Interpreting the 20th Century: The Struggle Over Democracy

By: Pamela Radcliff, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Pamela Radcliff

Length: 24 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Consider the intense and rapid changes that transformed the political, social, and economic struggles of the world during the 20th century: the first flight and space flight, the Manhattan Project and the welfare state, Nietzsche and Freud, the Great Depression and inflation, moving pictures and home computers, the Cold War and terrorism - and war and peace.

These 48 comprehensive lectures examine this extraordinary history and provide a multidisciplinary understanding of how the modern world came to be and how democracy has emerged as a political ideal, although the parameters of a truly democratic world order are still being vigorously contested. You'll see how the 20th century can be read as a history of ideas, and how those ideas both influenced events and were in turn influenced by them to shape today's world.

Professor Radcliff not only distills political and economic trends from a century of world history, but she explains them with clarity, drawing on other disciplines as necessary to make key points come alive. She defines the perspective of this course as including what she calls the "Enlightenment Project" - the adoption of liberal, democratic, rationalist principles in much of the world - while emphasizing the unresolved nature of the struggle for democracy.

As you move chronologically through the century, you'll explore a range of ideas in depth, including the "crisis of meaning" unleashed by World War I, the different approaches of Fascism and Communism to organizing and mobilizing masses, and how art provided a window into the psychological forces swirling through public life. Detailed case studies also bring history's ideas alive.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2004 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2004 The Great Courses

A must listen for beginning​ writers!

The first 2/3 of the course have to do with the technical aspects of nonfiction writing. The final third provides very practical suggestions for the beginning writer.

Lots of information not covered by our right wing

Media coverage of these more recent events has smacked of right wing nationalism. It's great to hear the facts delivered so articulately. During the presentations of democracies that have failed, I couldn't help but see remarkable parallels to the United States today. Pretty scary that WE THE PEOPLE have allowed our country to be sold out from underneath us

Informative

From an older, indigenous perspective, the book is hugely informative, easy to follow and instructive. Radcliff provides an insight into dominant ideological forces such as racism and capitalism that shapes and defines the current global impetus for expansion, power and greed. Underpinning Radcliff's democracy theme are concepts such as fascism and communism juxtaposed against liberal/neoliberal principles which triggered several 'ahaaa!' moments for me and emphasized 'what not to' do in our struggle for freedom and authority. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and commend the author.

Truly a gem

I have a degree in political science, psychology, an LLB and my MBA. I have always had an interest for history and always regretted not taking more classes in that field. Now I can say I am starting to make up for it. This is a wonderful product, very thoughtful and fair. The lectures are rich, well organized and try to present critiques from various political science streams when appropriate. I will be listening to some of them again no doubt. Thank you for an enriching series.

So good!

Thoroughly enjoyed these lectures. Learned a ton about the United States and the rest of the world. But the thing that I will probably take from these lectures is a deeper appreciation of and commitment to democracy as an ideal form of government. Even after 24 hours of listening, I wanted more. Thank you Pamela Radcliff!

Great overall book!

I liked how the book got into more detail than other history books that I normally read. I felt that the book started off a bit slow. But then it got its stride and I was really captivated by the narrative. The narrator has a nice soothing voice.

Great

Really interesting take on recent history. Solid narration, although she starts a little rough. Totally worth a listen.

No more 'other words' please

Overall, a good course with many useful insights. My only complaint is the lecturer's apparent inability to quit saying 'in other words.' She says this a minimum of 5 times per lecture, sometimes many more. In one span of about a minute and a half, she said it 3 times. As annoying as a Valley Girl's 'like' or the early John Denver's 'far out.' Stop It!!!!!

Making the 20th Century much more understandable.

Dr Radcliffe clearly and succinctly shows the major themes, philosophies and cultures of the last century and how they impact upon us.

Refreshingly Global, Wonderfully Interpretive

This is an excellent history course for a number of reasons. The first is that it makes an attempt at global coverage, which is rare. We hear about Asian and African and South American countries that are often ignored in Western-centric modern histories. Another is that it is interpretive -- not merely stating facts but identifying larger themes and tendencies as well. It also tackles social and cultural events and changes of the century, giving a history of ideas, not merely politics -- and the 20th century is a time when ideas were very powerful. Finally its nice to hear a woman's perspective on the 20th century; there seem to be very few female lecturers on history in the Great Courses' repertoire, which may be representative of the field writ large, but is nonetheless disappointing from such a great company.

As far as performance goes, Radcliff -- just like all the other Great Courses people -- is a professor and not an orator, but she has a fine, NPR-ish voice that makes for very decent listening. Someone else pointed out that she says "in other words" (or its equivalents) a lot, which she does -- but the re-wording that follows always helps to elucidate the point, so I can't consider it a fault.