Does the celebrated harmonic series diverge or converge? Discover a proof using the integral test. Then generalize to define an entire class of series called p-series, and prove a theorem showing when they converge. Close with the sum of the harmonic series, the fascinating Euler-Mascheroni constant, which is not known to be rational or irrational.

None of us can avoid dying. But some believe we can learn how to die well. Professor Berkson introduces you to ways that others have faced death (with regret, dignity, even rage) and also considers some of the practical ways we can make the best of our deaths when our time comes.

In America, death rituals display a remarkable diversity and range from the minimalist to the extravagant. Chart the evolution of American funerals by looking at three major periods: the traditional (exemplified by Puritan burial rites), the modern (characterized by professionalization), and the post-modern (where loved ones play a more active role).

Explore how it's possible for us to find meaning in life - even when confronted with the finality of it. Drawing on the work of cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker, discover how forms of death denial serve to allay fears about our insignificance, and how we can cultivate meaning in the face of mortality.

There is a bit of a mystery about Ramses's reign. Its last 40 years were rather sedentary. In considering what might have happened, you will see how a pharaoh with the resources of Ramses prepared himself and his family for the next world.

In this lecture on what Professor Berkson calls "an inescapable part of the human condition," unpack the feelings and behaviors of the grieving process. Topics include the evolutionary benefits of grief, the five stages of grief laid out by Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, and the three categories of grieving identified by psychologist George Bonanno.

Put your precalculus skills to use by splitting up complicated algebraic expressions to make them easier to integrate. Learn how to deal with linear factors, repeated linear factors, and irreducible quadratic factors. Finally, apply these techniques to the solution of the logistic differential equation.

When the Beatles finally arrived in the United States of America, they did so with all the fanfare usually accorded to heads of state. How did so much sound and energy come from only four people? Plunge into the captivating fervor, communal spirit, and bacchanal of abandon that would soon be known as Beatlemania.

Explore the other two opus 31 sonatas: no. 16 in G (which literally saved the life of pianist Claude Frank) and no. 18 in E flat. We also look at the opus 49 pair: no. 19 in G Minor and no. 20 in G; both were published against Beethoven's wishes and have since become favorites of young players.

Probe one of the most baffling mysteries of physics: the wave-particle duality of light. Trace the debate over the nature of light to its apparent solution in 1801, when Thomas Young demonstrated that light is a wave. A century later, Einstein proved that light also behaves as a particle. Astonishingly, further work showed that electrons and other matter also have this Janus-faced identity.