This course explores the role that war has played in shaping the United States of America. The lectures begin with the American Revolution and an examination of how America was born in war. The discussion continues with the "forgotten" War of 1812 and then turns to the Mexican-American War and the Spanish-American War.

In this course, award-winning historian Jay Winik examines the climactic period near the end of the Civil War - a period that could have destroyed America, but saved it instead. April 1865 is a month as dramatic and devastating as any faced in this nation's history - and it proved to be the most moving and decisive month not simply of the Civil War, but quite likely, in the life of the United States.

This all-encompassing investigation of a highly influential time period includes the major events of the era and informative discussion of empire, papacy, the Crusades, and the fall of Constantinople. During the course of these lectures, Professor Madden also addresses the rise of Islam, reform movements, and schisms in the church. In so doing, Professor Madden underscores the significance and grand scale of an age that continues to hold an undeniable fascination for people today.

This course will examine the growth and development of the largest empire in world history - the British Empire - beginning with the late 15th century Tudor dynasty in England and ending with the death of the Queen-Empress Victoria in 1901.

In the first century of its existence, Christianity was both welcomed and vilified throughout the Roman Empire. Many of Christianity's original adherents were martyred. Christians themselves practiced their religion with great diversity, linked as much to local influences as theology. Political intrigue, theological beliefs, and simple misunderstandings created a need for dialogue between the many practitioners of the growing faith.

The legal system in America is the basis of freedom as we know it today. The system is based, ultimately, on the common law of England, but it has grown, developed, and changed over the years. American law has been a critical factor in American life since colonial times. It has played a role in shaping society, but society - the structure, culture, economy, and politics of the country - has decisively shaped the law. Through history, the legal system has been intimately involved with every major issue in American life.

An enthusiastic admirer of the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, professor and philosopher Peter Kreeft details the rational thought and precise literary talent that established Aquinas as the foremost thinker of his time - and as the most important philosopher for the almost 200 years between Aristotle and Descartes.

This series of lectures explores specific technologies, most of which we take for granted today, to offer a general picture of the economic and social development of Western nations from 1760 to 1900.

Esteemed history professor Thomas F. Madden explores the reformations that swept across Christendom in the 16th and 17th centuries. The impact of these reforms affected government, popes, and kings as well as commoners, for at this time the Church was an omnipresent part of European identity-and the import of Church reforms on every level of life at this time simply cannot be underestimated.

This is the story of the American Revolution, the men who made it and who then secured it. It is the story of an improbable victory by a provincial collection of loosely knit colonies over the dominant military and political power in the world. It is also the story of the creation of a nation founded on principles that no one at the time regarded as viable, and that over time have come to be regarded as the most successful recipe for political success in the modern world.

The coauthor, editor, or coeditor of seven books on American politics, Ken Masugi of Johns Hopkins University has been a speechwriter for two cabinet members. Examining the founding of the American political system through the classic works of Democracy in America author Alexis de Tocqueville, this course explores the big ideas of the American experiment.

Had the Angles and Saxons not purposefully migrated to the isles of the Britons and brought with them their already-well-developed use of language, Angelina Jolie may never have appeared in the movie Beowulf. Professor Michael D.C. Drout is at his best when lecturing on the fascinating history, language, and societal adaptations of the Anglo-Saxons.

Professor Thomas F. Madden leads these compelling lectures, focusing on a Church both adapting to a world in flux and striving to exert its influence and power. Throughout modernity, the Church responded to and weathered a host of major world events: the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, colonization of the New World, and of course the World Wars. As the face of the Church, the popes affected Catholicism in ways that can only be truly understood from a careful examination of the past.

The best science fiction asks essential questions: What does it mean to be human? Are we alone in the universe, and what does it mean if we're not? Esteemed professor Michael D. C. Drout traces the history of science fiction in this series of stimulating lectures. From Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to today's cutting- edge authors, Drout offers a compelling analysis of the genre, including a look at the golden age of science fiction, New Wave writers, and contemporary trends in the field.

This course explores the tenures of the men who held our nation's highest office during the 20th-century. The lectures look at each president and examine his strengths and weaknesses, as well as the times in which he served. Through this analysis, listeners will develop a better understanding not only of this supreme office and how it has taken shape, but also how it has shaped America and, indeed, the modern world.