The American Mind

People often ask me about good resources on intellectual history--much of this is spurred by our Friday night Academy class discussion as we go through Michael Horton's theology text, The Christian Faith.

I struggle with what to recommend--many resources are too difficult for some, or too hostile to the Christian faith.  But one set of lectures keeps coming to mind, and which people have found to be very helpful.

I am thinking about Allen C. Guelzo's lecture series "The American Mind" which was produced for The Teaching Company (Guelzo--The American Mind).  Guelzo is a great lecturer who consistently finds the right balance between mundane facts and primary sources, interesting background material, and his own interpretation of the data.  

Guelzo argues that the two streams which merge to form a distinctly "American mind" are Puritanism and the Enlightenment.  He develops this theme from America's founding through the First Great Awakening, the Jefferson/Jacksonian eras, the Civil War era, the Gilded Age, down to the present and Neo-Conservatism (a list of lecture titles can be found here:  (Guelzo--The American Mind).  The content is a bit difficult at places (if you don't have any background in history or philosophy), but using the study guide really helps.  And you can always listen more than once (which also helps).  Any course on the "American Mind" which includes the contributions of Hodge and the Old Princetonians, and mentions Machen is worth the time.

The Teaching Company courses often go on sale.  That would be the time to snag this one.

Guelzo has written a number of well-received books: [Jonathan] (Edwards on the Will), a stellar book on Abraham Lincoln (Redeemer President), a history of the Civil War (Fateful Lightning), as well as a new book on Gettysburg, which is at the top of my book pile. 

As a caveat, I have enjoyed a number of courses from The Teaching Company through the years (Greenberg's course on "How to Listen to Great Music" was especially good), but I do advise caution since they also feature Bart Ehrman's lectures on the New Testament and early church.

Comments

[Doug]

Great post. Thanks for the referral. Some might want to know that this might be available at your local library. Just checked my library and they have the dvd set available. Not the audible version, sadly.

[Bobby]

That guy looks like Kelsey Grammer. Sorry, I couldn't help myself.