Courses on Roman engineering?

[Jarlabanke]

Does anyone have a tip of courses taught about Roman engineering?

[caesar novus]

http://oyc.yale.edu/history-art/hsar-252 which is mostly about the aesthetic elements of roman architecture... the physical science alone would be pretty simple. It annoyed me on it's emphasis on memorizing defunct terminology for every little decorative element, and also the way she would go off topic to revel in the election of current leftist politicians... but those are the ways of ivy league US universities these days. Also I believe there is a lengthy translated Roman tract available free on the web about how to build an aquaduct.

Edited October 14, 2013 by caesar novus

[guy]

Does anyone have a tip of courses taught about Roman engineering?

I recommend looking at the offerings From The Great Course Company.

 

They have a highly recommended course on Classical archaeology. These courses frequently go on sale (70%), so wait till they are on sale, however.

 

http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=3340

 

They have an even higher rated, but more generalized course on the world's greatest structures. This course is supposed to be a great course on architecture.

 

http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=1153

 

 

I haven't seen either course, but they are both highly rated.

 

Remember, wait till these course are on sale, however.

 

 

guy also known as gaius

Edited October 15, 2013 by guy

[caesar novus]

I took those great courses, which by the way should be available 75% off plus $10 off your first $50 with a coupon code PW4W which they sent to me with expiration oct 24. You also might find a better or a free shipping coupon on the web... they sometimes go 85% or maybe 90% off a pretty high starting price. I bought some of their physical media used too.

 

Well the classical archeology course made no great impression on me for some reason... I may have gotten numb from the many non roman lectures preceding the roman ones, and maybe should revisit. I have paused in the middle of the structures course because it has a sort of dull presentation style. They hit columns and lintels, and arches, and should hit domes from the romans if I persevere. Look at the lecture headings, listener comments, and sometimes even trailers on those web links.

 

I have their "Experiencing Rome: A Visual Exploration of Antiquity's Greatest Empire" which shows a lot of 3d views of structures and such, but I wasn't impressed by much depth of content: http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=3430

 

I also have their "Pompeii: Daily Life in an Ancient Roman City", but haven't looked at it yet (see the trailer at http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=3742 ).

 

I heard an audio only version of "Greece and Rome: An Integrated History of the Ancient Mediterranean" which only touches on architecture, but is VERY wise and listenable: http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=3300

 

Back on the free Yale course I posted about, be aware they didn't compress the video or audio files so it adds up to something giant like 16 or 25 gig for the download versions where you can halfway see the slides. They point to a youtube version and there is another 3rd party streaming source I posted a year or so ago which may be compressed nice enough to see details.

Edited October 16, 2013 by caesar novus

[caesar novus]

great courses, which by the way should be available 75% off plus $10 off your first $50 with a coupon code PW4W which they sent to me with expiration oct 24.

Oh, I guess these codes are only good for the courses in that particular catalog mailer. I will post one last code from what must be the 100th physical catalog they wastefully have mailed to me... AXVE which should give 80% off some courses, but maybe none of the above.

[guy]

"Greece and Rome: An Integrated History of the Ancient Mediterranean" which only touches on architecture, but is VERY wise and listenable

 

I agree. This is one of the best courses they offer. It's sort of the "advanced course" for Ancient Greek and Roman history. It presents the complex relationship between these two worlds. I especially liked the lesson on "Disease, Medical Care, and Physicians." The course's lecturer, Professor Garland, does an excellent job presenting Ancient Roman medical practices and theory. (Much of the research and original work on this topic can be found in Audrey Cruse's Roman Medicine.)

 

 

guy also known as gaius

[guy]

A new course that looks interesting. (Remember, only buy these courses when they are on sell, which is quite frequent.)

 

http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=1132

 

 

guy also known as gaius

Edited December 16, 2013 by guy

[caesar novus]

A new course that looks interesting. (Remember, only buy these courses when they are on sell, which is quite frequent.)

 

http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=1132

.

I downloaded it, and spot checks suggest this is a SERIOUSLY good lecture series. "Understanding greek and roman technology" has better graphics, more Roman focus and more enthusiastic presentation than in his "understanding world structures" series.

 

I originally tried to spend my bucks on a subscription to "Minerva" archeo magazine which is giving away free roman coins for the occasion, but their signup website barfed on me. So I realized I had discount codes for similarly priced greatcourses... coupon code w4k4 gave me $10 off thru Dec 30 and priority code 89162 gave me almost the 80% off that the website was offering anyway. The lengthy download barfed in the middle, but let me retry to completion.

Edited December 25, 2013 by caesar novus