futures being taken away from them and replaced with a future of working among the peasants. These 10 million are now referred to by some as China's lost generation. (Some of these 10 million trickled back into the cities during the next two decades and ended up being successful entrepreneurs.) The power struggles and political instability between 1969 and the arrest of the Gang of Four in 1976 are now also widely regarded as part of the Revolution. As the narrative moves into the post-Mao opening up of China, Professor Baum's personal involvement with China enhances the lectures with interesting little stories of encounters with Chinese people and politicians. It is these stories that make these lectures among the most interesting that I've ever heard. I think anybody who is interested in foreign affairs will find these lectures of interest. These lectures were published in 2010 and thus are able to comment on the 2008 Olympic Games and other recent events. The award of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo occurred after these lectures were recorded, so there are no comments on that incident. ...more |
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Oct 25, 2010
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Nov 03, 2010
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Oct 25, 2010
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| 1598036106
| 9781598036107
| 1598036106
| 3.84
| 76
| 2009
| 2009
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it was amazing
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These thirty-six lectures span the theological and philosophical spectrum ranging from the purely religious to the rigorously secular while exploring
These thirty-six lectures span the theological and philosophical spectrum ranging from the purely religious to the rigorously secular while exploring various intellectual approaches to issues of faith and reason. Along the way the lectures introduce the listener to big names such as Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Barth. Whole lectures are devoted to these great thinkers, and in the cases of Kant, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, two lectures. These and many other great thinkers are discussed and explained with language that can be understood by those who will never read the original writing of these famous individuals. The lectures toward the end of the series are focused on issues with the views from multiple scholars being described around the given topic. These topics include many of the issues of later 20th Century and the 21st Century (e.g. liberation theology, postmodern theologies, fundamentalism and Islamism, new atheism, and pluralism). The discussion of the Holocaust and related questions of theodicy were particularly well done. But of course, these lectures didn't present the conclusive and final answer to the problem of evil. But rather they provided a summary of the many different ways that Post-Enlightenment thinkers have approached the issue. The material is presented in roughly chronological order with a solid historical foundation laid in the early lectures providing the listener with a basic beginning point. The differing points of view are presented even-handedly and objectively with no apparent bias. The lecturer maintains a thread of connections between the differing ideas and manages to weave a vast amount of material into a coherent whole. However, the lectures are framed around the writings of Nietzsche in a way that some listeners may percieve to be a deference to his ideas. This is probably a product of Tyler T. Roberts' (the lecturer) doctoral thesis subject having been on Nietzsche: Harvard University, Divinity School, Th. D. in Theology, 1993 Dissertation: "Asceticism and Affirmation: Nietzsche's Relevance as Religious Thinker" Advisor: Prof. Gordon Kaufman. Defended Nov. 30, 1992. It's ironic that the words "skeptic" and "believer" which are in the title are (almost) never used within the lectures themselves. Within the lectures, "suspicion" is used in lieu of "skeptic" and "traditionalist" is often used in lieu of "believer." Nevertheless the title is an attention getter and serves its purpose. The subtitle--"Religious Debate in the Western Intellectual Tradition"--is more descriptive of the content of the lectures than the title. However, even the word "debate" is a bit of hyperbole because the lectures are mostly reporting on the writings of various Post Enlightnment philosphers and theologians. The lectures allow these famous thinkers to speak for themselves, and any debate is described with dispassionate second hand reporting. Perhaps an honest descriptive--but boring--title or subtitle would have been, "Post Enlightenment Philosophy of Religion In Its Many Varieties." I found lectures 1 through 28 a bit of a challenge to follow since they were reporting on the complex thoughts contained in writings of famous philosophers and theologians. Lectures 29 through 36 were on more modern issues, and I found them a bit easier for me to follow. Generally, I would credit Roberts for explaining things as clearly as is humanly possible. That didn't always mean that I found it easy to understand. The Post-Enlightenment evolution of philosophical and theological thought as described in these lectures is similar the spectrum of change that I have experienced growing up in a conservative religious community and taking on a more liberal and metaphorical view of religion as an adult. Of course the philosophers and theologians described in these lectures articulated their thinking with more precision than was ever done by me. But that is what made these lectures fascinating to me. It was—loosely speaking—an explanation of my own intellectual maturation with the tools and words that had not been available to me. I don’t claim to have understood or agreed with everything described in theses lectures. But there was enough that I could pick and choose from that I felt my listening time was well spent. Course Lecture Titles: 1. Religion and Modernity 2. From Suspicion to the Premodern Cosmos 3. From Catholicism to Protestantism 4. Scientific Revolution and Descartes 5. Descartes and Modern Philosophy 6. Enlightenment and Religion 7. Natural Religion and Its Critics 8. Kant—Religion and Moral Reason 9. Kant, Romanticism, and Pietism 10. Schleiermacher—Religion and Experience 11. Hegel—Religion, Spirit, and History 12. Theology and the Challenge of History 13. 19th-Century Christian Modernists 14. 19th-Century Christian Antimodernists 15. Judaism and Modernity 16. Kierkegaard's Faith 17. Kierkegaard's Paradox 18. 19th-Century Suspicion and Feuerbach 19. Marx—Religion as False Consciousness 20. Nietzsche and the Genealogy of Morals 21. Nietzsche—Religion and the Ascetic Ideal 22. Freud—Religion as Neurosis 23. Barth and the End of Liberal Theology 24. Theology and Suspicion 25. Protestant Theology after Barth 26. 20th-Century Catholicism 27. Modern Jewish Philosophy 28. Post-Holocaust Theology 29. Liberation Theology 30. Secular and Postmodern Theologies 31. Postmodernism and Tradition 32. Fundamentalism and Islamism 33. New Atheisms 34. Religion and Rationality 35. Pluralisms—Religious and Secular 36. Faith, Suspicion, and Modernity ...more |
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Feb 18, 2010
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Feb 27, 2010
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Jan 13, 2010
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| 9781419313806
| 1419313800
| unknown
| 4.08
| 51
| 2004
| 2004
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This publication consists of five lectures about the Persian Wars (490 and 479 B.C.E), four lectures about the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.E), and
This publication consists of five lectures about the Persian Wars (490 and 479 B.C.E), four lectures about the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.E), and five lectures about the Punic Wars (264 to 146 B.C.E.). These were wars of antiquity, but Professor Shutt makes the case that they helped determine the nature of the Western World. My main motive for listening to these lectures was to become familiar with the Peloponnesian War in preparation for reading (or listening to) The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides. The Great Books KC group has selected this ancient work--it could be argued to be the second oldest surviving history, Herodotus being oldest--for their next book. My previous exposure to the Peloponnesian War was the historical novel Tides of War (Link to my review) which I liked very much. If the Persians had been victorious in the Persian War there would have been no Golden Classical Greek era. We would have never heard of Socrates or Plato, and the literature of the Illiad and Odyssey would probably have been lost. If Athens had won the Peloponnesian War, would they have gone on the be the dominate Mediterranean Power instead of Rome? If Carthage had won the Punic War, would they have been the dominate Mediterranean Power? Would the Christian Religion have gotten started if Carthage had been in control of Palestine at the time of Jesus? (It's interesting to note that the Carthaginian religion was similar to the Cannanites and worshiped Baal.) One thing that impressed me about the Peloponnesian War is how the arrogance of the Athenians repeatably got them into trouble. There are numerous ways that Athens could have won the war, but they instead kept trying to extend their influence and power. Their actions resulted in the end, after nearly 30 years, with losing the war to Sparta. Another thing I learned from the lectures is the suggestion that perhaps a contributing factor to Socrates being sentenced to death or banishment was his association with Alcibiades. Another insight from these lectures; the Athenian democracy was very fickle. It helps explain why Plato in his book The Republic concluded that democracy was not a good form of government. Of course we all know that Plato was correct. It's just that other forms have been proven to be worse. ...more |
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not set
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Dec 17, 2009
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Dec 16, 2009
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audiobook
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| 1565855493
| 9781565855496
| 1565855493
| unknown
| 3.73
| 176
| unknown
| 2002
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liked it
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This is a good introduction to a fascinating subject, and is probably equivalent to a first semester collegiate level lecture class on the subject. Th
This is a good introduction to a fascinating subject, and is probably equivalent to a first semester collegiate level lecture class on the subject. The lectures were recorded in 2002 so they may be getting a bit dated for a subject area that is frequently updated with new discoveries and new theories. The first seventeen lectures generally follow the evolution of Hominids from the early common ancestors with the Primates through to Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens. The final seven lectures explore language, race, cultural, and political issues that are part of the world of humans today. Biological anthropology has an odd time line, starting several million years ago and going up to about 30,000 years ago when Homo Sapiens became the lone surviving hominid. Then from there they skip to modern times. The intervening time between 30,000 years ago and the present is left to the historians and archaeologists. The following are some examples discussed in the lectures where past evolutionary pressures may be working against our health today: 1. The propensity to become obese when cheap calories are readily available 2. Inheriting a single gene (not two) that causes sickle cell anemia affords protection from malaria 3. The interrelationship of skin pigmentation, vitamin D, and UV radiation 4. High blood pressure and its increased prevalence in African Americans 5. Morning sickness commonly experienced in early pregnancy Most of these have previously appeared in the popular press. However, I hadn't heard the one about high blood pressure before. Another interesting item is that analysis of the bones found in a 17th to 18th Century Manhattan cemetery for slaves determined that their infant mortality rate was about 50%, and the death rate for 15 to 25 year olds was higher than that of the rest of the population. These findings are indirect evidence regarding the quality of their living and working conditions. One lecture was dedicated to making the point that race has no biological significance. That may be true based on her definitions. But the investigators on CSI would certainly be required to use more adjectives if they couldn't refer to race. Early in the series there's a lecture on controversies regarding evolution. It's a shame that time needs to be spent dealing with that issue, but we need to remember that polls show that nearly half of the American population claim to not accept the theory evolution. I don't envy college lecturers who can expect to have a few students every year in their classes who have come from backgrounds that taught them that the theory of evolution was the work of the devil. The lecturer, Barbara J. King, admitted that her own mother was skeptical of the concept of evolution. ...more |
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Aug 27, 2009
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Aug 25, 2009
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| 1598032283
| 9781598032284
| 1598032283
| unknown
| 4.04
| 84
| unknown
| unknown
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really liked it
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These lectures provide a physiological approach to the study of psychology. In other words, the lectures explore what is going on inside our physical
These lectures provide a physiological approach to the study of psychology. In other words, the lectures explore what is going on inside our physical bodies that prompts various types of perception and behavior. It then describes how these change with the aging process. One significant observation made in the lectures is that old and young people live in different sensory worlds. And consequently, they also live in different perceptual worlds. The first 12 lectures in this course expand on the difference between a sensation and a perception and elaborate on the concept of the perceptual world. The functioning of the visual, auditory, and cutaneous systems, and the changes in functioning associated with the aging process, are also discussed. The last 12 lectures deal with the senses of pain, taste, smell, body orientation (balance), and "muscle feedback." Special categories of human perception, such as speech perception, face recognition, and person perception, are also be addressed. As in the initial 12 lectures, attention is paid to the role of the aging process. Mr. Colavita was an older man when he gave these lectures, and his lectures are filled with many interesting stories, many from his own life. This makes the lectures especially interesting and easy to listen to. The lectures on the elusive nature of pain were particularly interesting. Unfortunately, Mr. Colavita died earlier this year (2009). The following are some interesting facts that I picked up from this course: 1. A healthy human ear can sense the movement of an air molecule (sound wave) as small as half the width of a hydrogen atom. (In case you didn't know, that is very very small.) 2. Cats can do better. They can hear ultrasound and humans cannot. 3. But humans can see colors; cats cannot. 4. Dogs can smell things at concentrations 1,000 times weaker than humans can. 5. Bees can see ultraviolet light; humans cannot. 6. Likewise, some snakes can see infrared radiation; humans cannot. 7. Some behavioral differences among bees, cats, and humans are directly attributable to the fact that these species live in different sensory worlds while living in the same physical world. 8. The sensory differences and resulting differences in perception between young and old people explains the differences in behavior such as the willingness to take risks or roller coaster rides. 9. All sensory functions in humans degrade with age to some degree. However the learned perception that results from the senses can become wiser with age. For example, older people depend less on appearance than younger people when forming an opinion of others. 10. Another example of the difference between older and younger people is that older people are more interested in spicier foods because it compensates for they're having fewer taste receptors. This also explains why children, who have more taste receptors than adults, often prefer bland food. ...more |
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Jul 03, 2009
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Jul 01, 2009
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| 1565855124
| 9781565855120
| B01FGNGTTG
| unknown
| 4.05
| 107
| 2002
| 2002
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it was amazing
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Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) was such an interesting character that a series of 24 lectures by an experienced professor on the subject can't help but b
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) was such an interesting character that a series of 24 lectures by an experienced professor on the subject can't help but be interesting. I listened to these lectures to prepare myself for the Great Books KC group meeting. Our main focus is Huck Finn, but I'm glad I listened to all of the lecures to learn more about the author. I was particularly interested to learn about Mark Twain's lecture tours and after dinner speeches. He mounted five major lecture tours through the USA, had one around the world tour, and appeared more than three hundred times as a speaker at various banquets. By all accounts he was a master of the craft of working the line between making his listeners uncomfortable enough to laugh and at the same time satisfy their expectations of propriety. He apparently was a master of timing, comic pause and "deadpan" delivery. The following link provides an example of an after-dinner speech given by Mark Twain: Professor Railton devotes one whole lecture to this speech. It gives an example of a speech by Mark Twain that wasn't well received by the audience. In modern vernacular we would label the speech as a comic roast of Emerson, Longfellow and Holmes who were present in the audience to which he was speaking. Later critics charged that Mark Twain wasn't showing proper respect to these eminent individuals. I guess 19th Century folks hadn't yet caught on to the concept of a roast. Mark Twain lived long enough into the 20th Century for his voice to be recorded. But if any recordings were made they have been lost. Since there are no surviving audio recordings of his speeches we are dependent on the descriptions provided by his contemporaries. His voice is described as being distinctive and slow. He describes his drawl - "pulling his words" - as an "infermity." Onstage, it heightened the ludicrousness of whatever he was saying. Twain himself acknowledged that the heart of live performance was not its matter, but its manner. His platform techniques, according both to the newspaper reports and his own accounts of "How to Tell a Story," displayed a mastery of the performer's art. Mark Twain was very conscious of the differences in American dialects and worked hard to render them in an accurate manner. It's interesting to note that in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn he provided an Explainatory Note at the beginning of the book states the following: "In this book a number of dialects are used, to wit: the Missouri negro dialect, the extremest form of the backwoods South-Western dialect; the ordinary "Pike-County" dialect; and four modified varieties of this last. The shading have not been done in a hap-hazard fashion, or by guess-work; but pains-takingly, and with the trustworthy guidance and support of personal familiarity with these several forms of speech." He goes on to explain why he felt it was necessary to write this note to the readers: "I make this explanation for the reason that without it many readers would suppose that all these characters were trying to talk alike and not succeeding." To us this simply sounds like Twain humor. But in the context of the 19th Century it was needed because Twain was cutting new ground with this book. The Huck Finn book was the first to be narrated in the first person voice of a back-woods uneducated child who didn't follow the rules of proper English grammar. The speech of the other characters in the story were also of rural America, and I'm sure plenty of critics would have seized on the differences in speech as sloppy writing of Twain's part. William Dean Howells said that Mark Twain was "the Lincoln of our literature." To Ernest Hemingway, he was the father of "all modern American literature." This set of lectures does a good job of exploring Mark Twain as both one of our classic authors and as an almost mythic presence in our cultural life as a nation. ...more |
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Apr 22, 2009
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Apr 09, 2009
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| 1419387006
| 9781419387005
| 1419387006
| unknown
| 4.17
| 138
| Jan 01, 2006
| Mar 31, 2006
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it was amazing
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These lectures contain a good overview of the archaeological discoveries that provide information about the late bronze age when the events in The Ili
These lectures contain a good overview of the archaeological discoveries that provide information about the late bronze age when the events in The Iliad occurred. An analysis of the known data provides an fascinating view of political, technological and economic conditions at the time. Likewise, the events during the 500 year period when the story was being carried forward until the time of Homer when the story was written down also had their impact on the narrative of The Iliad. Another interesting issue discussed is how many of the details in The Iliad reflect the iron age technology of the time of Homer as opposed to the bronze age technology of the time of the Trojan War. Also, the discussion of the Epic Cycle is interesting. The Epic Cycle includes the parts of the story related to the Trojan War that are not contained in Homer's stories and have been preserved in fragmentary form through quotes by later writers. The following are my musings and are not necessarily a review of the contents of the lectures: It's interesting to note that the 500 years between the time of Homer and the Trojan War is considered by historians to be the Greek Dark Ages. That is because the fairly advanced late bronze age civilization described in The Iliad collapsed soon after the Trojan War. This can partly explain the motivation of the story tellers during the Greek Dark Ages for keeping alive the memories of a golden past. Homer's admiration of those past glorious times was probably similar to the enthusiasm of the Renaissance writers for the memories of the Roman Empire and ancient Greece. The two cases are different in that Homer and his scribe were putting their stories into writing for the first time, whereas the Renaissance writers were finding, saving and learning from old manuscripts. It's interesting to note how much of human history has been looking back in time to a golden age past as the source for wisdom. Since The Enlightenment the expectations have shifted toward looking to the future for increased knowledge and understanding. The recent global economic meltdown is a reminder how quickly things can change. Could we be witnessing the beginning of another dark age? We may be remembered in the future as the wise masters of a golden past era. Wow, and we didn't even know that we were that smart! ...more |
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May 02, 2019
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May 23, 2017
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Jun 26, 2016
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Apr 20, 2016
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Aug 29, 2014
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Jun 12, 2014
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Jun 07, 2014
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May 17, 2013
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it was amazing
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May 19, 2011
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it was amazing
|
Nov 03, 2010
|
Oct 25, 2010
|
|||||
|
| 3.84
|
it was amazing
|
Feb 27, 2010
|
Jan 13, 2010
|
|||||
|
| 4.08
|
liked it
|
Dec 17, 2009
|
Dec 16, 2009
|
|||||
|
| 3.73
|
liked it
|
Aug 27, 2009
|
Aug 25, 2009
|
|||||
|
| 4.04
|
really liked it
|
Jul 03, 2009
|
Jul 01, 2009
|
|||||
|
| 4.05
|
it was amazing
|
Apr 22, 2009
|
Apr 09, 2009
|
|||||
|
| 4.17
|
it was amazing
|
Feb 19, 2009
|
Feb 01, 2009
|
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