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During the spring of 2004, two sessions of 21H.931 were recorded especially for OpenCourseWare. Below are links to the videos, along with breakdowns of the video content.
These files are also available from iTunes® and YouTube™.
Session 1
Video: (56K)|(80K)|(220K)
| 1 | Tolkien's academic style is not all that dissimilar to his academic style. | 00:00:13 | | 2 | Cantor's assessment of the Narnia series. | 00:01:10 | | 3 | Capitalism and Tolkien: Marxist school of thought in the '70s said that Tolkien phenomenon was so popular and profitable, it must be a manifestation of capitalism. | 00:06:40 | | 4 | How do you square Bynum with the Medieval sensibility of Lewis's "Discarded Image" or Tolkien's made up world? | 00:07:47 | | 5 | Popular exposure to Medieval culture: do modern people "get" Medieval references? | 00:09:25 | | 6 | Modern scientific models / beliefs vs. Medieval understanding of the universe. | 00:10:56 | | 7 | Lewis's characterization of the Medieval mindset. | 00:20:58 | | 8 | Is Lewis inconsistent in his theory that theology is separate from the general cultural model? Modern science vs. religion. | 00:24:37 | | 9 | Is Tolkien writing a story, or is he writing history? Is it more scholarly than a work of fiction? | 00:33:27 | | 10 | Braudel: the impact of the German prisoner of war experience, a longing for something that was not modern (early modern), and a strong attachment to place. How is this similar to the Lord of the Rings series? | 00:40:45 | | 11 | Why do many people believe that World War I had such an incredible cultural impact, compared with previous wars? | 00:45:20 | | 12 | Was there anything heroic about World War I? What is the difference between a World War I hero and a Beowulf-style hero? | 00:48:40 | | 13 | Heroism in the Lord of the Rings: who is the hero in the Lord of the Rings? | 00:54:10 | | 14 | How are Tolkien's and Lewis's intense experiences with Christian theology reconciled in their writings? | 01:12:32 | | 15 | Heroism and death: what happens after life? Where do Anglo-Saxon narratives fit in Tolkien's world? | 01:17:09 | | 16 | Tolkien's world is masculinist and violent. What would Tolkien say? How do women affect peace in Beowulf? | 01:31:23 | | 17 | Tolkien and the "Germanic Ideal": ancestry, heritage, race, and World War II. Tolkien's opinion of Hitler and his ideas. Tolkien vs. Braudel on these topics with respect to World War II as a "world gone mad." | 01:35:56 |
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Session 2
Video: (56K)|(80K)|(220K)
| 1 | Methods of analyzing historical data: quantitative vs. qualitative. How to choose a method of data analysis. | 00:02:03 | | 2 | What about accidentally found data? How should those sources be categorized? How should they be looked at in terms of veracity and accuracy? | 00:11:40 | | 3 | Images and truth: what is actually true vs. what is a representation of period culture. | 00:18:44 | | 4 | How historians make sense of data and evidence that might be contradictory. | 00:24:35 | | 5 | How do historians report statistics in historical documents? Are statistics accurate? What is their purpose? The process of anonymous refereeing of journal articles. | 00:33:04 | | 6 | How does a History department work? What do the professors have in common? Is there a common thread through the department? Is there a concept of a coherent curriculum? How should history be taught? | 00:41:00 | | 7 | How do historians deal with gaps in their knowledge base? How much reading is enough? What about people who work in multidisciplinary areas (economics and history, sociology and history, etc.)? | 00:49:45 | | 8 | What makes a historian a historian? A PhD? What do historians have in common? Postulate: historians are driven more by narrative than by analysis. | 01:04:46 | | 9 | Why do history at all? What is the difference between a historian and an antiquarian? History offers a unique perspective on the present: the ability to take stock of where we are today by means of comparison. | 01:12:06 | | 10 | It is easier to make connections to the past if the gap of time is less vs. a larger gap of time. Individuals, as autonomous beings, maintain their own history. When historical events are far back in time, there is no personal connection at all. | 01:24:55 | | 11 | Anachronism vs. antiquarianism: how does a good historian find a balance? | 01:34:20 | | 12 | Is pain historically constructed? Is pain today the same as pain in ancient times? Is pain a universal human experience, true for all time, or does it change? | 01:37:17 | | 13 | How do historians relate to each other? How do people communicate within a fractured discipline? | 01:44:08 |
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