As regular followers of the Neighborhood can tell you, I was a pretty dorky kid.
It wasn’t enough that I sat and read the encyclopedia cover to cover. Nor was it enough as a precocious 8 year old explaining human reproduction to my mother–on a crowded city bus.
I actually got up early for school…to watch school on TV.
Especially during middle and high school, I would get up at a ridiculously early hour. Most of the time, it was simply to unwind and have some time to myself before I go off to the drudgery of classes. Usually I could watch a movie on the VHS, or an old show I taped the night before.
Eventually, I was hooked on the most surprising of programs–a college lecture.
Produced by the Annenberg Foundation and broadcast on PBS, The Western Tradition was a 1989 series of 52 televised lectures given by UCLA history professor Eugen Weber. It covered the development of Western civilization from the dawn of agriculture to the technological age, and wove many common themes together into a unified theory: trends in technology, social movements, government, economics, religion and art.
For me, it was an early entry into the world of higher education, and I was hooked.
Not only were the lectures rich, informative and compelling, they were delivered by a professor whose cadence even today is the benchmark for a great college history professor. Dr. Weber was born in Romania and educated at Cambridge, so his Eastern European Oxbridge lilt was both comforting and erudite. His pronunciation of names was impeccable–I thought all professors should sound like that.
Its not really for kids younger than high school age, but these lectures give a great overview of the main topics of Western civilization. They also give kids a heads-up on what is expected of college students–it sure isn’t “accountable talk” and Common Core, is it?
Mr. D's Neighborhood 
“The Western Tradition” is really a great documentary by the also great Professor Eugen J. Weber, a name which I keep fondly in my memories since it was with this documentary that I learned to appreciate the western culture.
Another reason for I like this program is its music song featured during the episodes. I has searching for several times but I never got success on it. And more one thing: I’m from Brazil, here this program (presented to us in 90’s) maybe was broadcasted with a re-edited content music (except the main theme kept original).
Comprove it by yourself, please watch the video.
“The Western Tradition” narrated in Brazilian version, pay attention on the background song precisely.
Program 18.
And now, compare the same program with the Internet/DVD version.
Did you see that? Is different, how explain it? :p
Well, all I know is I really would like to know the entire data of this music, ‘title’, ‘composer’, etc.. If by chance know, write for me and help me find it, my friend. o/
Fix to ‘Program 18’ link Brazilian version, watch here.
█ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8Zx6SVgUJM