Rarefactions: by Andrés Melo Cousineau

Learning through the Internet has become one of its greatest advantages. One can learn no matter where one lives. One can learn no matter what one’s schedule. In this regard, one finds excellent websites such as Coursera, Kahn Academy, Lynda, Udemy,  and many others. We ourselves have actually done excellent courses both in Coursera (“Sustainable Development”) and Udemy (“Flying Drones”).

Another of these websites is The Great Courses which offers courses in multiple areas by excellent professors. But unlike, for example, Coursera –which is free—at The Great Courses one must buy them. They offer great sales, though; especially for the audio-only options. Coursera does have Forums, The Great Courses, does not.

But even more strikingly, this year The Great Courses has started offering a STREAMING SERVICE just like the already famous Netflix service for movies! This is available at THE GREAT COURSES PLUS website and relevant apps for tablets and smartphones.. (link)  You must add the “PLUS” to get to the correct website. For a modest monthly sum, you can take many of their courses. Moreover, they are currently offering a one-month free trial in which you can take any of the courses they offer! We were able to extend this offer to two months ourselves. The only disadvantage is that you must know English. Of course, learning a language itself has been made much easier by internet courses themselves! (For instance,  Mango’s special relationship to the Toronto Public Libraries.)

Unfortunately, we cannot go into details as to why we chose these courses, nor can we review them. Suffice it to say that they are all EXCELLENT. It bears emphasizing, though, that this kind of learning is especially beneficial for many learners who are independent and not so interested in learning for diplomas. For those who have actual diplomas from Universities, they represent ways to further enhance understanding. They truly allow for what is known as a LIBERAL EDUCATION, anywhere, anytime.

The following are the courses we finished in the last 3 months, organized into 7 general groups. Each “lecture” is about 30 minutes long. 

(1 lecture = 30 minutes: with *, done previously)

1. ISLAM, ARAB  CULTURE, AND PERSIAN CULTURE  -AIM: Take Canada’s notion of multiculturalism seriously and understand the basis for our studies in Islamic philosophy and the modern world.: a) Turning Points in Middle Eastern History, (36 lectures), b)  The History and Achievements of the Islamic Golden Age, (24  lectures), c) The US and the Middle East: 1914 to 9/11, (24  lectures), and,  d) The Persian Empire, (24 lectures).
2. CHINA AND INDIA -AIM: Take Canada’s notion of multiculturalism seriously and prepare ourselves if we were to work in China as an ESL teacher. To further our studies of Confucius. a) Fall and Rise of China, (48  lectures). b) Books That Matter: The Analects of Confucius, (24  lectures), and,  c)  A History of India (36 lectures).
3. LANGUAGE –AIM: Complementing our 25+ ESL teaching career,  and a review of the 2 years of Ancient Greek from our University studies. a) English Grammar Bootcamp, (24 lectures). b) Greek 101: Learning an Ancient Language, (36  lectures), and, c)  English in America: A Linguistic History (12 lectures).
4. WAR AND STRATEGY –AIM: To weigh in seriously on the Peace Process in Colombia, a) Masters of War: History’s Greatest Strategic Thinkers  (24  lectures), b) History’s Greatest Military Blunders and the Lessons that they Teach, (24  lectures), c) World War II: A Military and Social History, (30  lectures), and, d) The Decisive Battles of World History, (36 lectures)
5. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA –AIM: To prepare ourselves against all too simplistic understandings of the USA. a) A History of the United States, 2nd Edition,  (84  lectures), b) American Civil War, (48 lectures)*, c) History of the Supreme Court, (36 lectures)*, d) Tocqueville and the American Experiment, (24  lectures)*, e) Abraham Lincoln: In His Own Words, (24 lectures)*, and, f) Great Debate: Advocates and Opponents of the American Constitution, (12  lectures)*
6. ANCIENT GREEKS –AIM: To continue our over 20 years study of the Ancient Greeks. a) Masters of Greek Thought: Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle, (24  lectures)*, b) Herodotus: The Father of History, (24 lectures),  c) Greek and Persian Wars, ( 24  lectures). (course bought) d) Ancient Greek Civilization, (36  lectures), e) Greek Tragedy, (36 lectures). (to be done), f) Iliad of Homer, (12  lectures) and, g)Odyssey of Homer, (12  lectures).
7. OTHERS –AIM:  Holistic Understanding, a) History’s Greatest Voyages of Exploration, (24 lectures), and,  b) An Economic History of the World since 1400, (48  lectures).

(Courses with an asterisk we bought and finished a few years ago.)