Professor Kozlowski Lectures

Professor Kozlowski concludes his General Humanities lecture series with an analysis of two Medieval lays - Sir Orfeo and Sir Launfal. Here we'll see how the Medieval writers adapt and understand the pagan traditions underlying their own culture as a part of their Christian faith.

Professor Kozlowski here expresses his very limited knowledge and very uninformed interpretation of the Qu'ran, especially as it pertains to Jews, Christians, and the afterlife. He then goes on to explore Ibn Sina's thoughts on the afterlife as presented in The Book of Healing. None of this should be considered authoritative or rooted in expertise. Professor Kozlowski is absolutely still a novice in his study of Islam and Islamic theology, and this very much represents an interested outsider searching for and speculating about context, rather than an informed opinion. But it's better than nothing, hopefully

Professor Kozlowski wanders well out of his comfort zone and scholarly experience to discuss the history of the two great powers of the medieval world: the Byzantine (Roman) Empire and the Islamicate World. He apologizes for the roughness of his knowledge and understanding, but hopes that he can help make this discussion a more integral part of the study of world history.

Today Professor Kozlowski tackles another favorite philosophical work in Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy - a foundational text of medieval Christian philosophy and one of the most articulate discussions of virtue, the character of God, and the Problem of Evil in Christianity's history.

Professor Kozlowski tackles the ethics of the Sermon on the Mount, the veiled allusions of the Kingdom of Heaven parables, and the moral quandary of identifying hypocrisy in the Gospel of Matthew.

Professor Kozlowski takes a stab at unraveling one of the most famously knotty wisdom texts in the Old Testament: Ecclesiastes. Is it wisdom? Is it nihilism? Does it have a pat moral? Let's find out.

Professor Kozlowski tempts the wrath of the Internet by discussing the history of Judaism and Christianity by recounting the major events and themes of the Christian Bible. Along the way we'll revisit some important moments in ancient history, bump into some early Christian heresies, and talk about different perspectives on Christian teaching. ...hopefully without starting any flame wars... If you have good-faith follow-up questions about any of these topics, feel free to e-mail me at profbkozlowski2@gmail.com

Professor Kozlowski tackles the classic of 2nd century stoicism, Epictetus' Enchiridion. Along the way we'll discuss the virtues (and vices) of stoicism, outline its similarities to Buddhism, and contextualize the stoics against the Roman political world in which it developed - and the contemporary world that it continues to influence and shape.

Professor Kozlowski somehow crams everything a General Humanities student needs to know about Plato and Aristotle into one hour-and-a-half-long lecture. Which is nonsense. Go read more Plato and Aristotle.

Professor Kozlowski takes on a triple threat of Bronze-Age(ish) underworld stories, namely: The Egyptian Book of the Dead, Inana's Descent to the Underworld (Sumerian), and the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. Along the way, we'll try to make some sense and find patterns among these dense, difficult, and disparate texts, and set the foundation for the later Greek and Roman (and Christian) understandings of the Underworld to come.