Showing results by author "The-Great-Courses", by publisher "Audible Originals" in All Categories

There is a common misconception that sex, love, and marriage in medieval and early modern Europe followed very specific, inflexible rules and expectations that remained unchanged for centuries. Throughout the 10 lectures of Sex, Love, and Marriage from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment, you will find that looking closer at marriage and sexuality in this period reveals a vibrant history of flexibility, of questioning and adaptation, and of evolutionary - and sometimes even revolutionary - change.

If you look closely at the City of New York, you will find that it does not conform to a single, all-encompassing metropolitan identity. Rather, the city is made up of five boroughs—districts that operate almost like their own, smaller cities, with their own distinct identities and histories. Located on the western end of Long Island is the most populous of these singular regions: Brooklyn. And its rich and varied past deserves a closer look. Over the course of the 11 lectures, Professor Brian Purnell will lead you through the story of this vibrant settlement.

In The Culture of Knighthood and Medieval Romance, join scholar of medieval literature Larissa Tracy for a fascinating dive into the deeper context of narratives about knights and their world. Her Audible Original takes you through the evolution of knighthood and courtly literature, dispelling prevalent myths about chivalry and romance with an eye to revealing just how textured and complex these ideas actually were.

Beginning with a brief overview of the various goals and phases of feminism from the early 19th century onward, writer and feminist theorist Jennifer Baumgardner takes you on a tour of a tumultuous decade full of complex issues and contradictions through the lens of the feminist movement and the ways it shaped - and was shaped by - the closing years of the 20th century. From abortion rights to ‘zines, Feminism in the 1990s explores the ways third-wave feminism reacted to popular culture while simultaneously being co-opted by it.

Few feelings in life are as awful as the feeling of being trapped in the wrong career. But how do you find a job that truly resonates with you? And once you’ve found it, how do you develop the confidence to take the necessary steps to arrive at the career of your dreams? Just ask Octavia Goredema, a noted career coach and author who made a major pivot in her professional career and has never looked back. In her Audible Original How to Change Careers, she coaches you through the uncertainty behind any career change and gives you the confidence to hit a reset switch on your professional life.

They’re not faster than a speeding bullet or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. But that doesn’t mean steel-cut oats, blackberries, ginger, and other foods can’t swoop in to save the day - or at least our diets. In How Superfoods Work, reevaluate the superfoods you are (or aren’t) eating and discover ways to make your life healthier - and more delicious.

You can’t truly understand the last decade of the 20th century without a look at the muddy, electrifying rock music that would come to define it: grunge. For such a short-lived genre—at least in the mainstream—grunge had a lasting impact on American music and culture. It also provides a unique lens through which to examine the post-Reagan, pre-internet America of the 1990s. In the six lectures of The Story of Grunge, you’ll explore the rise and evolution of the genre, tracing it from Seattle subculture to MTV and the Billboard charts, all the way to its decline and evolution into new forms.

Professor Jennifer Cognard-Black takes you on a culinary tour of fiction, from Proust’s evocative madeleine and the voracious hunger of fairy tales to the intersection of recipes with storytelling and the emotional consumption of food on film. These lessons look at how food can be so much more than mere set dressing in a great story.

Author, life coach, and leadership expert Dr. Christine Carter believes that we need to completely rethink the way we approach our work in relation to the rest of our lives. And in the 10 lessons of Find Work-Life Balance, that is exactly what she will help you do.

In Lan Dong’s Audible Original, The History of the Superhero, examine the roots of the superhero dynamic that’s overtaking popular culture. Encompassing both Marvel Comics’ and DC Comics’ pantheon of extraordinary heroes, these eight lectures explore how superhero comics came to be, how famous characters (and their exploits) evolved in response to social and cultural changes, how superhero cinematic universes have become an integral (and highly lucrative) part of film history, and why superheroes of all types are likely here to stay.

Malcolm X. Marcus Garvey. Charles Hamilton Houston. Diane Nash. For every well-known figure of the Civil Rights Movement, there are dozens of lesser-known, yet no less significant, activists who helped advance America’s social views and helped shape race relations in this country. Most listeners have only skimmed the surface of these deeply complex, influential, and world-changing figures. Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries of The Ohio State University delves into their stories, presenting an intimate study of the men and women who led half a century of social change.

In the 10 lessons of America’s Founding Women, you will uncover the very real stories of the women who helped shape the United States as it underwent its transformation from a British colony to a fledgling nation. Professor Cassandra Good will help you understand what life was like for women during the American Revolution, and beyond, and how these women balanced the rigid social expectations of the late 18th and early 19th centuries with their own talents and desires.

If you believe in luck — or if you absolutely do not believe in luck, join Associate Professor of Philosophy Daniel Breyer as he makes the case for the essential role that luck plays in our lives — and has played throughout human history. In this 10-part overview, he will give you a completely new appreciation for the surprising interplay between luck, responsibility, and free will.

The Berlin Wall is perhaps modern history’s most infamous edifice. The Berlin Wall: A World Divided is more than just the story of brick, concrete, and barbed wire. It’s the story of a city, a country, and a world - all of them divided. To hear how the Berlin Wall exemplified this division is to gain insights into a central tension of world history: between the human drive for freedom and the political will that would control and repress that drive.

The 16th century was a time of immense change across the globe. For many historians, it marks a massive shift in the way the world operated; it is often considered the beginning of modernity. We may regard the 16th century as the time of Shakespeare and the conquistadors, but women also played a powerful role in many of the major events around the world. In 10 Women Who Ruled the Renaissance, you will explore the lives of 10 extraordinary women who exemplified the spirit of the 1500s - an era dominated by adventure, discovery, and cross-cultural exchange.

From its inception, hip-hop has challenged ideas about morality, religion, and truth. Genuinely, it’s a philosophical genre. Both philosophers and hip-hop artists think about God, death, and justice, among other things. But rarely do members of these two groups talk to one another about these issues. This is a shame, given that both hip-hop and philosophy have a rich history in deep thinking and have produced exemplary thinkers.

The Roman gladiator has long been a figure of fascination. Portrayed frequently in fine art and popular culture alike, the gladiator is both a real part of history and a legend of a romanticized past. We know that these men entertained Roman audiences by fighting in dangerous and often deadly games. But who were the gladiators? What were their lives like? And why do they continue to have such a strong hold on our imagination, centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire?

The proliferation of social media platforms and our increasing reliance on the internet for connection and communication has caused the line between the “real” world and the online world to blur. So much of our lives can be impacted by online interactions—and not all those interactions are positive. Why does the internet seem to encourage bad behavior from some users? Why do we feel we need to share so much of our private lives with the online world? Is screen time really as addictive as the headlines say?

Fadel Zeidan, research director of the University of California, San Diego Center for Mindfulness, is an expert on the neural mechanisms that support mindfulness- and meditation-based pain relief. In his Audible Original, Mindfulness for Pain Relief, he shows you how mindfulness meditation—even for short periods of time—can bring your experience of pain under control.

The 1980s was a decade of change for many countries, but for Great Britain, it could be considered radical. The economic transformation of Britain during that period bears the indelible mark of Margaret Thatcher and her policies. In this Audible Original, Professor Amy Edwards takes you through the life and leadership of Margaret Thatcher. See how she went from being a shopkeeper’s daughter who lived above her parent’s corner shop to holding Britain’s top job and earning a reputation as one of the most influential politicians of the 20th century.