Podcasts about Open Yale Courses

Unsterilized Needles. Concentration Camps. And Arsenic. Put them together and what have you got? The Sleeping Sickness Experiments in Tanzania in the early 20th Century and a WHOLE BUNCH of racism. Digressions include MK Ultra, Inflatable Tube Men, Dexter's Lab, and PEAK coloniser energy S/O to Cartoon Network for letting me use some Dexter Audio :) (Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42wR9udglI8) SOURCES A Cameron-Smith, Chapter One: The History and Culture of Tropical Medicine (2007) Andrew D S Gibson, Miasma revisited: The intellectual history of tropical medicine (2009) Daniel R. Headrick & Philippe Büscher, Sleeping Sickness Epidemics and Colonial Responses in East and Central Africa, 1900–1940 (2014) Diana Duong, This Neglected Tropical Disease Can Lead Its Victims to Paranoia — And Even Death(2018) Edna Bonhomme, When Africa was a German laboratory, Al Jazeera (2020) Gregg Mitman and Paul Erickson, Latex and Blood: Science, Markets and American Empire (2010) Helen Tilley, Africa as a Living Laboratory: Empire, Development, and the Problem of Scientific Knowledge, 1870-1950 (2011) Helen Tilley, Conclusion: Experimentation in Colonial East Africa and Beyond, International Journal of African Historical Studies (2014) Jesse B. Bump, Ifeyinwa Aniebo, Colonialism, Malaria, and the Decolonization of Global Health (2022) Julia Amberger, Robert Koch and the crimes of doctors in Africa, Deutschlandfunk (2020) Open Yale Courses, HIST 234: Epidemics in Western Society Since 1600, Lecture 15 – Tropical Medicine as a Discipline Richard Strong, Strong Describes Novel Expedition, The Harvard Crimson (1926) Stephen Kinzer, Poisoner in Chief (2019) Takudzwa Hillary Chiwanza, Here is How Africa Was Used as a Laboratory for Germany During the Sleeping Sickness Epidemics, The African Exponent (2020) Wolfgang U. Eckart, The Colony as Laboratory: German Sleeping Sickness Campaigns in German East Africa and in Togo, 1900-1914 (2002) World Health Organization, Trypanosomiasis, human African (sleeping sickness) (2022)

Ryan talks to psychology professor and author Paul Bloom about the importance of recognizing our own bias, the role that our character plays in everyday life, why we look to moral exemplars to base our lives on, and more.Paul Bloom is a passionate teacher of undergraduates, and his popular Introduction to Psychology 110 class has been released to the world through the Open Yale Courses program. He has recently completed a second MOOC, “Moralities of Everyday Life”, that introduced moral psychology to tens of thousands of students. And he also presents his research to a popular audience through articles in The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and The New York Times.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail

Robert Nozick’s Anarchy, State and Utopia (1974) was designed as a rebuttal to Rawls but it was so much more than that. It offered a defence of the minimal state that appealed to the writers of The Sopranos and a vision of utopia that appealed to the founders of Silicon Valley. David explores what Nozick wanted to achieve and identifies the surprising radicalism behind his political minimalism.Recommended version to buy Going Deeper:Robert Nozick, The Examined Life (1989)Jonathan Wolff, Robert Nozick: Property, Justice and the Minimal State (1991)Stephen Metcalf, ‘The Liberty Scam’, Slate (2011)[Video] Shelly Kagan, 'Hedonism and Nozick's Experience Machine' (from Open Yale Courses) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What can philosophy teach us about death?Since you could say the goal of philosophy is to help us think and communicate clearly and critically about fundamental aspects of nature and humanity, the answer seems to be—a whole lot.That’s why I’ve decided to take this philosophy of death class, offered by Yale University through its free Open Yale Courses program, and turn my education into podcast episodes we can all learn from.In this introduction episode, I break down how it will all work, and we get a front row seat to lecture one in the series taught by Yale philosophy professor Shelly Kagan. The series is made up of 26 lectures, each of which will get its own episode. My goal is to publish two episodes per month for the next 13 months. This is an experiment so I don’t know how it will turn out. But I’m excited to take this journey with you and see where it takes us. Ready, future philosophers? Death: Lecture one (Open Yale Courses)Death: About/Syllabus/Sessions/Survey/Buy Books (Open Yale Courses)Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 licenseConnectEnjoying Mortality Minded? Please take a minute to share this episode, rate the podcast, or leave a comment. It would be helpful and much appreciated as I continue working to turn my vision into reality.You can join me in exploring mortality and everything that follows from it by subscribing to Mortality Minded wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes and other content are also available on Mortality Minded.If social media's your thing, I’m @MortalityMinded on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Or if you prefer to kick it old school, email me at connect@mortalityminded.comThanks for listening. Until next time, stay mortality minded.(Music: Brass Beat by Blake © 2011 licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.)

After fighting with Skype, Ann Bartow joins us to discuss her experience living, teaching, and researching law and especially IP law in China. Also: feedback, Kerbal Space Program, existential angst, and more. This show’s links: Ann Bartow’s faculty profile and writing Kerbal Space Program The Philosophy Bites podcast Open Yale Courses, Phil 176: Death Renowned IP Scholar Ann Bartow to Lead Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property at UNH Law Ann Bartow, Privacy Laws and Privacy Levers: Online Surveillance versus Economic Development in the People's Republic of China Lijia Zhang, China’s Death-Penalty Debate (noting the changing approach to the death penalty in China and the 2007 move by China’s Supreme Court to assert jurisdiction over death penalty appeals); see also Wikipedia on capital punishment in China (noting more details of the post-2007 appellate procedure) About Chinese patent law China’s IP-related laws and other information as collected by the World Intellectual Property Organization Jeffrey Podoshen, Materialism and Conspicuous Consumption in China China Economic Review, Chinese Shoppers Begin to Master the Art of Subtlety About WeChat China Law and Practice, Copyright Administration Gives in to Musicians China Retains on Foreign Film Quota (noting that, as of February 2014, the foreign film quota was thirty-four films per year) Eric Priest, Copyright Extremophiles: Do Creative Industries Thrive or Just Survive in China's High Piracy Environment? Special Guest: Ann Bartow.

O izobraževanju na spletu. In jazzu. Povezave Printerji na Wirecutterju Šole Coursera MIT Open Courseware edX Stanford Online Open Yale Courses Iversity Drugi ponudniki Khan Academy Lynda fxphd Udemy The Great Courses Code Academy Astra Apparatus in Andrej Video / YouTube TED talks Kako uporabiti papirnato brisačko Videolectures Numberphile Brady Haran CGP Gray Veritasium Kurzgesagt Vsauce Education YouTube Special Guest: Alan Rener.

Professor Gendler explains the interdisciplinary nature of the course: work from philosophy, psychology, behavioral economics, and literature will be brought to bear on the topic of human nature. The three main topics of the course are introduced--happiness and flourishing, morality, and political philosophy--and examples of some of the course’s future topics are discussed. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Spring 2011.

In this lecture, Professor Freedman discusses the Abbasid dynasty, which ruled the Islamic Caliphate beginning in 750. The Abbasids moved the capitol of the Caliphate to the newly-built city of Baghdad and created a state characterized by a strong administration and well-organized tax system. The state sponsored a cultural flowering, based in part on the translation of classical Greek and Roman texts. Professor Freedman ends the lecture by focusing on developments in mathematics and astronomy. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu

Professor Freedman examines how Christianity came to be the official religion of the Roman Empire. This process began seriously in 312, when the emperor Constantine converted after a divinely inspired victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. Constantine’s conversion would have seemed foolish as a political strategy since Christianity represented a completely different system of values from that of the Roman state, but not only did it prove to be a brilliant storke in aid of Constantine’s quest for power, it fundamentally changed the character of the Empire and that of the early Church. Constantine also moved his capitol to a new city he founded in the East, named Constantinople, opening the possibility of a Roman Empire without Rome. Professor Freedman ends the lecture with a comparison of Diocletian and Constantine. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

Scattered visible light and microwave radar can used used to detect clouds and precipitation. Cloud formation in rising air can be simulated in the classroom by suddenly dropping the pressure in a glass chamber. The small cloud droplets formed in this way fall too slowly to ever reach the earth. There are two main mechanisms by which precipitation is generated from clouds. Collision coalescence occurs mainly over tropical oceans whereas the ice phase mechanism is more common and also more relevant to the practice of cloud seeding. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

There is a latitudinal gradient of heat on the Earth caused by the tilt of the Earth’s axis with respect to the sun. This tilt produces seasonal fluctuations in heat input from the sun, as well as an excess of heat received on average annually near the equator. Heat is transferred poleward by both the ocean and atmosphere in an attempt to balance the Earth’s energy budget. The circulation of the Earth also causes a separation of the atmospheric circulation into three main circulation cells, each transporting heat towards the poles. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

The circulation in the atmosphere is composed of three circulation cells in the northern and southern hemispheres. These cells are caused by the rotation of the Earth which creates the Coriolis force. The Coriolis force deflects northern hemisphere motion to the right and southern hemisphere motion to the left. The majority of large-scale motion in the atmosphere is in geostrophic balance, meaning the Coriolis force acting on the motion is balanced by a pressure gradient force. The rotation of cyclones and anticyclones in the northern and southern hemispheres is controlled by this geostrophic balance. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

Large scale air motion in the atmosphere occurring sufficiently above the surface is in geostrophic balance. Areas of high and low pressure anomalies in the atmosphere are surrounded by rotating flow caused by the balance between the pressure gradient and Coriolis forces. The direction of rotation around these pressure anomalies reverses between the northern and southern hemispheres due to the reversal in sign of the Coriolis force across the equator. This can be seen in the reverse direction of the spiraling of clouds in satellite images of hurricanes in the northern and southern hemispheres. Convective storms are also discussed. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

There are three main types of convective storms: airmass thunderstorms, severe thunderstorms and hurricanes. These storms are all driven by the release of latent heat into the atmosphere during condensation of water vapor. Severe thunderstorms include both squall line thunderstorms and tornados. They acquire energy from water vapor in the atmosphere over land and therefore typically require warm air temperatures and high humidity. Hurricanes gain energy from water vapor evaporated from the ocean surface. This requires warm ocean temperatures, and is the reason hurricanes weaken over land. Hurricanes are cyclonic and therefore also require a non-zero Coriolis force to form and maintain their structure. For this reason they cannot form over the equator and cannot cross the equator. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

Mid-latitude frontal cyclones gain energy from temperature gradients rather than latent heat release as is the case with convective storms. They form in the belt of westerly winds and therefore generally move west to east in both the northern and southern hemispheres. A mid-latitude frontal cyclone develops from a kink in the polar front, and eventually warm and cold fronts develop around a low pressure center to form the storm. An example of this type of storm is a nor’easter, which commonly occurs in New England and is named for the northeasterly winds that precede the storm’s arrival. Weather forecasting is also discussed. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

The seasonal cycle on Earth causes shifts in the bands of precipitation in the northern and southern hemispheres. The polar front shifts between high and mid-latitudes which causes a latitudinal shift in the occurrence of frontal cyclones. The Intertropical Convergence Zone also shifts across the equator bringing bands of precipitation to different tropical regions throughout the year. Regional climates on Earth have been classified based on temperature and precipitation values. Areas affected by seasonal shifts in the ITCZ and polar front are included in this classification scheme. Several examples of seasonality are discussed as well as seasonal weather and climate events. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

Plate tectonics and ocean bathymetry are discussed. Bathymetry is the study of ocean depth, which is affected in some regions by plate tectonics and mantle dynamics. Mid-ocean ridges are formed at plate boundaries where mantle material is rising to the ocean crust and solidifying as it cools to form new ocean crust material. Seamounts are volcanoes that have formed from molten mantle material pushing up through the ocean crust, but these volcanoes lie below sea level. These features are measured using acoustic depth profiling. Ocean water properties, such as temperature and salinity, as well as the methods used to measure them are also discussed. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

Stability in the ocean is based on the density of the water. Density must increase with depth in order for the ocean to be stable. Density is a function of both temperature and salinity, with cold salty water having a higher density than warm fresh water. Temperature and salinity in the ocean can be affected by the atmosphere. Heat can be added to or removed from the ocean, and precipitation and evaporation change the salinity of the ocean. Surface winds also act as a forcing mechanism on the ocean by creating a wind stress forcing which pushes surface waters. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

This lecture describes how pollutants mix in the atmosphere. Three cases are considered: confined mixing, unconfined mixing, and unconfined mixing with wind. In a confined volume, the concentration of pollutant in the air depends on the volume and the mass of the air present in the volume. Unconfined mixing is also known as diffusion, in which the pollutant disperses through the air from the source over time. When wind is considered, the pollutant disperses from the source in the direction of the wind. The change in temperature with height in the atmosphere is also discussed. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

The atmosphere forces the ocean in three ways: addition and removal of heat, precipitation and evaporation, and wind stress. The former two processes influence the density of sea water. Gravity acts on these density differences to cause large-scale thermohaline currents Wind driven ocean currents are forced by the wind stress acting on the ocean surface which indirectly causes geostrophic currents. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

Ocean currents are generally divided into two categories: thermohaline currents and wind driven currents. Both types of currents are forced remotely rather than locally. Wind driven currents are initially forced by the wind stress causing water to pile up in certain locations. This produces a pressure gradient, which is then balanced by the Coriolis force and geostrophic currents develop. The gyre circulations found in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are wind driven currents. There is a connection between the physics of these currents and the biological productivity in the ocean. For example, productivity is greatest in areas of equatorial and coastal upwelling as nutrient rich deep water is brought to the sunlit surface. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

The El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon is the primary mode of variability in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. It is composed of two extreme states, El Niño and La Niña. The oscillation between these states can be seen in measurements of sea surface temperature (SST), sea level pressure, thermocline depth, and easterly trade wind strength. Changes in SST and pressure lead to shifting of convective activity across the equatorial Pacific. Changes in the strength of the easterly trade winds lead to changes in the depth of the thermocline, which affect coastal upwelling offshore of South America. If upwelling is reduced, primary productivity is also reduced. The effect of ENSO on atmospheric convection and coastal upwelling makes it an important factor for both agriculture and fishing industries. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

Five types of ice in the climate system are discussed. Sea ice forms when ocean water reaches its freezing temperature of about -2°C. Sea ice is currently found in the Arctic Ocean and around Antarctica. Ice sheets form on land and are composed of compacted snow that has accumulated over time. Ice sheets spread over a land surface and can reach the ocean. If the ice continuity is maintained when the ice sheet reaches the ocean, the ice will float on the water and this is referred to as an ice shelf. Icebergs are large chunks of glaciers that break off into the ocean. They can become grounded in shallow water, but generally are moved by the wind and ocean currents. Mountain glaciers form on mountains and are typically found at high latitudes, but also occur near the equator at sufficiently high elevation. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

Ice on earth is sensitive to climate change and ice plays a role in climate change processes. Recent trends in the Greenland ice sheet provide an important example. Over the past two decades the extent of surface melt water on the ice sheet has increased. Inaddition, satellites have detected a decrease in the overall mass of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Paleoclimate is also discussed in this lecture, with a focus on climate over the last 5 million years. The mid-Pliocene was a particularly warm period from 3.3-3 million years before present. The Pleistocene was a more recent cold period ending with the Last Glacial Maximum about 14,000 years before present. In comparison, the Holocene (12,000 years ago to present) has been a relatively warm stable climatic period. Geomorphology is used to determine the extent of continental ice in the past. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

Isotopes are used to measure past climate properties. Deuterium and oxygen 18 are the most commonly used climate proxies. Lighter isotopes evaporate more readily from the ocean, so water vapor in the atmosphere is isotopically lighter than ocean water. This vapor gets lighter still as it is transported to higher latitudes while losing mass by precipitation. These processes leave an isotopic signal of temperature and continental ice volume in ice cores and deep sea sediment cores. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

Professor Freedman outlines the problems facing the Roman Empire in the third century. The Persian Sassanid dynasty in the East and various Germanic tribes in the West threatened the Empire as never before. Internally, the Empire struggled with the problem of succession, an economy wracked by inflation, and the decline of the local elite which had once held it together. Having considered these issues, Professor Freedman then moves on to the reforms enacted under Diocletian to stabilize the Empire. He attempted to solve the problem of succession by setting up a system of joint rule called the Tetrarchy, to stabilize the economy through tax reform, and to protect the frontiers through militarization. Although many of his policies failed--some within his lifetime--Diocletian nevertheless saved the Roman Empire from collapse. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

Professor Freedman introduces the major themes of the course: the crisis of the Roman Empire, the rise of Christianity, the threats from barbarian invasions, and the continuity of the Byzantine Empire. At the beginning of the period covered in this course, the Roman Empire was centered politically, logistically, and culturally on the Mediterranean Sea. Remarkable for its size and longevity, the Empire was further marked by its tolerance. Although it contained an eclectic mix of peoples, the Empire was unified in part by a local elite with a shared language and customs. In the third century these strengths were increasingly threatened by the Empire’s sheer size, its imbalances, both East-West and urban-rural, and by an army that realizes it could make and unmake emperors. Having set the scene, Professor Freedman looks to subsequent lectures where he will discuss reforms enacted to address these weaknesses. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

The lapse rate describes the rate at which air cools with altitude. Atmospheric stability depends on the lapse rate. When an air parcel is lifted or lowered, it can continue to rise or descend based on the temperature of the surrounding air at the new altitude, which indicates an unstable atmosphere. Inversions can occur in the atmosphere, meaning the air near the ground will be cooler than air aloft. This type of temperature profile can cause air to be trapped near the Earth’s surface in a boundary layer, which can also lead to pollutants being trapped near the ground. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

Several experiments are performed using a water tank with an input flow of water and an output flow. These experiments demonstrate the concepts of equilibrium and steady-state in system analysis and are analogous to various Earth systems; lakes and rivers and the overall heat budget of the planet. The greenhouse effect in the atmosphere is a mechanism for increasing the heat input from the sun in the overall heat budget of the Earth system. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

The hydrostatic law describes the weight of a fluid overlying a given area, or the pressure at a particular point. It can be used to calculate the approximate atmospheric mass over a particular area, or to calculate the change in pressure over a given change in altitude. A calculation of the pressure difference from the ground to the twelfth floor of Klein Biology Tower is found to agree well with measurements taken at both locations. The hydrostatic law also applies to pressure changes with depth in the ocean. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

In this lecture, Professor Freedman introduces Islam. He begins with a discussion of its geographical context: the dry desert lands of the Arabian peninsula. The Bedouins, or nomadic Arabs of the region, lived in a tribal society somewhat similar to the Germanic tribes discussed earlier in the course. Their raids against the Byzantine and the Persian Empire, for lack of strong opposition, would lead to the Arab conquests. The second half of the lecture focuses on the life of Mohammed (570/580 – 632) and the early years of Islam. Mohammed’s revelation was one of the unity of God and a progressive interpretation of God’s prophets, with Mohammed as the last of these. Early Islam was slow to differentiate itself for Christianity and Judaism, though this process accelerated after Mohammed’s flight to Medina in 622. Professor Freedman ends with a discussion of the tenets of Islam and anticipates the discussion of the Arab conquests in the next lecture. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

Professor Freedman begins the lecture by considering the ways historians read the Confessions. In this work, St. Augustine gives unique insight into the life of an intellectual mind in Late Antiquity, into the impact of Christianity on the Roman Empire, and into the problems of early Christianity. The three major doctrinal concerns of the early Church were the problem of evil, the soul-body distinction, and issues of sin and redemption. In the Confessions, St. Augustine searches for explanations of these problems first in Manichaeism, then (Neo)Platonism, and finally Christianity.Underlying this narrative are Augustine’s ideas of opposition to perfectionism, his exaltation of grace, and the notion of sin as indelible, not solvable. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

The Roman Empire in the West collapsed as a political entity in the fifth century although the Eastern part survived the crisis. Professor Freedman considers this transformation through three main questions: Why did the West fall apart – because of the external pressure of invasions or the internal problems of institutional decline? Who were these invading barbarians? Finally, does this transformation mark a gradual shift or is it right to regard it as a cataclysmic end of civilization? Professor Freedman, as a moderate catastrophist, argues that this period marked the end of a particular civilization rather than the end of civilization in general. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

In this lecture, Professor Freedman considers the various barbarian kingdoms that replaced the Western Roman Empire. Oringinally the Roman reaction to these invaders had been to accommodate them, often recruiting them for the Roman army and settling them on Roman land. Now, however, they were the rulers of the previously Roman lands of the West. These tribes included the Ostrogoths and Visigoths in Italy, the Franks in Gaul, and the Vandals in North Africa. As most sources about these groups come from the Roman perspective, it’s unclear how coherent each group was. In general, the barbarian groups characterized by disorganization, internal fighting and internecine feuds, and lack of economic development. Professor Freedman closes with some remarks on the Burgundian Code as evidence of barbarian society and institutions. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

Professor Freedman focuses on the question of how the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire survived, while the West collapsed in the fifth century. He begins with a brief overview of Procopius’ Secret History, a work which presents a highly critical account of the reign of the emperor Justinian. The more urbanized, economically stronger, and geographically more stable Eastern Empire was able to survive while the West was dismantled by barbarian tribes. Yet under pressure from its old enemy, Persia, and new threats, the Slavs and Avars in the West and Arabs in the East, the Eastern Empire experienced a decline in the seventh century. Against the background of this political instability, Professor Freedman also discusses the Christological controversies of Nestorianism and Monophysitism which plagued the Church in the East. Beginning in the late seventh century, Iconoclasm also added to the pressures facing the Eastern Church and Empire. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

Professor Freedman opens by discussing why historians use the writings of Procopius and Gregory of Tours, a sixth century bishop whose history of the Merovingian kings is discussed the following week. Procopius’s three works – The Wars, the adulatory Buildings, and the invective Secret History – are the best sources on the reign of the Emperor Justinian. Under Justinian and his wife Theodora, the Roman Empire reached its height as it reclaimed territories in North Africa and Europe previously lost to the Vandals, Visigoths and Ostrogoths.. However, defeats in war accompanied by heavy taxation led to civil unrest. In addition to the wars, Justinian commissioned a number of large projects like the building of the Hagia Sophia and the organization of Roman law in the Corpus Iuris Civilis. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

Professor Freedman considers the Merovingians as an example of barbarian kingship in the post-Roman world. In the absence of a strong government, Merovingian society was held together by kinship, private vengeance, and religion. Kings were judged by their ability to lead men in war. Gregory of Tours believed that the violence characteristic of Frankish society was useful insofar as the kings wielded it to back up threats of supernatural retribution for bad actions. Professor Freedman ends with a brief summary of the decline of the Merovingians. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

In this lecture, Professor Freedman considers the importance of the British Isles in the early Middle Ages, both in their own right and as an example of a post-Roman frontier society. In the wake of the fifth century Roman withdrawal, England experienced “radical economic simplification.” However, England’s conversion to Christianity beginning at the end of the sixth century brought about a flourishing written culture and Latin learning. Ireland experienced a similar cultural flowering, although it had converted to Christianity centuries earlier. It had never been colonized by the Romans, and the Irish Church was less hierarchical, more decentralized, and placed less importance on bishops than did the Roman. The conversion of England under the competeing influences of Rome and ireland was thus not just a conflict between Christianity and paganism, but also between two administrative styles of Christianity. Professor Freedman ends the lecture with a few remarks on the cultural accomplishments of the British Isles. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

Professor Freedman discusses some of the paradoxes of monasticism in the Early Middle Ages. To the modern mind, monks and learning make a natural pair. However, this combination is not an obvious outcome of early monasticism, which emphasized asceticism and renunciation of the world. As it moved west, monasticism shifted away from its eremetic beginnings in Egypt and Syria to more communal way of life under the Rule of St Benedict. In addition to communal life, the Rule emphasized prayer and labor; the latter of which was interpreted to include reading and eventually the copying of manuscripts. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

In this lecture, Professor Freedman discusses the Islamic conquests. Although they were in some sense religiously motivated, Arab did not attempt to forcibly convert or eradicate Jews, Christians, or other non-Muslims. The conquests began as raids, but quickly escalated when the invaders discovered that Byzantium and Persia were too weak to withstand their assault. In a relatively short period of time, the Arabs were able to conquer an area stretching from Spain to India. Against this background of successful conquests, Islam began to experience deep internal divisions. These began as criticisms of the election of Mohammed’s successors, but broadened to criticize the Caliphate and the ruling family. Out of this strife came the division between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Professor Freedman concludes the lecture with observations on the increasingly non-Arab Muslim populations. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

The emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity brought change to the Roman Empire as its population gradually abandoned the old religions in favor of Christianity. The reign of Julian the Apostate, a nephew of Constantine, saw the last serious attempt to restore civic polytheism as the official religion. The Christian church of the fourth century was divided, however, by two serious heresies: Arianism and Donatism. Religious dissent led to the intervention of the emperors at church councils and elsewhere. Professor Freedman then introduces St. Augustine’s Confessions, including an overview of Platonism. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

In the first half of this lecture, Professor Freedman continues the previous lecture’s discussion of the Abbasids. He highlights their ability to assimilate other cultures, before turning to their decline in the tenth century. In the second half of the lecture, Professor Freedman considers the seventh century, the crucial turning point in the history of early medieval Europe. The seventh century shaped medieval Europe; the period saw the rise of Islam and Northern Europe, fundamental changes in Byzantium, the reorientation of Persia, and the end of the secular elite in the west. Professor Freedman concludes with a few remarks on the Pirenne thesis, which states that the rise of Islam broke up the Mediterranean and paved the way for the rise of northern Europe. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

In this lecture, Professor Freedman surveys major trends in Byzantine history from the sixth to eleventh century, dividing the era into four periods. In the sixth century, under Justinian’s rule, the Byzantine Empire experienced a period of expansion (532-565). However, the Empire was unable to hold on to Justinian’s hard won territories and so contracted for over a century of crisis that threatened its survival (565-717). In the next period, (717-843), the Byzantine army was reorganized and the Empire was able to regain some lost territory. At the same time, the empire was wracked by the conflicts accompanying theological controversies over artistic representations of the sacred (the Iconoclast controversy). Finally, with the religious situation smoothed over, the Byzantine Empire was able to expand further from 843 to 1071. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

In this lecture, Professor Freedman discusses the Carolingian dynasty from its origins through its culmination in the figure of Charlemagne. The Carolingians sought to overthrow the much weakened Merovingian dynasty by establishing their political legitimacy on three bases: war leadership, Christian rule, and the legacy of Rome. Charlemagne’s grandfather Charles Martel won a major victory over the Muslims in 733 at the Battle of Poitiers. Charlemagne’s father Pepin the Short allied the Carolingians with the papacy at a time when the latter was looking for a new protector. Charlemagne, crowned emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III in 800, made strides in reestablishing the Roman Empire; although, being centered in northern Europe, his was not an exact imitation of the Roman Empire. Professor Freedman concludes the lecture with the observation that Charlemagne can be considered the founder of Europe as a political and cultural expression. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

In this lecture, Professor Freedman discusses the Carolingian Renaissance, the revival of learning sponsored by Charlemagne and his successors. The period before the Carolingians saw a decline in learning, evidenced in part by the loss of lay literacy. As literacy became the purview of clerics, monasteries set up scriptoria in order to copy manuscripts on a larger scale. In this context, the Carolingians sponsored a revival of learning both for the sake of bringing educated people into the government and in order to encourage the piety of the people. Professor Freedman ends the lecture by discussing Einhard’s writings on Sts Marcellinus and Peter. Their story illustrates how, in this period, the piety of the well-educated was not all that different from that of the common people. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

In this lecture, Professor Freedman discusses the crisis and decline of Charlemagne’s empire. Increasingly faced with external threats -- particularly the Viking invasions – the Carolingian Empire ultimately collapsed from internal causes, because its rulers were unable effectively to manage such a large empire. In the absence of strong social infrastructure and an idea of loyalty to the ruler, government servants strove to make their positions hereditary and nobles sought to set up independent kingdoms. Although it only lasted for a short time, the Carolingian Empire helped shape the face of Europe, especially through the partitions of the Treaty of Verdun which created territories roughly equivalent to France and Germany. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

In the first part of this lecture, Professor Freedman discusses the emergence of the Vikings from Scandinavia in the ninth and tenth centuries. The Vikings were highly adaptive, raiding (the Carolingian Empire), trading (Byzantium and the Caliphate) or settling (Greenland and Iceland) depending on local conditions. Through their wide-ranging travels, the Vikings created networks bringing into contact parts of the world that were previously either not connected or minimally so. Professor Freedman concludes the lecture, and the course, by considering what’s been accomplished between 284 and 1000. Although Europe in the year 1000 experienced many of the same problems as did the Roman Empire 284 where we began -- population decline and lack of urbanization, among others – the end of the early Middle Ages also arguable heralds the emergence of Europe and Christendom as cultural constructs and sets the stage for the rise of the West. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

This course studies the atmosphere and the ocean as parts of Earth’s climate system. The climate is studied in both quantitative and qualitative ways through use of the textbook, lectures, labs and problem sets. Today’s lecture includes an examination of Hurricane Irene that hit Connecticut a few days ago on August 28. For this, we use several website sources of local weather information:satellite, radar, tide gauges.. The atmosphere is gravitationally attracted to the Earth and is composed of gases that are invisible to the human eye. We are able to detect the presence of the atmosphere through our perceptions of the presence of air and changes in pressure. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

The Perfect Gas Law relates temperature, pressure, and density of gases in the atmosphere. It can be used to demonstrate why warm air rises, cool air sinks, and helium balloons float in the air. Buoyancy forces act in fluids (both water and air) when fluid is displaced by a parcel of a fluid with a different density. A combination of buoyancy force and the relationship given in the Ideal Gas Law govern the motion of parcels of gas in the atmosphere. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.

There are other ways in which we can perceive the existence of the atmosphere, predominantly through our perceptions of pressure. Not all planets have atmospheres, and the existence of an atmosphere depends on the ability of gas molecules to remain trapped close to a planet by its gravitational force. The molecular velocity of each gas molecule depends upon its molecular weight, and must exceed the escape velocity of the planet to leave the atmosphere. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Fall 2011.