I'm glad that I listened to this series of lectures, but I think the part that I didn't get going in was how much of an "introductory" class this was. I was constantly frustrated by the lack of facts. Ned Blackhawk gave blanket statements, which my well be true, but I'd have preferred to see them supported with examples. I understand that that's probably not possible in a subject of this scope, but still it was frustrating. The pre-Columbian world was mentioned in passing in the first lecture- yes, there were great civilizations before the Europeans arrived. Well, thanks, but could you talk about some of their achievements? This tendency to give an overview continued throughout the course, although more examples were given for the late 20th century. I wonder if Blackhawks speech patterns which struck me as monotone are a cultural affect, but it made it more difficult for me to listen, as I'm used to having the speaker's voice point to the most important parts of their material (and this makes me feel as if I may be a trifle racist, which I don't like). I also listened to the third through sixth lectures about three or four times each, because they didn't match up with the description in the accompanying "course guide". If lecture 5 covered the effect of native culture on the revolutionary republic, I couldn't catch it. I got the impression that they included two versions of the fourth lecture instead.
As with all the Modern Scholar courses, one gets so much more by reading the suggested course materials, and I'm now reading (or have sent for) Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee, New Worlds for All, The Columbian Exchange, Roughing it.. the ones available through our local ILL system. I would recommend it, but don't expect to learn much as much as to be given several directions in which to pursue independent study.
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This course focused mostly on the historical interactions of the Native Americans and the Europeans. I find the cultural and lifestyle aspects more interesting and it didn't mention much of that. ( )

This course focused mostly on the historical interactions of the Native Americans and the Europeans. I find the cultural and lifestyle aspects more interesting and it didn't mention much of that. ( )