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....

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

Building a Better Vocabulary offers an intriguing look at the nuts and bolts of English, teaches you the etymology and morphology, and delves into the cognitive science....

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....

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

Professor Curzan approaches words like an archaeologist, digging below the surface to uncover the story of words....

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....

One of the greatest scientific feats of our era is the astonishing progress made in understanding biology-a progress to which the period we are living in right now has contributed the most....

Modern psychologists are involved in far more than helping people cope with their inner demons....

Noted Japan expert Professor Mark J. Ravina of the University of Texas at Austin covers the politics, economics, and culture of the island nation since World War II - a conflict that saw the end of Japan’s dream of regional conquest, which Professor Ravina calls Empire 1.0....

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....

How is it possible for the disciplines of cosmology, geology, anthropology, biology, and history to fit together?....

From the 17th to 18th centuries, bold thinkers cast off the authority of ancient traditions and embraced reason as the primary tool for understanding the world. Early Modern Philosophy: Descartes and the Rationalists covers the key philosophers of this period in 12 fascinating half-hour lectures.

The deep-seated origins and wide-reaching lessons of ancient myths built the foundation for our modern legacies....

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

These 24 wide-ranging lectures are the ideal guide through the world of anthropology, or the study of humanity across time and space....

Many features of English sound normal to a native speaker, but linguists find them puzzling as well as revealing....

You'll join Professor Cary on the fascinating search for answers about the similar questions philosophy and faith ask....

Get a time-travelling tour of world history with these 30 brilliant lectures that cover the full story of human civilization, analyzing geography, technology, economies, social institutions, and cultural achievements....

In the 12 fascinating lectures of Warping Reality: Inside the Psychology of Cults, you will learn about some of the most widely known cults of modern times.