The Modern Scholar: Odyssey of the West II: A Classic Education through the Great Books: From Athens to Rome and the Gospels

By: Prof. Timothy Shutt, Prof. Kim J. Hartswick, Prof. Joel F. Richeimer, Prof. Lawrence H. Schiffman

Narrated by: Professor Timothy B. Shutt, Professor Kim J. Hartswick, Professor Joel F. Richeimer, Professor Lawrence H. Schiffman

This course is an interdisciplinary series of connected lectures delivered by eminent scholars from several colleges and universities. Each professor addresses an area of personal expertise and focuses not only on the matter at hand, but on the larger story-on the links between the works and the figures discussed. The lectures address-in chronological sequence-a series of major works that have shaped the ongoing development of Western thought both in their own right and in cultural dialogue with other traditions.

In the process, the course engages many of the most perennial and far-reaching questions that we face in our daily lives. The lectures draw upon the resources of history, philosophy, literary study, art history, religious studies, political science, and the history of science and technology, in hopes of engaging the rich and profoundly interactive discussions that, over the course of forty centuries, have made Western culture what it is.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2007 Timothy Shutt (P)2007 Recorded Books

For a corrective for the New Testament lectures . . .

. . . see The Case for Jesus by Brant Pitre. Schiffmann’s lectures often miss the mark, unfortunately.

Great selection of topics

Where does The Modern Scholar rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I find MS easier to listen to than most, not all.

Any additional comments?

The connection of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, developed during the Patristic Period, with Paul's theology made me just a little skeptical of everything I was hearing.

Fair but not great

Prof. Shutt is a bit tiring to listen to and sounds more like a sportscaster than an educator. The material is organized as little more than cliffnotes and is a bit disappointing consider the higher quality of other audio books in this series.

Not bad

The idea for this series of courses is great. There's literature, history, philosophy. It's a veritable "great courses" series in 84 lectures. However, the individual lectures (and professors) are of mixed quality. Some are outstanding, interesting, well organized; others (e.g., Richeimer) are fairly painful to listen to.

Good Overview

It could have benefited from some sound edited. There are also some rough transitions between topics.