Greek Legacy: Classical Origins of the Modern World

This is a short (12 lectures) course on a variety of topics relating to Greek foundations of Western Civilization. It largely duplicates other Western Civilization courses in The Great Courses (TGC) repertoire. Dr. Robinson is an extremely learned scholar. However, his stream-of-consciousness lecture style is not nearly as clear as most lecturers in the TGC stable. On a personal note, I am interested in a variety of topics including philosophy, psychology, and Western Civilization and Dr. Robinson teaches a TGC offering in each of these three areas. Unfortunately, I come away with the impression that the purpose of each course is to showcase how intelligent Dr. Robinson is. I guess I’ll give up listening to him. The course guide is below average by TGC standards. It is in outline format as opposed to paragraph or bullet format. There are only about four pages per lecture, which is well below average by TGC standards. There are no graphics. There is a timeline and a one-page bibliography. I had expected a more extensive bibliography for such a scholarly topic. There are no biographical notes, which, again, one would expect given the topic. The course is available only in audio streaming. The course was published in 1998. Yes, that was in the last millennium. In Lecture 3, Dr. Robinson predicts that someday, in the future, society will be able to load the entire Encyclopedia Britannica onto a chip the size of a pinkie finger. Ah, the innocence of the 90’s…

One of the best Teaching Company courses, or any course from any source I’ve heard. Great material; great presentation.

I love this. The lecturer's perspective is refreshing, as he does not lose site of the values that are verily important in life, by getting caught in popular values.