The Great Courses Plus

[Ottermatic]

It came up in a thread over on the politics forum that some of the rest of y'all are doing like I am, and spending this time that we're cooped up at home to actually learn new things, and as such have memberships to The Great Courses Plus.

For those of you who aren't familiar with it, it's a monthly subscription service that gives you access to hundreds of lecture series from great college professors, over a wide variety of topics (the categories, each of which has several courses available, are: Economics and Finance, Food and Wine, Health Fitness & Nutrition, History, Hobby & Leisure, Literature & Language, Philosophy & Religion, Professional & Personal Growth, Programs for Young Learners, Science, and Travel). There is a free trial available, if anybody wants to give it a try for a few weeks.

I've been a fan of the Great Courses for a long time, and had watched several even before I got access to the Great Courses Plus, which made my hobby much cheaper.

Anyway, I thought it would be good to have a thread to discuss the courses that we have watched, are watching, and would or would not recommend to others.

@QuestionSocratic @Indrid Cold

I'll address some of my favorites in another post.

 

[Ottermatic]

As I said above, I've been a fan of the Great Courses for a long time... as such I have experience with a lot of them. With only a few exceptions, I have consistently found them to be excellent and informative courses with engaging professors.

Specific Courses that I can recommend, by category:

My all time favorites, i'll mark with a *

History

- Foundations of Western Civilization, Parts I and II
- Foundations of Eastern Civilization
- History of the United States
- Turning Points in American History * (Not available on Plus, but the single best GC I've ever listened to. It is available on Audible for one credit)
- The Industrial Revolution
- History of Ancient Egypt
- Food: A Cultural Culinary History*
- The Vikings

Food and Wine:

- An Everyday Guide to Beer
- Essential Secrets of Spices

Hobby and Leisure

- Fundamentals of Travel Photography (watching right now)
- Skywatching*

Literature and Language

- The History of English
- The Story of Human Language
- How Great Science Fiction Works
- Learning Spanish I and II* (the professor is the best Language Teacher I've ever seen)
- Public Speaking
- The Art of Storytelling

Philosophy and Religion

- The Meaning of Life
- Philosophy of Humor

Science:

- Our Inexplicable Universe (Professor is Neil DeGrasse Tyson)
- The World's Greatest Geological Wonders*
- The Science of Information (watching right now)

Social Science:

- Cultural and Human Geography
- The Secrets of Human Perception
- Psychology of Human Behavior
- Customs of the World

I'd be happy to talk about any or all of those courses, that anybody may be considering.

There have only ever been two courses that I have tried and I really didn't like:

- Zoology, which just had a professor that wasn't engaging
- Music as a Mirror of History, which likewise wasn't engaging, and only dealt with classical music

 

[QuestionSocratic]

Last time I checked, you could get a 3 month trial for $30. Then the cost goes to $20 per month. The 3 month is worth it because you probably can get through the courses you are interested in that time. You can also download the accompanying guidebook.

Amazon Prime also has a subscription for $7 per month. It doesn't offer as many courses but quite a few.

 

[QuestionSocratic]

I've been a Great Courses customer for decades and own a number of DVD courses.

I found the streaming services , well, great. The following is my list of courses I've watched with a grade and comments.

Physics:
The Theory of Everything B+ Glosses over some complex topics
An Introduction to Astrophysics B- Lots of math
What Einstein Got Wrong B+
Experiencing Hubble A+ Great photos and discussion
Physics of Time A+ Sean Carroll at his best
Radio Astronomy B Interesting
Redefining Reality C Didn't finish
Ancient Astronomy D Didn't get by the first three lectures


Earth Sciences:
Geology of the National Parks B+ Instructor was a bit dry
Science of Extreme Weather B+ Another so-so instructor
Geological Wonders B+ Again, what's with these instructors
Polar Exploration A Multiple instructors

Literature & Philosophy
How Great Science Fiction Works A
Mystery and Suspense Fiction A
Utopian and Dystopian Fiction B-
King Arthur B-
Language Families of the World C Didn't get far, not compelling

Philosophy
Science Fiction as Philosophy C Slogged my way through it
Big Questions of Philosophy C As above

History
Dark, High and Late Middle Ages B Not great but enjoyed them
Great Military Blunders B Learned a lot of interesting stuff but the instructor was awful.
American Military History B Wesley Clark instructor
Black Death B Interesting

 

[Ottermatic]

I've been a Great Courses customer for decades and own a number of DVD courses.

I found the streaming services , well, great. The following is my list of courses I've watched with a grade and comments.

Physics:
The Theory of Everything B+ Glosses over some complex topics
An Introduction to Astrophysics B- Lots of math
What Einstein Got Wrong B+
Experiencing Hubble A+ Great photos and discussion
Physics of Time A+ Sean Carroll at his best
Radio Astronomy B Interesting
Redefining Reality C Didn't finish
Ancient Astronomy D Didn't get by the first three lectures


Earth Sciences:
Geology of the National Parks B+ Instructor was a bit dry
Science of Extreme Weather B+ Another so-so instructor
Geological Wonders B+ Again, what's with these instructors
Polar Exploration A Multiple instructors

Literature & Philosophy
How Great Science Fiction Works A
Mystery and Suspense Fiction A
Utopian and Dystopian Fiction B-
King Arthur B-
Language Families of the World C Didn't get far, not compelling

Philosophy
Science Fiction as Philosophy C Slogged my way through it
Big Questions of Philosophy C As above

History
Dark, High and Late Middle Ages B Not great but enjoyed them
Great Military Blunders B Learned a lot of interesting stuff but the instructor was awful.
American Military History B Wesley Clark instructor
Black Death B Interesting

I actually liked the professor for Geological Wonders - a bit eccentric, but he obviously loved his material