The Great Courses

Grammar! For many of us, the word triggers memories of finger-wagging schoolteachers, and of wrestling with the ambiguous and complicated rules of using formal language....

Education can be enriching and transformative. It can also be downright excruciating—even demoralizing. When it comes to learning, why are some of us lovers and some of us haters? Welcome to the world of educational psychology....

In an exciting partnership with the Smithsonian, The Great Courses presents these 24 lectures that offer an unforgettable tour of Japanese life and culture....

Learn how a single tongue spoken 150,000 years ago evolved into the estimated 6,000 languages used around the world today....

What is our species' greatest invention? Medicine, computers, space travel? Not even close. The innovation that underlies each of our past achievements and those we still aspire to is language....

The power of an effective speech is undeniable. It has the capacity to engage, inform, motivate, and create change in an audience - and in the world....

In the 25 engrossing lectures of Understanding Western Art: Stories, Styles, and Masterworks, you’ll explore the larger themes, principles, and expressive currents that tell the story of Western art, and which shed light on its deeper meanings.

Philosophy is one of the world’s oldest intellectual disciplines. In the West, the philosophical tradition reaches back 2,700 years to the ancient Greeks who pioneered philosophy and inspired major philosophical thinkers of ancient Rome.

Even after deciphering its hieroglyphs, and marveling at its scarabs, mummies, obelisks, and sphinxes, Egyptian civilization remains one of history's most mysterious....

Over the span of 48 lectures, four experienced lawyers and teachers recreate key parts of the first-year law student experience....

We can learn a lot about American history and culture by looking at the horror films of the 1980s.

Words. We use them all the time, every day, mostly without giving them much thought at all. We take for granted that they’re here at our disposal whenever we need them. But if you’ve ever wished you could communicate more effectively, words are the place to start....

In the six lectures of A Psychologist Goes to the Movies, taught by Dr. Swan, you’ll see what films can tell us about the human mind, from the experience of amnesia to the ethics of psychological research and so much more.

In the six lectures of A Short History of Role-Playing Games, gaming consultant and avid gamer Jamin Warren will take you on a whirlwind tour of role-playing games, tracing a fascinating story of community-building, technical innovation, and, occasionally, cultural backlash.

Over 5,000 years, India has been home to a rich tapestry of peoples and cultures. Two of the world's great religions - Hinduism and Buddhism - have their origins in South Asia....

The History of Money immerses you in this fascinating subject in 18 half-hour lectures taught by moneyman of letters Simon Middleton, Associate Professor of History at the College of William & Mary and an expert on American economic history.

In the six lectures of Who Was Jane Austen? Sorting Fact from Fiction, you’ll join literary scholar Stephanie Insley Hershinow to explore some of the most enduring myths surrounding Austen and her work.

The world has utterly transformed over the course of the last 2,000 years. Many of the norms, rules, and expectations of the ancient world can feel strange to our 21st century sensibilities.

America’s relationship with alcohol is a fraught and inconsistent one.

These 24 engaging lectures teach you how to reason, how to persuade others that what you think is right, and how to judge and answer the arguments of others.