Human Psychology: Introduction to the Science of Behavior

A gripping and authoritative 24-lecture history course on the Vietnam War from the award-winning professor who cowrote "Argument without End" with Robert McNamara. Using newly available archival and source material from the United States and Vietnam, Vassar College professor Robert K. Brigham helps you grapple with the legacy of the Vietnam War today. Based on more than 100 trips to Vietnam and extensive interviews with key players from all sides, Prof. Brigham weaves vivid biographical sketches and rich anecdotes into recorded history. His masterful storytelling will help you look behind common assumptions about the conflict.  Not since the Civil War had the American national consciousness been as strained as it was by the conflict in Southeast Asia. Indeed, the controversies that the Vietnam War spurred on the home front are more familiar to many Americans than the policies and motives that guided the conflict. "Vietnam: The Definitive History of the War" fills that gap. The provocative questions Prof. Brigham raises will help you reexamine the war from today's vantage.  Throughout, Prof. Brigham sheds light on the United States and its place in the world today. Under his expert guidance, you will gain fresh understanding of this momentous chapter in American history.

Heralded as one the world's most compelling Church historians, Chris Bellitto transports you into the heart of a strange and wonderful world—the world of medieval Europe. Explore some of the most powerful theological ideas, economic tensions, and political struggles that shaped Western civilization. This series traces western European civilization—with detours to the East—from the transformation of the Roman Empire to a thousand-year medieval period that started slowly before 1000, flowered for 300 years, and then declined sharply with the Black Death and social revolts until Constantinople fell in 1453 and Columbus sailed in 1492. Explore Charlemagne's renaissance, agricultural and commercial revolutions, new types of religious life introduced by spiritual masters from Benedict to Francis, dynastic wars, and courtly literature. You will treasure this course as a timeless resource for understanding the people and events that have shaped faith, art, medicine, literature, and government. Encounter famous historical and literary figures such as Mohammed, Augustine, Richard the Lionhearted, and King Arthur, in their own historical context. You'll understand how the Middle Ages fit within the broader historical timeline of Europe and the rest of the world. This course promises to delight and amaze you.

What is it about King Arthur that still holds our attention 1,500 years after he first materialized from the murky depths of history and legend? Named one of America's best professors by the Princeton Review, Christopher R. Fee transports you through space and time in search of answers. In his insightful audio course, you will trace Arthur's path across Britain. You'll visit such iconic sites as Tintagel, Glastonbury, and Stonehenge in search of physical reminders of this legendary king, his court, and a mighty stronghold remembered through the mists of time as "Camelot." Traveling across literary and literal landscapes, you'll search for evidence for Arthur in ancient manuscripts and modern-day archaeological excavations. Through 24 energetic lectures, you will see how much Arthur has been refashioned for succeeding generations of audiences—first in Wales, Cornwall, Brittany, and England, and later across the globe. Like the Knights of the Round Table on their epic quest for the Holy Grail, you will scour recorded history for the true face of the "Once and Future King." Last, you'll consider the most popular of the countless books and movies dedicated to King Arthur, his court, and their adventures. As you explore the unwavering interest in Arthur across centuries of popular culture, you will learn to look behind the façade of all things Arthurian—discerning the factual basis for the man, the myths, and the legends.

The American Revolutionary War has inspired bestselling books, iconic paintings, and hit Broadway musicals. More than 250 years after the "shot heard around the world" was fired in Concord, we remain fascinated by the causes and legacy of the Revolution. In 18 dynamic audio lectures, West Point history professor Robert McDonald leads you past the politics and battle tactics to explore the underlying ideas that sparked the Revolution. The editor of "The American Revolution: Core Documents" and writer or editor of numerous books about the Founding Fathers, Prof. McDonald has an encyclopedic knowledge of the complex factors that made the Revolution much more than a war for independence. Under his guidance, you'll examine American history from the establishment of Britain's North American colonies through the ratification of the Constitution. Although you'll revisit famous events like the French and Indian War, the Boston Massacre, and the First Continental Congress, this course invites you to reconsider the wider context—political, religious, and economic—of the Revolution. Throughout the series, you'll entertain questions without easy answers. How can we be sure that it was the Revolutionary War and not something else—like the Enlightenment—that was driving change across the landscape? How did the new land of liberty approach the issues of slavery and women's equality? Join Prof. McDonald for a fresh and exciting take on the classic story at the heart of the United States of America.

Heralded as one of the world's greatest scholars of scholars of late medieval religious heterodoxy, Thomas Fudge combines scholarly insight with great storytelling. For centuries, the idea of witches living in our midst has enthralled us. How did this fascination develop? Why did it lead to the persecution of thousands of accused "witches," most of them women? What does the history of witch hunts reveal about our identities and Western civilization at large? Holding doctorates in both medieval history and theology, Prof. Fudge is the perfect guide for this audio course on witch-hunting. Under his tutelage, you will discover how a culture of paranoia developed, why those ideas appealed to men and women in the 16th and 17th centuries, and what effects linger even today. Throughout this 18-part series you will analyze primary sources to understand and contextualize the regulation, detection, and prosecution of alleged witchcraft. By studying the medieval foundations for modern manifestations of witch-hunting—like McCarthyism—you will become more conscientious of the social dynamics of witch-hunts. As Prof. Fudge underscores, witches are a topic "used, misused, and abused."

Stuart Vyse, Ph.D., is the author of "Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition," which received the William James Book Award of the American Psychological Association. A celebrated psychologist and professor as well as a recognized author, he is the perfect guide for this audio series on the power of superstition. This wide-ranging course reveals the method to our madness in everything from finances to Friday the 13th. An expert on irrational behavior, Prof. Vyse discusses what it means to be rational before delving into the many reasoning errors and psychological challenges that lead us astray. In 15 lectures, you will learn to identify the logical fallacies and quirks of our psychology that tempt us to make unwise decisions. While the course is based in theory, it's also teeming with practical advice. You'll examine several popular conspiracy theories before exploring the remarkable staying power of common "bad luck" superstitions: How did these superstitions come to be? Is it always bad to be irrational? At what point do our beliefs veer into the territory of wishful thinking or willful ignorance? Packed with fun examples and everyday pointers, this course leaves you thinking long and hard about how you think. With Prof. Vyse's guidance, you'll learn to better understand your beliefs and make better decisions.