I love listening to “courses” from The Teaching Company. They’re a for-profit company that hires the best professors across the nation to create audio and video courses. The courses can be a bit on the expensive side and you don’t get any college credit, but they are great if you want to learn something just for yourself.
I recently received an email from them offering a free audio lecture about Duke Ellington, the jazz player. Here’s a blurb about the lecture:
“To celebrate Black History Month, The Teaching Company is proud to present a free lecture, Duke Ellington—the Jazzman. Born Edward Kennedy Ellington in Washington, D.C., into a middle-class African American family, Duke Ellington (1899–1974) was a self-assured and talented musician. He became instrumental in the history of jazz—that wholly American music genre rooted in African rhythmical forms and the gospel/spiritual tradition.”
If you’re thinking about buying material from the Teaching Company, this is a good way to test it out and see if these audio lectures are a good fit. Even if you’re not interested in their wares, you can still download the audio lecture for free. It’s just over a half hour and you’re free to burn it to c.d, share it with your friends, etc.
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You may find my Teaching Company user forum helpful where I review all lectures in their new courses:
http://teachingcompany.12.forumer.com
enjoy it,
Doug van Orsow
forum admin
Wow, Doug, great idea for a forum. Looks like you’ve done a lot of listening / watching.
I was just wondering if you could burn Teaching Company audio cds? My friend has an interesting lecture on finance but not interesting enough for me to pay full price. I am a history guy myself and love the two lectures I have purchased.