For lifeÂlong learnÂers, coursÂes on Ancient Greece and Rome always remain in steady demand. While these coursÂes are poorÂly repÂreÂsentÂed in underÂgradÂuÂate proÂgrams (at least in the States), they seem be to makÂing a comeÂback in conÂtinÂuÂing eduÂcaÂtion proÂgrams designed for oldÂer stuÂdents. EvenÂtuÂalÂly, it seems, many come to the conÂcluÂsion that you can’t skip over the founÂdaÂtions and still make sense of it all. And so they go back to basics.
The TeachÂing ComÂpaÂny, a comÂmerÂcial provider of coursÂes for lifeÂlong learnÂers, has recÂogÂnized this demand and built a surÂprisÂingÂly rich colÂlecÂtion of lecÂtures dedÂiÂcatÂed to the Ancients. (See full catÂaÂlogue here.) These coursÂes are polÂished and well put togethÂer. But they cost monÂey. If that’s a conÂcern, then you should know about some of the free alterÂnaÂtives. Thanks to the “open course” moveÂment, you can now find a series of free coursÂes online, includÂing some from top-ranked uniÂverÂsiÂties. Let me give you a quick overview of your options:
Last fall, Yale UniÂverÂsiÂty introÂduced a new round of open coursÂes that includÂed DonÂald Kagan’s IntroÂducÂtion to Ancient Greek HisÂtoÂry (YouTube — iTunes Audio — iTunes Video- DownÂload Course). A leadÂing figÂure in the field, Kagan takes stuÂdents from the Greek Dark Ages, through the rise of SparÂta and Athens, The PeloÂponÂnesian War, and beyond. You’ll covÂer more than a milÂlenÂniÂum in 24 lecÂtures. As I’ve notÂed elseÂwhere, Yale’s coursÂes are high touch. And what’s parÂticÂuÂlarÂly nice is that the course can be downÂloaded in one of five forÂmats (text, audio, flash video, low bandÂwidth quickÂtime video, and high bandÂwidth quickÂtime video). SimÂply choose the forÂmat that works for you, and you’re good to go.
When you’ve comÂpletÂed the arc of Greek hisÂtoÂry, you can move next to the UC BerkeÂley course, The Roman Empire. The course taught by Isabelle PafÂford moves from Julius CaeÂsar to ConÂstanÂtine (roughÂly 40 BC to 300 AD) in 42 lecÂtures. And the audio comes straight from the classÂroom, which means that you’ll get solÂid inforÂmaÂtion but you’ll also have to endure some extraÂneÂous talk about homeÂwork assignÂments and exams. (It’s free, so don’t comÂplain.) You can downÂload this course in one of three ways: iTunes, streamed audio, or via rss feed. LastÂly, I should note that PafÂford has taught anothÂer relatÂed course at BerkeÂley — The Ancient MediterÂranean World (iTunes — Feed - MP3s).
Once you have the big surÂvey coursÂes under your belt, you can switch to some more focused coursÂes comÂing out of StanÂford. Let’s start with Patrick Hunt’s course HanÂniÂbal (iTunes). As I’ve notÂed in a preÂviÂous post, this podÂcastÂed course takes you inside the life and advenÂtures of HanÂniÂbal, the great CarthaginÂian milÂiÂtary tacÂtiÂcian who maneuÂvered his way across the Alps and stunned Roman armies in 218 BC. The course also gives you glimpses into cutÂting-edge trends in modÂern archaeÂolÂoÂgy. Because HanÂniÂbal still remains a figÂure of intense hisÂtorÂiÂcal interÂest, it’s not surÂprisÂing that this course has ranked as one of the more popÂuÂlar coursÂes on iTuneÂsU.
AnothÂer short course worth your time is Virgil’s Aeneid: AnatoÂmy of a ClasÂsic. PreÂsentÂed by SusanÂna Braund (a StanÂford clasÂsics proÂfesÂsor at the time), the course teasÂes apart the epic poem that was an instant when it was writÂten 29–19 BC), and still endures today. DividÂed into 5 installÂments, each runÂning about two hours, this podÂcast offers a good introÂducÂtion to one of the cenÂtral texts in the Latin traÂdiÂtion.
FinalÂly, let me throw in a quick bonus course. The HisÂtorÂiÂcal Jesus, anothÂer StanÂford course taught by Thomas SheeÂhan, looks inside the historical/Roman world of Jesus of Nazareth. This is a hisÂtoÂry course, not a reliÂgion course, and it uses the best litÂerÂary and hisÂtorÂiÂcal eviÂdence to answer the quesÂtions: “Who was the hisÂtorÂiÂcal Jesus of Nazareth? What did he actuÂalÂly say and do…? What did the man Jesus actuÂalÂly think of himÂself and of his misÂsion…? In short, what are the difÂferÂences — and conÂtiÂnuÂities — between the Jesus who lived and died in hisÂtoÂry and the Christ who lives on in believÂers’ faith?
UPDATE: Thanks to a readÂer, I was remindÂed of anothÂer relatÂed course: 12 ByzanÂtine Rulers: The HisÂtoÂry of the ByzanÂtine Empire (iTunes — Feed — Site). These podÂcasts covÂer the legaÂcy of the Roman Empire that emerged in the East (after it had colÂlapsed in the West). You can read more about this course in one of my earÂly blog posts.
All of these coursÂes can be found in the HisÂtoÂry SecÂtion of our largÂer colÂlecÂtion of Free CoursÂes. There you will find 200 high qualÂiÂty online coursÂes that you can lisÂten to anyÂtime, anyÂwhere.
As someÂone who conÂtinÂues to study ClasÂsics at uniÂverÂsiÂty I have lisÂtened to all of these except the new DonÂald Kagan series. They are all excelÂlent and will give you that in-depth inforÂmaÂtion to realÂly underÂstand the era. Also many thanks to the uniÂverÂsiÂties who make this mateÂrÂiÂal availÂable.
Thank-you.
This is brilÂliant stuff for the daiÂly comÂmute.:)
[…] inforÂmaÂciĂłn comÂpleÂmenÂtaria sobre eduÂcaciĂłn abierÂta. Dan ColeÂman describe en un buen artĂcuÂlo la antigua hisÂtoÂria del aprenÂdizaÂje graÂtuitaÂmente. Sara Joy Pond ofrece una visiĂłn viviÂda y colÂoriÂda de la hisÂtoÂria de OERs […]
I’m glad about lecture.Thanks the lecturure.I’m Masum, Dept.of Politic and PubÂlic AdminÂisÂtraÂtion.
IslamÂic UniÂverÂsiÂty
KushÂtia
Bangladesh
The uniÂverÂsiÂty coursÂes are a wonÂderÂful pubÂlic asset, and I hope the colÂlecÂtion will grow. HowÂevÂer, there is a big difÂferÂence in qualÂiÂty. The Yale lecÂtures I have found to be quite good, but the BerkeÂley series less so, which is too bad. Many of the BerkeÂley proÂfesÂsors tend to spend a great deal of time disÂcussing classÂroom busiÂness or the nature of the course itself or reviewÂing what they said last week and preÂviewÂing what they will say this time. And the recordÂing qualÂiÂty is not very good. BerkeÂley should get high praise for the effort, but a litÂtle planÂning and editÂing would have made these lecÂtures far more valuÂable to the interÂestÂed pubÂlic. I should note that I have only tried four or five.
DonÂald Kagan is a nationÂal treaÂsure! so thrilled we can get to know him!
[…] you, and you’re good to go. For more free coursÂes on the Ancients, please see our page called: LearnÂing Ancient HisÂtoÂry for Free. Share and […]
[…] to dig deepÂer into ancient hisÂtoÂry, I’d recÂomÂmend lookÂing through our preÂviÂous post, LearnÂing Ancient HisÂtoÂry for Free CoursÂes. This will point you to some of the best free coursÂes availÂable on the […]
make it to be sudÂable
[…] LearnÂing Ancient HisÂtoÂry for Free Share: […]
What a wonÂderÂful thing it is to have this at our finÂgerÂtips, litÂerÂalÂly. If only this had been availÂable when my silÂver glow wasÂn’t so obviÂous. Thank you and good luck. Dr. Loran CarÂriÂer
I believe we live hisÂtoÂry everyÂday. HowÂevÂer, the ancient world has always held a speÂcial interÂest to me
life long learning,lifelong learnÂing…
[…]LearnÂing Ancient HisÂtoÂry for Free | Open CulÂture[…]…
I am very interÂestÂed about ancient hisÂtoÂry. Pls help.