Turning Points in Modern History

De: Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius, The Great Courses

Narrado por: Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius

This lecture series takes you on a far-reaching journey around the globe - from China to the Americas to New Zealand - to shed light on how two dozen of the top discoveries, inventions, political upheavals, and ideas since 1400 have shaped the modern world. In just 24 thought-provoking lectures, you'll get the amazing story of how life as we know it developed.

Starting in the early 15th century and culminating in the age of social media, you'll encounter astounding threads that weave through the centuries, joining these turning points in ways that may come as a revelation. You'll also witness turning points with repercussions we can only speculate about because they are still very much in the process of turning.

Professor Liulevicius doesn't merely recount the greatest events of history, but rather has selected true catalysts in provoking changes in worldview. Some of the events you'll investigate, including the discovery of the New World and the fall of the Berlin Wall, will immediately resonate as watershed moments. The global significance of other pivotal events may only become apparent through the detailed analysis contained in these lectures, such as the publication of the Enlightenment-era Encyclopédie and the Russo-Japanese War - which has been historically overshadowed by the two world wars that followed.

As you discover how turning points such as the discovery of penicillin and the opening of East Berlin hinged on chance, accident, and, in some cases, sheer luck, you'll realize how easily history might have played out differently.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2013 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2013 The Great Courses

Excellent throughout

One of the best courses I've listened too. Great job. Didn't want it to end! I was a little worried that he would have an accent from the sound of his last name but there was no accent at all.

The Greatest Person to Reside in Tennessee since Elvis

If Prof. Liulevicius had taught at my school, I would have gotten up extra early just to make sure to register in time for every one of his classes. I'm sure that all of these instructors are geniuses, but this man loves teaching and you can hear it in his voice and in the way he structures his lecture. I'll admit, I'm now a total fangirl and I'll throw my money at anything that has his name on it.

Great course by a great professor...

I've said it before, anything done by Prof. Liulevicius is worth listening to. This lives up to being a great course for the Great Courses.

One of the better syntheses by Great Courses.

one of the better or best syntheses by Great courses. certainly in the top five that I have listened to. very well done connecting previous lectures to the current one

Thought of a thinker

I liked it because it was for wise people. It shows how important it is to be an individual with ideas that can be worked on. Anybody that can read or listen should . I recommend this book because it proves the equality byforce is wrong because it is not reality. You don’t settle for almost you show the value of the most.

How The World Entered Modernity

The challenge of a course on historical turning points is two-fold: picking the right ones and doing disparate topics justice (providing adequate treatment and not a thin layer of learning).

Professor Liulevicius met the challenges and succeeded in this course.

While there can always be quibbling on whether a turning point really should have been included or question why one was left out, overall the professor has selected a good array of events that I can see most people agreeing with as qualifying as world changing.

You won't find a lot of political or military turning points. The selection definitely has a technological or social bent but that fits the theme of this course just fine.

One of the unifying themes of this series of lectures is how the world changed its view on what the ultimate source of authority was from Scripture, tradition, and classical views to the scientific method and technological advancement. In fact it is fascinating to see how peoples' world view transformed from seeing something new/change itself as usually something sinister and evil to something positive and a form of progression. The world went from stigmatizing change to embracing it.

Despite the course containing a wide variety of subjects, the professor does a commendable job of covering each in deep detail. There is good background on how the turning point came to be and what was so different with it. No surface discussion or taking lectures off here.

Professor Liulevicius even frequently weaves the various turning points together showing the connections between them (i.e. how one may have contributed to the success of another one such as the invention of the printing press enabling the dissemination of enlightenment ideas or American revolutionary ideas).

For my money lectures 9 (US Revolution/Constitution) and 18 (Russo-Japanese War) were the highlights. Proof the professor covers both the common and less common topics with the same eye-opening reflection and analysis.

Still I found myself stopping short of a five star rating. Can't quite put my finger on it but I usually reserve those for courses I get totally consumed in and devour one lecture after another. Something prevented my listening groove from picking up steam. Maybe because by its nature this type of turning point course (unlike the U.S. or Middle East ones) aren't telling one story but a series of smaller ones it was hard to keep the momentum going.

Like other turning point courses there wasn’t much speculative discussion in each lecture on what might have been if the turning point did not occur or went the other way. I know this is anathema to historian professors but I find it fun and a form of entertainment that I think does have a place in TGC. The best discussions are those leaving you contemplating what you've just heard as well as the alternatives---be it points of views or What Ifs.

One personality curiosity: since the professor didn’t smile or laugh (not once?) it was difficult to tell at times if he was injecting some humor via a sarcastic (but fictional) comment or if he was merely speaking an ironic truth (such as his comment in lecture 18 that vodka may have been involved when the Russian navy fired on British fishermen). I suspect it was humor and that some of his other humor just went undetected due to his consistent serious demeanor. A smile would've made things fit a bit better. Still this doesn't rise to any kind of annoyance/character flaw that made listening difficult (unlike some ticks of other lecturers).

I recommend this course to a wide variety of listeners: from those who are interested in studying progressive trends to those whose interests lie in how societies change and transform over time to those who immerse themselves in the technological and scientific arenas to just the plain history buff. It is a good use of 12 hours no doubt. And considering how much we value our time that's saying something.

Excellent and fun way to enjoy history.

Great performance by the professor. He makes history come alive in a very connected way.

Excellent! Interesting and well presented.

Very good selection of events. Some well-deserved surprises and nice perspectives and background on the obvious ones. Well done!

Entertaining and thought provoking

This instructor is very talented at painting pictures and getting the listener to picture them selves in the moment. I thought this course was delightful. Worth the time.

Fascinating Lecture Series

The lecture series by Prof. Liulevicius always are winners. This one is interesting and really good for intermittent listening while commuting or trying to sleep, since they are pretty self-contained. (Occasional references to prior chapters but nothing that impairs understanding.)

This one would be good for a homeschooler who could listen to the relevant chapters depending on the period being covered.