Yale’s David W. Blight Lectures on the Civil War Era Online at Academic Earth
A friend tipped me off on Friday to a EXCEPTIONAL site, AcademicEarth.org, which provides free audio-visual lecture series of some of the world’s best scholars.
David W. Blight’s entire Spring 2008 term course, The Civil War and Reconstruction Era, 1845-1877, is online for free viewing. Professor Blight is the Class of 1954 Professor of History at Yale University and Director of the The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition, also at Yale University.
In addition to the course, presented in an extremely user friendly format, Academic Earth provides a syllabus, reading list (yes I’ve already ordered them all), and full text transcripts of all lectures. GOLD MINE.
I’ve made it through 13 of 27 lectures and they are both outstanding and mesmerizing. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
Wig-Wags 
Rene,
Wow. What a great tip! Thanks.
“Mesmerizing”?
elektratig
February 22, 2009 at 6:07 am
Elektratig – LOL! Spell check boo boo! Fixed. Thanks for heads up.
Rene Tyree
February 22, 2009 at 9:33 am
Rene,
I want to echo what Elektratig said. What an awesome resource! As a Math/Computer Science major, I never did take a Civil War course in college. This should be an interesting viewing experience. I wish I had a working iPod at the moment!
Brett Schulte
February 23, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Brett,
I couldn’t agree more. I’ve been listening to Donald Kagan’s Introduction to Ancient Greek History. Fantastic! I’m also planning on reading all his recommended texts. I’ve already found his lectures helpful in understanding democracy and behavior in war. Great reading list!
I’m also VERY interested in Steven Smith’s “Introduction to Political Philosophy.” It will give me a chance to read Alexis de Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America” among a number of other texts.
After that, I plan to move on to “France since 1871” and then “The American Novel Since 1945.”
R
Rene Tyree
February 23, 2009 at 6:36 pm
David Blight – tremendous series on the Civil War: causes, war, aftermath
Jim Blake
September 30, 2010 at 12:46 am