
Understanding Cultural and Human Geography
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Narrated by:
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Paul Robbins
About this listen
No one is an island. The community where you live, the food you eat, and the people you know are all part of a global chain of connections. Over the past 10,000 years, humans have transformed the planet - yet the planet has also influenced human life in myriad ways. In these 24 eye-opening lectures, take an interdisciplinary voyage across time and around the world to consider the dual nature of our relationship with "place".
With insights drawn from ecology, anthropology, economics, geopolitics, and more, Professor Robbins reveals the underlying structures that explain why the world is the way it is. Understanding global trends and connections - from environmental changes such as deforestation to the way money and labor slosh around the globe - will give you new insights into the story of human civilization and current events.
One key theme of this course is that "place" is a construct. People make (and constantly re-make) places in response to myriad circumstances, ranging from economic conditions to changes in the ecology around them. Indeed, humans have taken over the Earth so completely that some geologists now refer to our era as the Anthropocene - the "human era".
While it is tempting to despair over humanity's takeover of the planet, you see how the picture is surprisingly complex, and that there is reason for optimism. Much of the human impact on the Earth, from deforestation to rapid urbanization, is not an inexorable march of destruction without any means of revitalization.
In addition to the study of the environment, Professor Robbins examines the wide-ranging implications of a world economy. You'll explore the wellspring of culture and delve into the thorny issues of geography, ethnicity, and statehood. When you complete this course, you'll have all the tools you need to look beyond the headlines and analyze world events in a whole new way.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
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Understanding our humanity - the essence of who we are - is one of the deepest mysteries and biggest challenges in modern science. Why do we have bad moods? Why are we capable of having such strange dreams? How can metaphors in our language hold such sway on our actions? As we learn more about the mechanisms of human behavior through evolutionary biology, neuroscience, anthropology, and other related fields, we're discovering just how intriguing the human species is.
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Somewhat Interesting but not Quite as Advertised
- By Adam J Duhame on 10-05-13
By: Robert Sapolsky, and others
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Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior
- By: Mark Leary, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Mark Leary
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
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Every day of your life is spent surrounded by mysteries that involve what appear to be rather ordinary human behaviors. What makes you happy? Where did your personality come from? Why do you have trouble controlling certain behaviors? Why do you behave differently as an adult than you did as an adolescent?Since the start of recorded history, and probably even before, people have been interested in answering questions about why we behave the way we do.
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I wanted to like this course
- By Diane Tincher on 08-06-18
By: Mark Leary, and others
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The Life and Writings of C. S. Lewis
- By: Louis Markos, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Louis Markos
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
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What can we still learn from C.S. Lewis? Find out in these 12 insightful lectures that cover the author's spiritual autobiography, novels, and his scholarly writings that reflect on pain and grief, love and friendship, prophecy and miracles, and education and mythology.
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Basically a collection of sermons
- By Richard on 11-20-13
By: Louis Markos, and others
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The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition
- By: Daniel N. Robinson, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Daniel N. Robinson
- Length: 30 hrs and 11 mins
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Grasp the important ideas that have served as the backbone of philosophy across the ages with this extraordinary 60-lecture series. This is your opportunity to explore the enormous range of philosophical perspectives and ponder the most important and enduring of human questions-without spending your life poring over dense philosophical texts.
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A Hard Review to Write
- By Ark1836 on 11-20-15
By: Daniel N. Robinson, and others
What listeners say about Understanding Cultural and Human Geography
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- HollyHRH
- 04-22-22
This is a must listen!
This was the best Great Courses I have listened to. And I have listened to many. Every human should listen to this lecture series. This series opened my eyes and has me rethinking my place in world geography.
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- Ron A. Parsons
- 02-08-22
Out of date
Suggest population lectures were written with political bias instead of political science.
See more recent BBC documentary(s) on population
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- Peter Southey
- 08-20-16
narrator sublime
the narrator was amazing. his text was word perfect but he delivered it as fresh thoughts extempore. with passion and authority. what a man
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- Greg Soucy
- 01-10-22
Very nuanced introductory level course
Paul Robbins did a good job intoducing many of the basics concepts of modern geography with a lot of the nuance of every issue. One pre-caution is to remember that you're listening to the audio off of a video series on the wondrium (great courses) website. The accompanying pdf helps with that a little, but watching the video may be easier for some listeners. If you're not capable of handling the actual nuances of political topics, this may also not be for you.
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- G Roberts
- 07-23-18
Intersting group of cultural geography lectures
Intersting collection of cultural geography lectures that demonstated how 'place' helps define a culture and how a culture helps define a place.
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- Stef
- 03-27-24
Critical Thinking Maps edition
Never take anything at immediate face value, no map is perfect and there always has to be a compromise, thus all maps are biased whether by accident or not. I truly feel like I learnt a lot.
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-02-22
Incredible
This is not my field of expertise by any means. I learned a lot and was surprised how much geographies affect the world we live in.
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- 77Tango
- 03-20-19
Essential, Engaging & Data-rich - 1 big complaint
This is an absolutely essential listen for anyone interested in having an informed, historical and science-based understanding of how geography impacts human civilization. The professor is extremely cogent and engaging.
My only complaint is his early rushed and mischaracterizing critique of Jared Diamond's work. It does everyone a disservice - especially future readers.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Francis de Sales
- 11-27-18
A must for whoever is interested in social and political science
The first five lectures weren’t my cup of tea. However, later lectures drew me in. I thoroughly enjoyed the course. Fascinating choice of topics the lecturer provided enough information both to inform and to raise interest in the subjects he discussed. As an economist and a social scientist I never appreciated or understood the work of geographers. This course changed my perceptions and instilled in me an appreciation for geography as a discipline and geographers in general.
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4 people found this helpful
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- fjness
- 07-25-18
freshmen or sophomore level info
The course was well executed but it was not the detailed information I was looking for. His intended audience is brand new students of geography. He provides interesting case studies to make his point. Its worth the money if you have never read a book on the topic.
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4 people found this helpful