Harvard's Free Classic Greek Course

[stephanier.1765]

Oooh, I am so excited about this course since we are studying the ancients this year. In the trailer the professor states that it will cover the Iliad, The Odyssey, a couple of tragedies and Plato. It sounds perfect. I can't wait to dig deeper into its contents.

 

http://www.extension.harvard.edu/openlearning/clas116/

[In The Great White North]

Thank you

[Tress]

Wow!!!

 

Thank you for mentioning this!

[In The Great White North]

Has anyone watched these? How do they compare to the Teaching Company?

[stephanier.1765]

I have the Teaching Company lectures but I haven't watched them yet. I did watch the first lesson of this and it's really like being there in class. The TC lectures I've seen of other courses there is a definite progression from A to B to C while the Harvard class was more like a real class setting. Students ask questions, teacher goes on a tangent, but the information IS there you just have to be sure to listen for it. If I decide that we will follow this course, I will make sure to printout the handouts and course notes. That way it'll be easier to follow the progression of the course from A to B to C.

 

If I didn't already have the TC course, I would absolutely add these lectures to our studies. And I still probably will for the tragedies and Plato, I'm just iffy about the Iliad and Odyssey since we already have the TC lectures of those. I do like the premise of studying the heroes and villains the way the ancient Greeks would have.

[TerriMI]

I just listened to the lecture dealing with the visual arts. The professor had _lots_ of connections and insights. His knowlege seems very great. I can tell he enjoys his subject.

 

From just listening to this lecture though, it seems that this series would be best enjoyed by someone who has already done a lot of study on their own of these books. Perhaps if you were doing a whole semester study and had already become quite familiar with the work, the characters, the plot, some themes, the mindset and culture of the Greeks, then I think they would be quite enjoyable and helpful. In contrast, the Vandiver lectures from The Teaching Company are more appropriate for students reading the poems for the first time. The pace at which she takes these lectures is slower. She reviews the plot of each book or section and her emphasis is on the aspects of Greek culture that Homer weaves as themes in the works. She also is quite knowlegeable and you can tell that she is not relaying all that she knows. But she is content in making small, deep forays into her knowlege for the beginning reader.

[amydavis]

Thank you! I'm so excited! This is an excellent find; I'm so glad you shared!