History's Greatest Voyages of Exploration, Prof. Liulevicius (24 Lectures / 30 Minutes Per Lecture / 4x DVD - The Great Courses)
Professor Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius frames exploration as a central force in human history—driven by curiosity, commerce, science, and empire. From Polynesian and Viking voyages to the Age of Discovery and non‑Western figures like Zheng He and Ibn Battuta, the course uses firsthand accounts and evolving technologies—from the astrolabe to rockets—to show how travel expanded the world’s horizons.
More than a record of routes and “firsts,” the series focuses on cultural exchange and consequences: shifting mental maps, conflict, and biological and economic interchange. Moving through Pacific mapping, Victorian expeditions, and the Space Race, it considers what exploration means when there are few blank spaces left—and how its legacy still shapes a globalized world.