Great Courses: The Great Trials of World History And the Lessons They Teach Us

Thursday, March 4

11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Thursday, March 4th and 18th at 11:00 am. No understanding of the past is complete without an understanding of the legal battles that have shaped it. In The Great Trials of World History and the Lessons They Teach Us, Professor Douglas O. Linder takes you back in time to revisit history’s most famous (and infamous) trials, including the Salem Witch Trials, the Scopes “Monkey” Trial, the Nuremburg Trials, and the Trial of O. J. Simpson.

March 4: The Trial of Socrates (Episode 1) The Trial of Gaius Verres (Episode 2) Three Medieval Trials (Episode 3)

March 18: The Trial of Sir Thomas More (Episode 4) The Trial of Giordano Bruno (Episode 5) The Salem Witchcraft Trials (Episode 6)

Suggested readings:

(Episode 1) Stone, I.F. The Trial of Socrates. (Put a hold on it) (Episode 2) Everitt, Anthony. Cicero : The Life and Times of Rome’s Greatest Politician. (download it on Overdrive) (Episode 3) Jager, Eric. The Last Duel : A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat in Medieval France. (Put a hold on it) Llewellyn, Peter. Rome in the Dark Ages (Put it on hold) (Episode 4) Ackroyd, Peter. The Life of Thomas More. (Put a hold on it) Monti, James. The King’s Good Servant but God’s First. (Put a hold on it) (download audio on Hoopla) (Episode 5) Rowland, Ingrid. Giordano Bruno. (Put a hold on it) Gatti, Hilary. Essays on Giordano Bruno. (download on Hoopla) (Episode 6) Boyer, Paul and Nissenbaum, Stephen. Salem Possessed. (Put a hold on it) (download audio on Overdrive or Hoopla) Norton, Mary Beth. In the Devil’s Snare. (Put it on hold) Schiff, Stacy. The Witches: Salem, 1692. (Put a hold on it) (download book or audio on Overdrive)

These episodes are available for viewing using the library’s streaming service Kanopy.

If you have not previously created an account with Kanopy, first set up your account through the library’s website so you have a free subscription.

To join Reference Librarian June Hesler for these live online discussions through Zoom, request an invite by clicking HERE.

If you have previously signed up for a Great Courses program you do not need to request an invite. You are already invited