Help me find awesome courses on iTunes U.

May 25, 2012 11:09 AM

My husband and I have gotten absolutely addicted to Yale history prof David Blight's course on the American civil war on iTunes U. Help us find more courses like this, preferably in the humanities. What are your favorites?
posted by rubyshoes to Education (17 answers total)

The Yale course on Ancient Greek History (Kagan) on iTunes U was pretty great. Listened to it all the way across I80. A bit wandering at times, but it made it all the more charming, imo.
posted by Lutoslawski at 11:17 AM on May 25, 2012

It's not on itunes, but Philip Daileader's three sets of Medieval History courses (Low, middle and Hi) through the Teaching Company's Great Courses' series was fantastic.

I got it from the library on CD and ripped it to my ipod no problem. It was months of some of the best listening I've had.
posted by bswinburn at 11:19 AM on May 25, 2012

Even though it just finished up 'The History of Rome' podcast is extensive and in depth and very entertaining.
posted by Captain_Science at 11:26 AM on May 25, 2012

There's a good list at Open Culture.
posted by zepheria at 11:29 AM on May 25, 2012

I love love loved Frank Snowden's lectures in the "Epidemics in Western Society Since 1600" course at Yale (available in the same place). Lecture 21 on the Tuskeegee Experiment was amazing.
posted by QuantumMeruit at 11:47 AM on May 25, 2012

I really enjoyed Paul Bloom's psychology course:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/psychology-audio/id341652042
posted by sindark at 11:56 AM on May 25, 2012

I really enjoy David Wetzel's (of UC Berkeley) history lectures. You can get them here or through iTunes U.
posted by naturalog at 12:50 PM on May 25, 2012

In Our Time is a BBC radio program you can get in podcast form. It's not a course per se, but more like a one hour mini-course on a given subject, usually historical with occasional forrays into science and philosophy.
posted by doctor_negative at 12:57 PM on May 25, 2012

Not historical, but I love Michael Sandel's course on philosophy which is offered on iTunes U.
posted by rainbowbrite at 1:52 PM on May 25, 2012

Robert Greenberg's music history courses.
posted by DMelanogaster at 2:26 PM on May 25, 2012

Nthing the Snowden lectures, they were I think the best lectures I've ever listened to. A good source for recommendations is The DIY scholar.
posted by smoke at 3:15 PM on May 25, 2012

I don't know the course you listened to, but I really enjoyed Lars Brownworth's 12 Byzantine Emperors, and The Teaching Company's lectures on early Christianity by Bart D. Ehrman.
posted by Leon at 3:40 PM on May 25, 2012

Just to weigh back in, but 12 Byzantine Emperors - whilst veyr enjoyable and listenable to be sure - is a very problematic spin on the Byzantine Empire. Brownworth gets several facts straight-out wrong, like, wrong people, wrong years, wrong locations - but more detrimental is his overall take on things, which really misrepresents both the culture of the empire itself, and its geopolitical implications. His broad thesis (which he kind of dances around until the end - "Byzantines saved Europe from slavering Muslim hordes", is largely unsupportable and also kinda racist.

Far superior, though the audio quality is not as good and it's more demanding as an actual undergrad course, is Professor Matthew Herbst's Byzantine Empire course from UCSD.
posted by smoke at 4:04 PM on May 25, 2012

smoke: I suspect we may have been round this loop before, but do you have any links to take-downs of 12 Byzantine Emperors? I'd like to learn more.
posted by Leon at 4:11 PM on May 25, 2012

I have a tremendous crush on Prof. John Merriman, also of Yale, thanks to his two courses on iTunes (European history / France since $date), You may also enjoy Joanne B. Freeman's lectures on the American Revolution.
posted by mimi at 7:32 PM on May 25, 2012

David Harvey's course on Reading Marx's Capital is really insightful.
posted by umbú at 11:46 PM on May 25, 2012

(an aside: Any way to get these without iTunes? Apologies for what might be a silly question.)
posted by jjjjjjjijjjjjjj at 1:05 PM on May 26, 2012