Catalog Search Results
Publisher
Ideas Roadshow
Language
English
Description
Five experts (John Dunn, Karl Gerth, Martin Jay, Josiah Ober, and Quentin Skinner) give their perspectives on different aspects of democracy: its meaning in different cultures and in different times, and possible ways to improve the way it works today.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Language
English
Description
Fifty years after Solon's reforms, a tyrant named Peisistratus seized power. The overthrow of his tyranny, and the ensuing skirmish among different aristocratic groups, led to the rise of Cleisthenes, a truly innovative leader. Find out how he undermined the old aristocratic system and carried the democratic experiment forward.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Language
English
Description
Among Greek city-states, Athens was not alone in having a form of democratic rule. As you'll discover in this lecture, Greek governments ran on a sliding scale from oligarchy and democracy to kingship and tyranny. Delve into Homer's epics to examine several early examples of democratic assembly.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Language
English
Description
Today, legislative and judicial oversight of the presidency are a permanent part of American government and critical to limiting and restraining the possibility of executive abuse. In this lecture, learn how our system of checks and balances came to exist - with, among other things, a close look at the landmark judicial review case, Marbury v. Madison.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Language
English
Description
After the Nixon presidency, Congress and the American public became convinced that an independent investigator function was essential. Twenty years later, they let that function expire. Follow the swing from the Nixon era to the independent counsel of the Reagan and Clinton eras back to the special counsel leading the investigation of Russian election hacking and the 2016 Trump campaign.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Language
English
Description
Investigate the use of presidential pardons. Start by looking at two general types of pardons in American history: the "justice and mercy" pardon and the "peacefulness" pardon. Then, focus on key questions about the presidential pardon power: Can American presidents pardon co-conspirators for crimes they've committed, thereby frustrating an investigation? Can they pardon themselves?
Publisher
The Great Courses
Language
English
Description
Go inside one of the hallmark institutions of Athenian democracy. Open to freeborn citizens older than age 20, the popular assembly met 10 times a year and was for many citizens who lived some distance from Athens a three-day affair - one reason Athenian citizenship might seem like a full-time job. Listen to the some of the debates and arguments of a typical assembly meeting.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Language
English
Description
Presidential lies can undermine our belief in the fairness of our system of government and our faith in its legitimacy. In this lecture, focus on how the president isn't special when it comes to certain matters of law and evidence (lying under oath, obstruction of justice, and grand jury subpoenas) - as well as some key caveats to this view.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Language
English
Description
Even if formally cleared of wrongdoing, a president or a presidential aide may live with the stigma of investigation forever thanks to an independent counsel's report. First, explore why many investigations typically happen behind closed doors. Then, turn to how the rules are different for presidents and their senior staff (and whether or not that's a good idea).
Publisher
The Great Courses
Language
English
Description
The most significant confrontation between a president and a president's investigators happens not in a court of law but in the court of public opinion. Often, the "storyline" is the deciding factor in how an investigation will be seen by future historians. Examine four different tactics used by President Bill Clinton and his team that helped them achieve a public relations victory.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Language
English
Description
To understand Athenian democracy, we first must understand Athens as a polis, or city-state, within the broader context of ancient Greece. Review the territory of Attica and get the lay of the land for Athenian government in the 6th and 7th centuries BC. Then, witness the great crisis that led to Solon's reforms and set Athenian democracy on its course.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Language
English
Description
Who were the citizens of Athens? As you'll reflect on in this lecture, perhaps as low as one-fifth of Athenian residents were citizens. Women, slaves, and resident aliens were excluded. Learn about the responsibilities of citizens, and the lives of those who could not participate.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Language
English
Description
Explore the Athenians’ view of their great political experiment: democracy. In 24 history-rich episodes, Professor Robert Garland takes you into the world of leaders like Solon, Cleisthenes, and Pericles, as well as the judgments of contemporary historians such as Herodotus and Thucydides. The result is a fascinating story of what is arguably the boldest political initiative in history.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Language
English
Description
Shift your attention to another important arm of the government. Explore the roles of the Council of 500 officials chosen by lot, required to serve for a whole year, as well as the respected (if not particularly powerful) magistrates known as archons. Then, review the relatively limited systems of taxation and welfare in ancient Athens.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Language
English
Description
Take a break from the historical narrative to explore the world of the theater, one of Athens's greatest cultural achievements. As you will learn in your study of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Aristophanes, and others, there is a strong connection between politics and the theater.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Language
English
Description
According to Professor Garland, the conclusion of the Greco-Persian Wars in the early 5th century BC was Athens' finest hour. Then, came the truly astonishing reforms of 462 BC, when Ephialtes and Pericles attacked the aristocratic Areopagus and instituted radical democracy - direct, participatory rule for all Athenian citizens, an unprecedented experiment.
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