Cities of the Ancient World

By: Steven L. Tuck, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Steven L. Tuck

Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

We live in a world of cities - for the first time ever, the majority of the population lives in an urban environment - and reflecting on ancient models of the "city" as a human phenomenon offers important lessons for our culture today.

Cities of the Ancient World is your opportunity to survey the breadth of the ancient world through the context of its urban development. Taught by esteemed Professor Steven L. Tuck, of Miami University, these 24 eye-opening lectures not only provide an invaluable look at the design and architecture of ancient cities, they also offer a flesh-and-blood glimpse into the daily lives of ordinary people and the worlds they created.

Cities of the Ancient World gives you insight into cities large and small, famous and obscure. Ultimately, however, this is a course about people, not just buildings. Studying these cities will give you a new appreciation for the remarkable cultures of the ancient world, from the ruins of Uruk to the Golden Age of Athens, and spur you to reflect on what makes a city survive. More than anything else, Cities of the Ancient World is a course about human beings - what life was like in these cities and how people lived.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2014 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2014 The Great Courses

Fun lecturer, great material

This course goes beyond tourism history, and won't just focus on famous buildings. It's about the practicality of city design from the ancient world, and the life of ordinary people living in these cities.

Interesting

Professor Tuck is passionate about what he teaches, and adds snippets of his personal life throughout the lectures.

fascinating

Great for lovers of antiquity,also makes you take another glance at the city around you

Excellent course

I recommend this course to anyone interested in history. Of course, mostly ancient, but it makes connections with medieval times and ends with thoughts on current urban planning.

Engaged and Prophetic

I recommend this series to anyone interested in ancient civilizations and it’s connection to our modern world. This was an engaging lecture series with practical connections to modern urban development. I thoroughly enjoyed the program!

Great information.

Love the author's informational take and what he DOES NOT assume. It's a breath of fresh air to hear someone say "We honestly don't know but here is what is fascinating!" As a side note, I sped up the delivery so it went faster.

A Great Course but misnamed

Should have been called Cities of the European-North African Ancient World. (And the Indus Valley)

Ancient Cities

What did you love best about Cities of the Ancient World?

I found it interesting how he took each city and built upon them a ground work of how people have progressed.

What did you like best about this story?

City life is one of those rare areas in history that most historians overlook (at least in context with writing books for the laymen people) so it was a nice change.

Any additional comments?

This book is based on cities and that's the key here. Don't expect a detailed history of any one culture. He covers a city in one lecture so, by their nature, he won't cover all there is to know or is known.

The Demands of the City

The concepts about why people live in cities has fascinated me for many years. The varying examples used by Dr. Tuck were very interesting and covered most of the ancient world, and I enjoyed it. His humor creeps through, especially towards the end. This is a person with whom I could chat for many hours. I really enjoyed these lectures.

Good but limited

The "ancient world" is limited to the Mediterranean world. The far east and the Americas are ignored, even though both had massive cities contemporaneous with some of the cities discussed here.

That being said, the course was interesting and the lecturer quite knowledgeable.