European Thought and Culture in the 19th Century

By: Lloyd Kramer, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Lloyd Kramer

In the 19th century, Europe was the crucible for most of the ideas, institutions, and "isms" that now shape the life of our entire planet- nationalism, capitalism, democracy, socialism, feminism, and the list goes on and on. But where did these ideas come from? How did the particular conditions of Europe between the French Revolution and the First World War shape these thinkers' ideas, the thoughts of their critics, the progress of the debates that went on between them, and the wider hearing that all received?

Over the course of 24 sweeping lectures, Professor Kramer invites you to view intellectual history as a series of overlapping, interconnected dialogues, which will help you deepen your understanding of the ideas of influential 19th-century European intellectuals; reflect on the interactions between ideas and social experience; and think critically and creatively about how the ideas of 19th-century Europe's leading thinkers and writers still raise a host of cogent questions for our own time.

You will examine not only famous thinkers like Marx, Darwin, and Nietzsche, but a number of important, though less well-remembered, figures including the romantic author Germaine de Staël, the positivist Auguste Comte, the novelist and feminist George Sand, the political theorist Benjamin Constant, and many others-each placed in a context and linked both to other creative thinkers and the major issues of the time.

Beginning the legacy of the 18th-century Enlightenment and its connection to the French Revolution and ending with the philosophy of Nietzsche, this ambitious course is rich with great-and lasting-ideas.

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

©2001 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2001 The Great Courses

Very good summery

The course brings the bottom line of the major ideas of the 19th century in clear and understandable way. It is a great introduction, but won't lead you deep into the ideas or texts.

I learned experience

I love the different perspectives in philosophies of this time period
Definitely a learning experience

Outstanding deep look into history of intellectual thought during the 1900s

Incredibly well articulated lecture series,
covering in depth all the major intellectual ideas simply Spectacular set of lectures

One of the best great courses I've listened to

Wonderful narration and fascinating topic presented in an engaging and unpretentious manner. Will listen to again!

Too little detail, too much repetition

Professor Kramer has an admirable sense of organization: He lets you know exactly where he's going with each lecture, and with a subject as sweeping as this he covers a lot of important themes. He doesn't go deep on any of them -- this course is on an undergraduate level. My main complaint is that he spends too much time setting the stage with general descriptions of each movement or period he's discussing (repeating them several times) before zeroing in on the personal figures who exemplify the qualities of that movement or period. He could have taken a cue from some of the novelists he discusses who knew that personal stories tell the big story. Instead, you get twenty minutes on the qualities of the romantic hero (which are pretty obvious) and two minutes on Lord Byron.