Silly Voices
Oct. 23rd, 2003 10:08 amI'm very fond of the Teaching Company courses, really I am. But in the interests of truth in advertising, I have to admit that they're sometimes an oddly mixed bag.
I'm currently in the middle of Great Minds of the Western Intellectual Tradition, which is a mammoth course, taught by a tag-team of something like a dozen professors. (This is the only course I have that mixes so many people.) One of them, who is teaching much of the Age of Reason, has a style that can best be described as a mix of:
He's not a bad teacher, but it's just a little difficult to take him seriously, since his speaking style is almost Pythonesque in how odd it is...
I'm currently in the middle of Great Minds of the Western Intellectual Tradition, which is a mammoth course, taught by a tag-team of something like a dozen professors. (This is the only course I have that mixes so many people.) One of them, who is teaching much of the Age of Reason, has a style that can best be described as a mix of:
- Pedantry worthy of a Silverwing (making every point several times, to make sure you get it);
- The speaking style of William Shatner (well, not quite, but Emphasizing... Every... Word... Clearly... and with Force!);
- and the voice of Fran Dressher (you know, that intense nasality that even I, a native New Joiseyan, fortunately can't emulate).
He's not a bad teacher, but it's just a little difficult to take him seriously, since his speaking style is almost Pythonesque in how odd it is...