The Other Side of History : Daily Life in the Ancient World
( course # 3810 )
The complete course of 48 lectures on 8 DVDs, and the guidebook.
Condition: BRAND NEW, SEALED
As a bonus for the next buyer ( bonus is offered to US residents ONLY ) I will include EITHER
my mint 278-page book
"Daily Life in the Roman City"
OR :
my mint DVD from the Ancient Civilizations series -- a truly fascinating account of the lives of ordinary Roman soldiers
"Letters from the Roman Front"
OR :
my mint DVD of Russell Crowe's iconic movie
"Gladiator"
** You must indicate your bonus choice BEFORE shipping or I'll send the first one I find ! **
Imagine you’re a Greek soldier marching into battle in the front row of a phalanx. Or an Egyptian woman putting on makeup before attending an evening party with your husband. Or a Celtic monk scurrying away with the Book of Kells during a Viking invasion. Welcome to the other side of history, the 99% of ordinary people whose names don’t make it into the history books—but whose lives are no less fascinating than the great leaders whose names we all know. Here you’ll encounter such diverse individuals as
The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World is your chance to get 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 Robert Garland of Colgate University 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. You’ll gain new insights into what daily life was like—what the world actually looked, smelled, and felt like in Neanderthal caves, ancient Egypt, Persia, Greece, Rome, and medieval Britain.
The past truly comes alive in this ambitious course, as Professor Garland takes a series of imaginative leaps to put you inside the world of history’s anonymous citizens, providing you with a fuller understanding of the distant past. You’ll see what daily life was like for workers, the poor, the elderly, the sick, the disabled, refugees, women, children, slaves, and soldiers. Through the professor’s engaging stories and with the aid of dazzling graphics, you’ll experience the texture of daily life in these civilizations like never before—and you’ll be delighted by the ways you’ll identify and empathize with people from another world.
The 19th-century historian Thomas Carlyle wrote, “The history of the world is but the biography of great men.” There’s no doubt that most histories take the conventional approach of introducing us to the major figures and important dates. But The Other Side of History stimulates your imagination by providing you a vivid glimpse into the real world of the past:
The true joy of this course lies in seeing what life was like for ordinary people—and therefore what life would have been like for most of us if we had been born in a different era. Through archaeological evidence and literary records, you’ll connect with a wide range of people over the ages and experience life from their perspectives. This imaginative leap is why we study the humanities—to expand our circle of empathy, compassion, and open-mindedness about the world.
The Other Side of History moves systematically through history, with significant stops in ancient Egypt, Greece, Persia, Rome, and medieval Britain. In each location, Professor Garland explores life from all angles: What did the citizens 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? Death and the afterlife? You’ll encounter such interesting aspects of everyday life as
To complement archaeological records, Professor Garland quotes liberally from great literature throughout the ages, explicating key passages that reveal the other side of history. You’ll hear from Herodotus, the Greek playwrights, Homer, Vergil, Tacitus, Ovid, Seneca, Juvenal, and Chaucer, along with anonymous poets and scribes.
In addition to providing intriguing details about daily life, The Other Side of History offers a cultural perspective. You’ll explore exciting new anthropological discoveries and cutting-edge academic disciplines—such as the burgeoning field of “disability studies”—which offer you a well-rounded overview of the humanities today. Professor Garland’s fascinating analysis not only enriches your knowledge of the past, but sheds light on civilization as we know it.
The heart of this course lies in Professor Garland’s passion for his subject. With 30 years of teaching experience and as the author of such books as Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks, he is an expert in the field. He sprinkles the course with anecdotes, such as singing “Onward Christian Soldiers” at the dinner table as a child or his first encounter with the mummy called Ginger at the BritishMuseumin London, which make the lectures personal and engaging. In fact, he says, “This course fits my interests to a tee. In a way, it’s what I’ve been preparing for all my life.”
With a lifetime of preparation for a course on the other side of history, Professor Garland’s enthusiasm is contagious. You, too, will be moved by his vivid descriptions of daily life—in the home and on the job, on the battlefield and in the graveyard. These descriptions are enhanced by a rich display of graphics, maps, and models that illustrate the art, the relics, and the geography of these historical periods.
At the end, you’ll come away with a new understanding and appreciation for past eras, but more important, Professor Garland’s compassionate look at the other side of history enriches our own lives. By crossing space and time in an effort to be another person—someone with whom you might not think you have anything at all in common—you come to realize our interconnectedness. The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World takes us on a journey to vastly different eras and shows us the range of possibilities of what it means to be human, making this a journey very much worth taking.