Other Cultures

“Without going out of your door, You can know the ways of the world.”

— Lao Tzu, Tao Teh Ching

I will probably never spend too much time beyond the foundations of Western culture, but every once in a while I like to take a peek at something else. Of all the other cultures I have looked at, China and India have been the most interesting. Taoism and Confucianism have some very insightful points of view. Even so, I feel more at home with Hindu mythologies and mystics.

PRIMARY SOURCES

  • Ali, Abdullah Yusuf. The Qur’an Translation. Eleventh Edition. Elmhurst, New York: Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an, 2003.

  • Doniger, Wendy, trans. The Rig Veda: An Anthology. London: Penguin Books, 1981.

  • Smith, John D., trans. The Mahabharata. London: Penguin Books, 2009.

  • Wu, John C. H., trans. Lao Tzu: Tao Teh Ching. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, 2006.

SECONDARY SOURCES

  • Dell, Christopher. Mythology: The Complete Guide to Our Imagined Worlds. London: Thames & Hudson, 2012.

  • Gosden, Chris. Prehistory: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.

AUDIO/VISUAL RECORDINGS

  • Great World Religions: Hinduism, CD. Taught by Mark W. Muesse. The Great Courses, 2003.

  • Myth in Human History, DVD. Taught by Grant L. Voth. The Great Courses, 2010.

  • The Barbarian Empires of the Steppes, DVD. Taught by Kenneth W. Harl. The Great Courses, 2014.

  • The Ottoman Empire, DVD. Taught by Kenneth W. Harl. The Great Courses, 2017.

  • The Remarkable Science of Ancient Astronomy, DVD. Taught by Bradley E. Schaefer. The Great Courses, 2017.