
The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World
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Narrated by:
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Robert Garland
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Written by:
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Robert Garland
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The Great Courses
About this listen
Look beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts. Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.
The past truly comes alive as you take a series of imaginative leaps into the world of history's anonymous citizens, people such as a Greek soldier marching into battle in the front row of a phalanx; an Egyptian woman putting on makeup before attending an evening party with her husband; a Greek citizen relaxing at a drinking party with the likes of Socrates; a Roman slave captured in war and sent to work in the mines; and a Celtic monk scurrying away with the Book of Kells during a Viking invasion.
Put yourself in the sandals of ordinary people and discover what it was like to be among history's 99%. What did these everyday people do for a living? What was their home like? What did they eat? What did they wear? What did they do to relax? What were their beliefs about marriage? Religion? The afterlife?
This extraordinary journey takes you across space and time in an effort to be another person - someone with whom you might not think you have anything at all in common - and come away with an incredible sense of interconnectedness. You'll see the range of possibilities of what it means to be human, making this a journey very much worth taking.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2012 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2012 The Great CoursesYou may also enjoy...
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What listeners say about The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kai
- 2018-09-13
#Audible1
#Audible1 love it I listen to the book every day on the way to work #Audible1
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- Daniel Dubeau
- 2019-01-04
Knowledgeable and interesting
Robert Garland effectively portrays the life of our descendant, not the famous or the powerful, but everyday people struggling to exist and to find meaning in their lives. You truly feel the compassion he has over these ordinary people.
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- Marine
- 2023-04-01
Great course and great lecturer
Very interesting course on a facet of history we barely glanced at in school. Definitely recommend it.
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- catherine zeleniak
- 2020-12-16
great history lectures
Very interesting, it makes you think about how we came to be. The other side is the life of the average person not usually discussed or talked about.
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- Linda
- 2021-01-23
Walking through history with Professor Garland
What a fabulous way to learn about ancient history. I feel like I have a much better understanding now of what it was like to grow up during the thousands of years that make up the human history of the world. Thank you for your extremely interesting prospective Professor Garland and for keeping me excited to learn all I can about our history.
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- C.
- 2021-12-29
Extremely helpful
I have trouble sometimes when imagining the life of regular people in historical context since we've mostly learned everything from the top. Gives a great perspective about life in the ancient world, delivered superbly.
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- Robert F. Brookfield
- 2022-04-17
Interesting insights into ordinary people
I enjoyed the picture provided of the lives of ordinary people. Attention to women in particular was thoughtful and empathetic .However, I only noted one reference to LGBTQ people, (the English sex worker who said they slept with priests and nuns), and it did not seem to me as respectful. I would also have preferred more attention to non-Western societies, such as the good pieces on the Persians and Egyptians. But I appreciate that may not be in the author' expertise, and evidence could be more limited..
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- Amazon Customer
- 2020-07-16
Wonderful!!!!!
So easy to understand and enter into this professor's mind. I am sure that Garland is the favourite professor or so many of his students! Kudos to The Great Courses for digitizing this series of lectures for me. I loved each and every one of these lectures. Truly, one of the great teachers here. Listen, learn, enjoy, and transform yourself into a more enlightened soul.
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- James
- 2019-04-20
Great audiobook
Excellent audiobook, I will definitely recommend it , so much information, thank you very much for the great audiobook
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- Langer MD
- 2023-03-26
Fills In Some Blanks
Colgate University Director of the Classics Department Richard Garland embarks on an ambitious venture: to describe the history of (parts of) Western Civilization through the eyes of people who won't appear in any textbook. He invites learners to imagine themselves as unheralded individuals living in historical cultures (Ancient Greece, Rome, Iron Age Britain, etc) and presents hypothetical situations.. suggesting how they might be treated/act/react.
In this goal, he largely succeeds. The authentic-feeling lectures are well-reasoned, backed up by archeological/literary evidence, and loaded with information.
Unfortunately, Garland also betrays a bit of an agenda.. his preoccupation with the plight of women in established Patriarchal systems, for example - or the dreadful treatment of forced labor in Slave Economies, for that matter. It's somewhat baffling. Projecting modern sensibilities on ancient societies is an odd approach for a Professor of History (Sociology, maybe?).
As to presentation: professor Garland occasionally pauses while considering which word to use (thankfully avoiding "uh"s and "um"s, but yielding a staccato cadence).. and "Shoundsz like he hasz shaliva gathered in the cornersz of hisz mouth" (avoid earbuds) - but the delivery is otherwise above-average. Garland's lecturing style is off-the-cuff and peppered with humorous interjected comments.. giving the impression that we are sitting in a darkened classroom with a talented teacher.. furiously scribbling notes.
The appended PDF is furthermore syllabus-quality - including lecture-by-lecture summaries, a Timeline, a useful Glossary of Terms, and an extensive Bibliography. The product quality is excellent.
As audiocourses go (and I have downloaded many of them), this is a very good one. I rate 'The Other Side Of History' a solid 8.5 stars out of 10. I feel fortunate to have obtained it as a 'Plus' option.. because it would merit a Credit for anyone interested in immersion into long-gone realities. To be sure, the course is best used as a supplement to other History courses (don't rely on this one for names, dates, and world-changing events), but it colors the human experience nicely.
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