Thomas F. X. Noble

I did this course by listening to it on audible. It was interesting, in fact at times it was more than that. If you think about the popes as historical versions of what we've seen in our lifetimes, then you could not be more wrong, and this course will be very surprising. For a significant number of years the popes were not only lacking in what we would call spirituality or holiness, they often seemed to be more preoccupied with power, ruling and money than with the spiritual health of the show more church. There were some who were shocking in their personal lives, and there were times when there were 2 and sometimes three men all claiming to be the rightful pope. Then there were also true men of God who carried out difficult tasks in difficult times. I can look at the history of the papacy and come away convinced that the only way the church could have survived is by God's keeping. If church history interests you, this is a worthwhile adventure. The scary thing is that this is just an overview. I came away wondering about the details of some of the events and wishing i had time to dive in deeper. show less

The Foundations of Western Civilization is a very typical overview of the Western World as it is perceived by the white perspective. Despite covering such a vast time period, there is almost no mention of the Islamic peoples in the region and not a mention of any non-white individuals. Entire time periods are glossed over in favor of multiple lectures on traditionally taught topics such as the Roman Empire and the Protestant Reformation. This is a very narrow view of West Civ. and in show more desperate date of a more inclusive update. show less

A very extensive literature overview and probably the best bang for your buck in this genre that Great Courses provides. However, with multiple lecturers the quality is not consistent - and some eras have better lecturers and coverage offered in other of their courses.

I thoroughly enjoyed this series of 84 lectures. Having already read most of the covered authors on my own, this provided the historical and literary context I had missed. The lecturers are outstanding in their combination of expertise and energy. I especially enjoyed the earlier sections that covered ancient, medieval, and romantic authors. The latter sections seemed to be more about the individual works rather than historical context, though I did find interest in the discussion about show more modernism in Part VII. show less