Catalog Search Results
Publisher
Ideas Roadshow
Pub. Date
2021.
Language
English
Description
Five experts (John Dunn, Karl Gerth, Martin Jay, Josiah Ober, and Quentin Skinner) give their perspectives on different aspects of democracy: its meaning in different cultures and in different times, and possible ways to improve the way it works today.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
Investigate the use of presidential pardons. Start by looking at two general types of pardons in American history: the "justice and mercy" pardon and the "peacefulness" pardon. Then, focus on key questions about the presidential pardon power: Can American presidents pardon co-conspirators for crimes they've committed, thereby frustrating an investigation? Can they pardon themselves?
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
Among Greek city-states, Athens was not alone in having a form of democratic rule. As you'll discover in this lecture, Greek governments ran on a sliding scale from oligarchy and democracy to kingship and tyranny. Delve into Homer's epics to examine several early examples of democratic assembly.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
Go inside one of the hallmark institutions of Athenian democracy. Open to freeborn citizens older than age 20, the popular assembly met 10 times a year and was for many citizens who lived some distance from Athens a three-day affair - one reason Athenian citizenship might seem like a full-time job. Listen to the some of the debates and arguments of a typical assembly meeting.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
A successful public life depends on public speaking, so it should come as no surprise that the Athenians prided themselves on rhetoric. After learning a little about the art of public speaking, you will witness several of the great political debates of the era, including one politician's contention that his opponents were delivering, essentially, "fake news."
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
Today, legislative and judicial oversight of the presidency are a permanent part of American government and critical to limiting and restraining the possibility of executive abuse. In this lecture, learn how our system of checks and balances came to exist - with, among other things, a close look at the landmark judicial review case, Marbury v. Madison.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
Shift your attention to another important arm of the government. Explore the roles of the Council of 500 officials chosen by lot, required to serve for a whole year, as well as the respected (if not particularly powerful) magistrates known as archons. Then, review the relatively limited systems of taxation and welfare in ancient Athens.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
Explore the Athenians’ view of their great political experiment: democracy. In 24 history-rich episodes, Professor Robert Garland takes you into the world of leaders like Solon, Cleisthenes, and Pericles, as well as the judgments of contemporary historians such as Herodotus and Thucydides. The result is a fascinating story of what is arguably the boldest political initiative in history.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
Who were the citizens of Athens? As you'll reflect on in this lecture, perhaps as low as one-fifth of Athenian residents were citizens. Women, slaves, and resident aliens were excluded. Learn about the responsibilities of citizens, and the lives of those who could not participate.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
You've already seen how public speakers dominated the assemblies. Now take a look at the politicians whose voices rose above the fray. While every citizen theoretically had a voice in the democracy, a few politicians and demagogues tended to dominate. Learn about Cleon, Alcibiades, and others.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
The most significant confrontation between a president and a president's investigators happens not in a court of law but in the court of public opinion. Often, the "storyline" is the deciding factor in how an investigation will be seen by future historians. Examine four different tactics used by President Bill Clinton and his team that helped them achieve a public relations victory.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
To understand Athenian democracy, we first must understand Athens as a polis, or city-state, within the broader context of ancient Greece. Review the territory of Attica and get the lay of the land for Athenian government in the 6th and 7th centuries BC. Then, witness the great crisis that led to Solon's reforms and set Athenian democracy on its course.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
Even if formally cleared of wrongdoing, a president or a presidential aide may live with the stigma of investigation forever thanks to an independent counsel's report. First, explore why many investigations typically happen behind closed doors. Then, turn to how the rules are different for presidents and their senior staff (and whether or not that's a good idea).
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
Athenian democracy had both a political and a legal component. In this lecture, take a deep dive into the city-state's legal system, from the central role of the courts to the procedures of a trial. The process of arraignment, jury selection, and sentencing will sound familiar. Reflect on the strengths and flaws of the legal system.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
After the Nixon presidency, Congress and the American public became convinced that an independent investigator function was essential. Twenty years later, they let that function expire. Follow the swing from the Nixon era to the independent counsel of the Reagan and Clinton eras back to the special counsel leading the investigation of Russian election hacking and the 2016 Trump campaign.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
The funeral procession was the most important ceremony performed in ancient Athens. Pericles's funeral speech, delivered over the war dead, as captured by Thucydides, is one of the most striking pieces of prose to survive from that time. Witness the structure of the funeral ceremony and unpack Pericles's great speech.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
The Delian Confederacy - originally an association of free city-states that Athens turned into an instrument of imperial ambitions - played a major role in 5th-century Greece. Follow the confederacy from the Persian Wars to the Peloponnesian War. Find out what each of the allies got out of the confederacy, and how Athens made sure it benefited the most.
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