Chrysalis Academy Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 There is a nice sale going on now, and I'm perennially tempted by Great Courses. Anybody used any of these? Can you give me a review? Life Lessons from the Great Myths - Rufus Fears Ancient Greek civilization - Jeremy McInerney Late Antiquity: Crisis and Transformation - Thomas Noble Shakespeare: Comedies, Histories and Tragedies - Peter Saccio Terror of History: Mystics, Heretics and Witches in the Western Tradition - Teofilo Ruiz Emperors of Rome - Garrett Fagan The Science of Self - Lee Silver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 If you get good reviews, it might be good to get Lisa to update her Great Courses Master List. I haven't used any of the ones you listed. I admit to getting the last few via Audible as I didn't need the video & I have more time for the audio anyway... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 Right, I forgot about that great thread! Thanks for reminding me. Still hoping for input on these, though. I had Shannon go through the most recent catalog and she pointed out The Science of Self which I had never even looked at, but I think it will be an awesome supplement to our biology studies next year. She adores Shakespeare, so that's kind of a no-brainer. I really like the looks of Life Lessons from the Greek Myths, but we're already going to be using Vandiver's Mythology course, and I'm not sure how much overlap there is between the two. I tend to really enjoy multiple perspectives on whatever topic I'm studying, but I don't want to beat it into the ground for an 8th grader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I don't have any of those, but Rufus Fears is very engaging and a general favorite of mine. I only have audio courses from him, but you can see video lectures here: Note: the above links to a completely free 18-lecture series on American History, The Story of Freedom. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 The reviews on their web site are pretty good but of course more from a general audience versus a home-schooling audience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 Ok, we picked Life Lessons from the Great Myths, The Science of Self, and a Shakespeare combo pack, How to Read and Understand Shakespeare & Shakespeare, Comedy History Tragedy. Yippee! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 If you get good reviews, it might be good to get Lisa to update her Great Courses Master List. I haven't used any of the ones you listed. I admit to getting the last few via Audible as I didn't need the video & I have more time for the audio anyway... Lisa should do that, shouldn't she? :D The panic in registering for next year and sorting out spring testing is almost over and then I'll work on updating the master list. I also owe some help to a few members for ancient world history. Rose, you need to listen to Fears on your own to make your decision. I have a love/hate relationship with his lectures. He's a marvelous story teller, but some of his editorializing gives me acid reflux. You are either a fan or not. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 Yeah, I wasn't at all a fan of the first Fears Great Myths lecture I listened to. I hope they get better. . . .I'm reserving judment till I"ve listened to a couple more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 I cannot handle Mr. Fears. I am sure he is a delightful man, but he just grates on me. I have found that we discover professors that we really enjoy and that is what makes the series great. Often, the content can be quite nice, but it is the delivery that really resonates. I have a list now and it seems to work quite well. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 We like Saccio and his very dramatic delivery and Thomas Noble is excellent. I would call him more "old school" and I don't mean that in a derogatory way. Late Antiquity may be more detail than you student wants or not. If so, you can always use his Foundations of Western Civilization 1. Don't forget Daileader for the Middle Ages. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 Well, I will have to say that I am officially Not A Fan of Fears. I'm going to return Life Lessons from the Great Myths and just stick with Vandiver's Classical Mythology. I found Fears kind of dull and drony - I keep tuning him out and missing chunks - and I'm also disappointed that most of his lectures are just retelling the stories. Um, we're reading them? We don't need you to tell us what they say, we are looking for some discussion/analysis. What analysis is offered, I find wanting. I think he's too Euro-Greek-American-centric for my purposes. And when he talks about the old testament as legitimate history, that was just the last straw. Just offering my own review for posterity's sake, in case someone stumbles on this thread in future. YMMV, of course. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 LOL. Good thing they have such a great return policy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Ds asked to check out "The Holy Land Revealed" from the library last week. Not being one to try and stifle any of his interests - even though I was a bit skeptical about Biblical Lands being "revealed" - we checked it out. It is good. Like really good. The lady has all sorts of maps, images, and moving graphics describing the land of Canaan (Palistine, Syria, Jordan, Isreal, Anatolia). She is an archeologist which found herself interested in the area. So she goes through and directly talks to the Biblical record versus the archeological record and what seems like mig have gone down when compared to the places today. We are totally into it! In fact, up until this I had not considered that we basically had studied just about all the Ancients areas but this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 I watched an amazing Coursera class on Bible and history last year, and learned a ton. Totally fascinating. Which is partly why I knew that a lot of the stuff Fears is saying is not accepted by mainstream historians. I love myths, and I think they are an expression of social, cultural, and historical reality, but it bugs me when the lecturer just kind of flippantly claims historicity for Biblical mythology. The story of David, of Joseph, of the Patriarchs can be understood as foundational myths with important life lessons to teach without trying to claim specific dates and events - not supported by the historical record - for them. And the editorializing got to me, too. "Some" people just don't want freedom, and never had, they've always had strong man leaders and always will. But "we" - the heirs of the Greeks - do, and so by implication we're better, more culturally advanced? That was the implication at least. Just not the spin I'm looking for. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 The good news is, I emailed the company and they issued a credit immediately, no problem. Great customer service!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 Ah, I like Aldrete sooooooooo much better! :hurray: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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