AGreatDivorce
I mostly create audio recordings of different sorts of texts. Most of my readings are made as Youtube videos, with slides. If you’d like to see them with the visuals included, check out my channel here: https://www.youtube.com/c/AGreatDivorce
Listen on:
Episodes
Monday Jun 26, 2023
Monday Jun 26, 2023
Stepping back in time a couple of centuries, Bret this time examines the poetry of Ethiopian-Arab warrior-poet ‘Antarah ibn Shaddad. In particular, Bret uses ‘Antarah’s victory songs to examine the martial values celebrated by ‘Antarah (and, consequently, his listeners). Values that serve as a useful contrast to our modern views of war by examining the values shaped by a different time, a different place, and different circumstances.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2020/04/10/collections-antarah-ibn-shaddad-victory-songs/
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wma3iFQEoL0
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!
Monday Jun 26, 2023
Monday Jun 26, 2023
In this post, Bret looks at the work of Dhuoda of Uzès, a mother and wife of Carolingian aristocracy. Specifically, his passage highlights the values which Dhuoda expressed in her handbook to her son as those most important to a Carolingian warrior-aristocrat, and he further looks at how exemplary these values were for the typical aristocrat of the time.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2020/03/27/a-trip-through-dhuoda-of-uzes-carolingian-values/
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFMm8_u76g4
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!
Monday Jun 26, 2023
Monday Jun 26, 2023
Next, Bret takes a look at the idea of natural law in Cicero. He uses a passage from De legibus to outline Cicero’s reasoning on the existence of natural law and what it means for human laws and codes of conduct. Bret then examines the important significance this formulation has had on the liberal concept of human rights all the way up to our time.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2019/12/12/collections-a-trip-through-cicero-natural-law/
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyhECWZPZcQ
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!
Monday Jun 26, 2023
Monday Jun 26, 2023
This time, I’m tackling Bret’s “A Trip Through” series of posts, a format in which Bret takes a look at passages from various historical authors in order to highlight key or important ideas set forward in their writing. To begin, Bret pulls a passage from Thucydides’ history of the Peloponnesian War, specifically the arguments by Athenian envoys against Sparta’s decision to go to war, to examine Thucydides’ formulation of a theory of international relations. And how that formulation remains relevant today.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2019/12/05/collections-a-trip-through-thucydides-fear-honor-and-interest/
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kvMQATTtRU
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!
Monday May 29, 2023
Monday May 29, 2023
To close out his analysis of Crusader Kings III, Bret takes a look at several different systems of the game and their relationship to the reality of medieval polities. How well does the game’s systems handle polities that don’t fit the standard “medieval European” model, such as the Byzantines, or non-state polities like towns. How does the game reflect the place of non-elites within the ruler’s decision-making process. And ultimately, where does CKIII stand as a tool for reflecting on historical accuracies for the student and teacher.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2022/10/14/collections-teaching-paradox-crusader-kings-iii-part-iv-emperors-soldiers-and-peasants/
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA9Rl-5rJLQ
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!
Monday May 29, 2023
Monday May 29, 2023
With his initial examinations done of how CKIII simulates the fragmented and personal nature of rulership, Bret builds off of that analysis in order to outline how CKIII ultimately simulates a constructivist model of history. A model where socially constructed behaviors and beliefs and traditions act as the guides to ruler decision-making. And how well CKIII does as bringing the realities of such a model to life for the player.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2022/10/07/collections-teaching-paradox-crusader-kings-iii-part-iii-constructivisting-a-kingdom/
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwLlvP8RMTM
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!
Monday May 29, 2023
Monday May 29, 2023
In this second half of his examination of how CKIII simulates the forces behind political fragmentation, Bret turns his attention to the game’s handling of specifically Islamic polities. Here, he gives a brief overview of how CKIII has changed from the series’ previous attempts at simulating Islamic polities of the period, then focuses on the game’s “clan government” type and how the forces of relationship management and levy/tax extraction work compared to the historical realities of medieval Islamic caliphates.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2022/09/30/collections-teaching-paradox-crusader-kings-iii-part-iib-cracks-in-the-house-of-islam/
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKmoGTHnaas
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!
Monday May 29, 2023
Monday May 29, 2023
Bret begins a look at how well CKIII models medieval systems of vassalage and liege-vassal relationships, starting with how well the gameplay mechanics reflect the reality of Christian Europe. This involves an overview of how handles the various tiers of royal titles, what those titles mean and do, and what the historical realities of such systems actually looked like.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2022/09/23/collections-teaching-paradox-crusader-kings-iii-part-iia-rascally-vassals/
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y116nzgZ0lc
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!
Monday May 29, 2023
Monday May 29, 2023
Returning to Bret’s Teaching Paradox superseries, this time I’m narrating his posts analyzing Paradox’s medieval grand strategy game, Crusader Kings III. To begin, Bret once again asks the question: what view of history does the game’s mechanics construct. And, fittingly for a game set in a time so dominated by personal rulership, he takes a look at how CKIII is a game about history-as-biography.
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2022/09/16/collections-teaching-paradox-crusader-kings-iii-part-i-making-it-personal/
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eauO9nJMdc
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Concluding this short bundle of uploads is the second recent guest post from returning guest, Michael Taylor. This time, Michael provides a brief overview of one of the most important English works in military history within the past half-century: John Keegan’s The Face of Battle. Michael provides a theoretical understanding and history of the work, a general outline of its thesis, and a brief look at its impact and criticism.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2023/03/31/michael-taylor-on-john-keegans-the-face-of-battle-a-retrospective/
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Michael’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/drmichaeljtayl1
Episode on Youtube - https://youtu.be/i7rLue0bqSg
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!
0:00 - Michael Taylor on John Keegan’s The Face of Battle: A Retrospective
29:42 - Credits