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Great Courses
From ancient literature to medieval theology to enlightenment philosophy to modern economic theory, the Great Courses teaching company has for over 20 years been in the business of offering video and audio lectures from well-regarded professors on the foundational disciplines that shape human existence. Courses focus on the canonical works of each subject, be it Plato, Adam Smith, Beethoven, Marcus Aurelius, Kant, Newton, Weber, or the like.
And with over 350 courses available, 9 million copies sold, and annual sales of $110 million, business is good.
Heather Mac Donald of City Journal recently profiled the Chantilly, Virginia based company. In 2006, private equity firm Brentwood Associates acquired a majority stake; since then profits have doubled. "Few Businesses have such a passionate consumer base," Brentwood's Eric Reiter tells Mac Donald, "Nine out of ten people on the street have never heard about it, but nine out of ten, upon learning about the product, want it."
ACTA applauds the Great Courses and its founder Thomas M. Rollins for marrying market demand and the need for intellectual engagement. But, Mac Donald suggests, the company's success illuminates the bewildering lack of a similar pedagogy at the university level despite voracious interest in the subject matter. Profits are likely evidence enough, but ACTA's research further demonstrates that today's college students and professionals are clamoring for an education grounded in the cornerstones of human thought and sorely missing in the modern academy. Our recent Roper survey found that 70 percent of Americans believe colleges and universities should require students to take basic classes in core subjects such as writing, math, science, economics, U.S. history, and foreign language - that number jumps to 80 percent among 25- to 34-year-olds. And yet, more than 60 percent of all colleges and universities rated in our What Will They Learn? report scored a "C" grade or worse for requiring three or fewer of these core subjects. As far as many colleges are concerned, Plato and Shakespeare are on the same plane as, say, "Beer and Society" at Furman University or "Women in Refrigerators and Beyond: A Feminist Approach to Reading Comic Books" at Indiana University - South Bend.
Great Courses has admirably filled this intellectual vacuum for its market, but it simply cannot replace a renewed commitment from our colleges and universities to a rigorous education grounded in the great works, people, and ideas of human history. Trustees - take note!
Posted by Max Brindle on September 20, 2011 at September 20, 2011 09:46 AM
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