Indian history is still presented in the context of some sort of divide that was created by British theories, while these theories are showing to be false and racist and a marker of the colonialist time period that does not take into account actual Indian history from the perspective of the epics, but breaks it from a perspective of Western Imperialist imagination while discounting the native perspective. Indus Civilization Viewed from Western Perspective As a long time listener of the Great Courses, and with knowledge of Indian civilization, listening to the Indus Civilization was not as cringeworthy as some other lectures of other courses presented on the Great Courses of India.
![ancient cities in the world ancient cities in the world](http://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/190314125204-angkor-wat-temple-complex.jpg)
While I believe that the visual version would have been helpful occasionally, the course was still suitable for audio-only situations such as jogging or driving in a car. He presents his material in a clear and easy-to-follow order. Tuck is clearly knowledgeable and he conveys enthusiasm for his subject. Why is later city planning different from earlier city planning? Was it influenced primarily by geography? By technology? By culture or religion? Knowing these answers would affect applicability to our own times.ĭr. Tuck does not really delve into why urban development proceeded the way that it did. Did other cultures have nothing to contribute to urban planning? Does this reflect a bias in archeology (i.e., excavated sites available for analysis)? There were no representatives from China, Japan, Sub-Saharan Africa, or the Americas. Only 1 represented the Indus River Valley culture. Of the 22 cities addressed, 6 represented Anatolian/Middle Eastern/Egyptian culture, 8 represented Greek/Hellenistic culture, and 5 represented Roman culture (including Constantinople). However, I believe that the course falls short in several areas.įirst, the course is very heavily weighted toward Mediterranean cities. This is an interesting concept with potential application to our modern cities. Tuck discusses the city planning philosophies of 22 cities of the ancient world in chronological order and he traces development of important themes. I still highly recommend it as an integrative course about the emergence of civilization in the Mediterranean basin.
![ancient cities in the world ancient cities in the world](https://www.traveller.com.au/content/dam/images/h/1/6/z/m/u/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.h16pe3.png)
It is a real credit to the professor how well he delivered the content largely on his own. I also reviewed a couple chapters of ‘ Great Tour: Greece and Turkey’. Yes I supplemented the course with a book about Ancient Cities, Greece History, varied websites and a tourist reconstruction booklet of Rome. Similarly the digital terrain reconstructions of Jerusalem in ‘Holy Land Revealed‘ were essential to understanding the water system. As the referenced course had many more maps, 3d reconstructions, and photos of artifacts. For if this course had the same production standard as Prof Barnharts ‘Maya to Aztec: Ancient Mesoamerica Revealed’ I would rate it as spectacular.
![ancient cities in the world ancient cities in the world](http://assets.cambridge.org/97811084/95547/cover/9781108495547.jpg)
The course is a little bit a victim of the Great Course’s evolution in its production standards. He weaves together ancient history loosely around the topic of the emergence of cities and urban planning. * Greece & Rome: An Integrated History of the Mediterranean * Foundations of Western Civilization 1 & 2 Terrific professor I just finished lecture 24.