9. Introduction to Theory of Literature
This introductory lecture explores three segments of the course title through critical analysis, including: the relationship between theory and philosophy, the question of what literature “is” and “does,” and what an introduction involves. Literary theory is then placed in the historical narrative of major thinkers and modern criticism, including Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud. Course materials are available here.
Course description: This is a survey of the main trends in twentieth-century literary theory. Lectures will provide background for the readings and explicate them where appropriate, while attempting to develop a coherent overall context that incorporates philosophical and social perspectives on the recurrent questions: what is literature, how is it produced, how can it be understood, and what is its purpose?
- Views: 262,018
- Posted: 5 Years Ago
- Course: Introduction to Theory of Literature
8. Foundations: This is Your Brain
This Introduction to Psychology lecture introduces two conflicting schools of thought in psychology: dualism, or belief that our conscious minds are separate from our physical bodies, and materialism, the idea that all of our mental states are caused by physical brain states. The lecture explains why materialism is the current dominant theory in psychology, as well as an overview of the physiology of the brain. Course materials are available here.
Course description: What do your dreams mean? Do men and women differ in the nature and intensity of their sexual desires? Can apes learn sign language? Why can’t we tickle ourselves? This course tries to answer these questions and many others, providing a comprehensive overview of the scientific study of thought and behavior. It explores topics such as perception, communication, learning, memory, decision-making, religion, persuasion, love, lust, hunger, art, fiction, and dreams. We will look at how these aspects of the mind develop in children, how they differ across people, how they are wired-up in the brain, and how they break down due to illness and injury.
- Views: 268,235
- Posted: 6 Years Ago
- Course: Introduction to Psychology
7. Why Finance?
This lecture covers the history of financial theory, leading up to the efficient market hypothesis, a crucial element of standard financial theory. An overview of the financial crisis of 2007-2009 is then presented, which refutes the efficient markets hypothesis. The lecture ends with a number of thoughts on when the efficient markets hypothesis does work well. Course material is available here.
Course description: This course attempts to explain the role and the importance of the financial system in the global economy. Rather than separating off the financial world from the rest of the economy, financial equilibrium is studied as an extension of economic equilibrium. The course also gives a picture of the kind of thinking and analysis done by hedge funds.
- Views: 280,727
- Posted: 3 Years Ago
- Course: Financial Theory
6. Purgatory XXX, XXXI, XXXIII
This lecture examines Dante’s representation of the Earthly Paradise at the peak of Mount Purgatory. The talk works through three Cantos, and culminates in the thought that Dante shifts the notion of conversion as a one-time event with that of an ongoing process that continues to be represented in the Paradiso. Course materials are available here.
Course description: The course is an introduction to Dante and his cultural milieu through a critical reading of the Divine Comedy and selected minor works (Vita nuova, Convivio, De vulgari eloquentia, Epistle to Cangrande). An analysis of Dante’s autobiography, the Vita nuova, establishes the poetic and political circumstances of the Comedy’s composition. Readings of Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise seek to situate Dante’s work within the intellectual and social context of the late Middle Ages, with special attention paid to political, philosophical and theological concerns. Topics in the Divine Comedy explored over the course of the semester include the relationship between ethics and aesthetics; love and knowledge; and exile and history.
- Views: 289,694
- Posted: 5 Years Ago
- Course: Dante in Translation
5. Course Introduction and Newtonian Mechanics
This introductory lecture for Fundamentals of Physics gives an overview of Newtonian mechanics, looking into kinematics and dynamics. Basic concepts in physics as well as tracing a particle in one dimension along the x-axis are also covered. Course material is available here.
Course description: This course provides a thorough introduction to the principles and methods of physics for students who have good preparation in physics and mathematics. Emphasis is placed on problem solving and quantitative reasoning. This course covers Newtonian mechanics, special relativity, gravitation, thermodynamics, and waves.
- Views: 320,794
- Posted: 6 Years Ago
- Course: Fundamentals of Physics, I