I am a long-time fan of the Great Courses and have listened to many courses over the past 20+ years. I first discovered them in my local library when I was commuting 40 miles to work and couldn't find an audio book on the shelves that I hadn't listened to already. Those were the days of CDs, and I have many fond memories of mostly history and literature courses that I listened to.
Most recently, I listened to a marvelous course on How to Listen to and Understand Opera, taught by the funny, enthusiastic, and insightful Robert Greenberg, music historian and so much more. Thirty lectures and 24 hours later, I feel like I have just skimmed the surface but also know that I have a richer understanding and appreciation for opera. I grew up listening to it as both parents were fans, but I never had the context for understanding the development of this art form. My favorite section was, of course, Mozart and the in-depth discussion of The Marriage of Figaro, followed closely by Rossini and The Barber of Seville.
If you want a taste of Greenberg's style, this YouTube short video provides the first part of the introductory lecture.
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My current course is Gary Gallagher's The American Civil War--we're talking 48 lectures and 19 hours, but Gallagher is a leading expert on the Civil War and is a first-class instructor.
I am taking a bit of a break from audio novels while I wait for the current ones I have on hold at the library to become available, so this is a wonderful way to dive into topics that are particularly interesting to me.
Final note - many Great Courses (including the two I just plugged) are free to active Audible listeners, which is just incredible, imo.
Any other fans of the Great Courses out there? Any courses you can recommend?
So the Great Courses are on Audible? I'm on Audible but I don't know how to access the GCs. I'm curious about the Civil War one. 48 lectures eh? Are they chronological of the war? Enjoy your listening.
ReplyDeleteThe American Civil War lectures are chronological, and I have a book on the battlefields so I am reviewing each battle after I read about it. If you seach on Gary Gallagher on Audible, you will find all the courses he has taught. If you search on Great Courses, you can get them and if you want to see the free ones, filter low to high. Good luck!
DeleteI've enjoyed many Great Courses series, from art to math to Egypt to dinosaurs. It's always fun to learn something new (and not have to be graded or tested on your knowledge!). :D
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. I've also taken courses through Future Learn, but it looks like they are charging for subscriptions these days. It's been five or more years since I took one of their classes--I did a few on archeology, which is another passion of ine.
DeleteI have to explore these great courses and there are so many informative podcasts out there. One online lecture at Intelligence Squared is a debate, Jane Austen vs Emily Bronte, between John Mullen and another scholar and they have 4 talented actors, playing the roles of the characters in their novels. And Samuel West reading the part of Mr Elton in the famous carriage scene is a riot.
ReplyDeleteOh, I have heard about that debate. I will have to look for it--sounds like a lot of fun!
DeleteI'm assuming they are free from the library? I would love to do a course of some sort. Thank you for the info. I did not grow up hearing opera, but now that they stream the MET Opera's at the AMC , my husband and I have been going and after watching 4 of them, we are starting to LOVE them. We just saw Carmen.
ReplyDeleteCarmen is amazing--I have seen it a few times on the stage, and it never disappoints. The AMC Met operas are a wonderful way to experience incredible productions. I've been to a few myself :)
DeleteYes, I first learned about Great Courses by checking them out from the library. Free, of course!
First time hearing about Great Courses, but it sounds like a marvelous opportunity.
ReplyDeleteI've never listened to a Great Course but have listened to lots of opera! My family are now big fans of Matthew Polenzani - perhaps you can find one of his recordings or go to one of the Met Movie Matinees. https://matthewpolenzani.com/
ReplyDeleteI just listened to some of Matthew Polenzani's clips, and I can see why your family are big fans! His voice is amazing and it looks like he can act as well.
DeleteWe've done several of The Great Courses, but probably none in the last 5 or so years. I took mostly science classes in college, so enjoyed filling in the blanks with a few of their literature classes - American Classics, British Classics, and Russian Classics. I might have run out of steam before completing the Russian. There was another that included lectures on William Caxton and history of the printing press.
ReplyDeleteI will have to look for the one on the history of the printing press and William Caxton. I would love to own and use a letter press.
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