Day after day, on camÂpusÂes across the counÂtry, proÂfesÂsors impart invaluÂable knowlÂedge to stuÂdents. And, someÂwhat unforÂtuÂnateÂly, this knowlÂedge has been traÂdiÂtionÂalÂly disÂsemÂiÂnatÂed only so far — which is to say not beyond the classÂroom walls.
We’re perÂhaps at the earÂly stages of seeÂing this change. StanÂford UniÂverÂsiÂty has recentÂly teamed up with Apple to pilot iTunes U — a variÂaÂtion on the iTunes softÂware packÂage that explodÂed into conÂsumer conÂsciousÂness with the iPod revÂoÂluÂtion.
Until recentÂly, StanÂford has used iTunes U to make availÂable a series of one-off lecÂtures, many of them extremeÂly worthÂwhile. (If you have iTunes, click here to enter StanÂford iTunes. If you don’t, you can downÂload it from Apple for free.) But what’s new is the uniÂverÂsiÂty’s deciÂsion to make full-fledged coursÂes availÂable to the pubÂlic. This quarÂter we’re startÂing to see that deciÂsion bear some fruit. In iTunes, you’ll now find weekÂly installÂments of a course called The LitÂerÂaÂture of CriÂsis. Taught by Marsh McCall and MarÂtin Evans, two senior facÂulÂty memÂbers, the course explores how criÂsis — draÂmatÂic perÂsonÂal criÂsis and largÂer sociÂetal criÂsis — have shaped the lives and writÂings of major intelÂlecÂtuÂals, from PlaÂto, to ShakeÂspeare, to Voltaire. Whether you live in Palo Alto, New York, or BanÂgaÂlore, you can subÂscribe to this course as a podÂcast by clickÂing here, and, each week your iPod should autoÂmatÂiÂcalÂly downÂload the latÂest installÂment. (If you don’t have an iPod, you can simÂply lisÂten to the course on your comÂputÂer.)
Click to access:
The Quick Start Guide to StanÂford on iTunes
If you want to subÂscribe to the indiÂvidÂual RSS feeds rolling into StanÂford on iTunes, just click here.
