23 - Paradise XXX, XXXI, XXXII, XXXIII
Professor Mazzotta lectures on the final cantos of Paradiso (30-33). The pilgrim's journey through the physical world comes to an end with his ascent into the Empyrean, a heaven of pure light beyond time and space. Beatrice welcomes Dante into the Heavenly Jerusalem, where the elect are assembled in a celestial rose. By describing the Empyrean as both a garden and a city, Dante recalls the poles of his own pilgrimage while dissolving the classical divide between urbs and rus, between civic li
20 - Paradise XVIII, XIX, XXI, XXII
In this lecture, Professor Mazzotta examines Paradiso 18-19 and 21-22. In Paradiso 18, Dante enters the heaven of Jupiter, where the souls of righteous rulers assume the form of an eagle, the emblem of the Roman Empire. The Eagle's outcry against the wickedness of Christian kings leads Dante to probe the boundaries of divine justice by looking beyond the confines of Christian Europe. By contrasting the political with the moral boundaries that distinguish one culture from another, Dante opens
17 - Paradise IV, VI, X
This lecture deals with Paradiso 4, 6 and 10. At the beginning of Paradiso 4, the pilgrim raises two questions to which the remainder of the canto is devoted. The first concerns Piccarda (Paradiso 3) who was constrained to break her religious vows. The second concerns the arrangement of the souls within the stars. The common thread that emerges from Beatrice’s reply is the relationship between intellect and will. Just as Piccarda’s fate reveals the limitations of the will, the represent
13 - Purgatory XIX, XXI, XXII
This lecture deals primarily with Purgatorio 19, 21 and 22. The ambiguity of the imagination discussed in the preceding lecture as the selfsame path to intellectual discovery and disengagement is explored in expressly poetic terms. While the pilgrim’s dream of the siren in Purgatorio 19 warns of the death-dealing power of aesthetics, the encounter between Statius and Virgil in the cantos that follow points to its life-giving potential by casting poetry as a means of conversion.
08 - Inferno XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII
Professor Mazzotta begins this lecture by recapitulating the ambivalent nature of Ulysses’ sin and its relevance to Dante’s poetic project. Inferno 27 is then read in conjunction with the preceding canto. The antithetical relationship between Dante’s false counselors, Ulysses and Guido da Montefeltro, anchors an overarching discussion of the relationship between rhetoric and politics. The latter half of the lecture is devoted to Inferno 28, where Dante’s preeminent sower of discord, B
05 - Inferno IX, X, XI
In this lecture, Professor Mazzotta discusses Inferno 9-11. An impasse at the entrance to the City of Dis marks Virgil’s first failure in his role as guide (Inferno 9). The invocation of Medusa by the harpies that descend while they wait for divine aid elicits Dante’s first address to the reader. The question of literary mediation, posed in the previous lecture in the context of Inferno 5, is explored further, and the distinction Dante draws between the “allegory of poets” and the “
2.019 Design of Ocean Systems (MIT)
This course is the completion of the cycle of designing, implementing and testing an ocean system, including hardware and software implementation, that begins with 2.017J. Design lectures are given in hydrodynamics, power and thermal aspects of ocean vehicles, environment, materials and construction for ocean use, electronics, sensors, and actuators. Student teams work within schedule and budget, setting goals, reviewing progress, and making regular and final presentations. Instruction and pract
01 - Introduction
Professor Mazzotta introduces students to the general scheme and scope of the Divine Comedy and to the life of its author. Various genres to which the poem belongs (romance, epic, vision) are indicated, and special attention is given to its place within the encyclopedic tradition. The poem is then situated historically through an overview of Dante's early poetic and political careers and the circumstances that led to his exile. Professor Mazzotta concludes by discussing the central role Dante
26 - Race and Reunion: the Civil War in American Memory
Having dealt with the role of violence and the Supreme Court in bringing about the end of Reconstruction in his last lecture, Professor Blight now turns to the role of national electoral politics, focusing in particular on the off-year Congressional election of 1874 and the Presidential election of 1876. 1874 saw the return of the Democrats to majority status in the Senate and the House of Representatives, as voters sick of corruption and hurt by the Panic of 1873 fled the Republicans in droves.
The Joy of Economics: Making Sense out of Life
My goal is to provide an accessible book that reflects this theme of choice and conveys a sense of the breadth and power of basic economic analysis. It assumes no prior knowledge of economics and can be read and appreciated by anyone. While some parts of the book cover conventional material, others do not. I've ignored many traditional topics and substituted ones that apply economics in unusual and often provocative ways. The chapters are not meant to be definitive, they are meant to raise q
In depth explanation of the Immune System- Animated
Compares the body to a house or fort in need of military protection. Describes the immune system as soldiers protecting the fort. Shows process and steps and process the body/immune system goes through to protect from the cold virus. Shows the communication between the body and cells to combat illness and may destroy some cells that carry an illness. References how cells can remember a virus to combat it if the body comes into contact with it again.
Christopher Columbus in a Nutshell
A brief animated video that gives an overview of the life of Christopher Columbus and his voyage.
Ten Commandments Of The Native American Indian
A basic presentation of these Commandments. Good for any study of the Native Americans by students.
AlgTop2: Homeomorphism and the group structure on a circle
This is the first video of the second lecture in this beginner's course on Algebraic Topology. We give the basic definition of homeomorphism between two topological spaces, and explain why the line and circle are not homeomorphic.
Then we introduce the group structure on a circle, or in fact a general conic, in a novel way, following Lemmermeyer and as explained by S. Shirali.
This gives a gentle intro to the definition of a group. It also uses Pascal's theorem in an interesting way, so we gi
17.552 Political Economy of Chinese Reform (MIT)
This course focuses on China's transition from plan to market. What has the trajectory of institutional change in China been, and how has growth been achieved? Is that growth sustainable? Subject examines specific aspects of reform (enterprise, fiscal, financial, social welfare), and the systemic consequences of interaction between various reform measures. Additional topics include the interaction between political and economic change, the transformation of state-society relations, and the gener
21F.035 Topics in Culture and Globalization (MIT)
The concept of globalization fosters the understanding of the interconnectedness of cultures and societies geographically wide apart; America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Subject scans existing debates over globalization around the world. This course explores how globalization impacts everyday life in the First and Third World; how globalization leads to a common cosmopolitan culture; the emergence of a global youth culture; and religious, social, and political movements that challenge globalizati
17.57J Soviet Politics and Society, 1917-1991 (MIT)
At its greatest extent the former Soviet Union encompassed a geographical area that covered one-sixth of the Earth's landmass. It spanned 11 time zones and contained over 100 distinct nationalities, 22 of which numbered over one million in population. In the 74 years from the October Revolution in 1917 to the fall of Communism in 1991, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, its leaders and its people, had to face a number of difficult challenges: the overthrow of the Tsarist autocracy, the est
17.508 The Rise and Fall of Democracy/ Regime Change (MIT)
Coups, civil wars, revolutions, and peaceful transitions are the "real stuff" of political science. They show us why politics matters, and they highlight the consequences of political choices in times of institutional crisis. This course will help you understand why democracies emerge and why they die, from ancient times to the recent wave of democratization in Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, and the developing world.
Few things are more dramatic than the collapse of a political system, whether
MAS.666 Developmental Entrepreneurship (MIT)
This class surveys developmental entrepreneurship via case examples of both successful and failed businesses and generally grapples with deploying and diffusing products and services through entrepreneurial action. By drawing on live and historical cases, especially from South Asia, Africa, Latin America as well as Eastern Europe, China, and other developing regions, we seek to cover the broad spectrum of challenges and opportunities facing developmental entrepreneurs. Finally, we explore a rang
17.037 American Political Thought (MIT)
This course surveys American political thought from the colonial era to the present. Required readings are drawn mainly from primary sources, including writings of politicians, activists, and theorists. Topics include the relationship between religion and politics, rights, federalism, national identity, republicanism versus liberalism, the relationship of subordinated groups to mainstream political discourse, and the role of ideas in politics. We will analyze the simultaneous radicalism and weak
