Results tagged “Podcasts” from Cordinc Blog

Available on iTunes or OU Podcasts

The Open University has a huge number of short podcasts available and many are related to ancient history. Roman Funerary Monuments is part of their course on the classical world. The title accurately describes the content. There are 7 video podcasts in this series with a combined running time of roughly half an hour. All the videos are available in either iPod or a larger (640×360) format, with PDF transcripts. The visuals entirely consist of Roman funerary monuments in their modern state with documentary style narration. The necropolis at Isola Sacra features heavily.

Rather than focus on the monuments themselves, these podcasts use them to provide an insight into Roman culture. As the most common form of remnant surviving from Roman times, funerary monuments are a useful primary source. Epitaphs provide names (Roman names were very informative), ages, family relations and sometimes a short biography. Thus the dead could create a lasting image of themselves, emphasising the positive aspects of their life (in a Roman context) and omitting the negative. Freed slaves tended to take particular advantage of this, with their tombs being more extravagant than others of similar wealth. Funeral monuments also suggest that family relationships were important (especially among freed slaves, perhaps because as such relationships would have been limited under servitude). Roman law prohibited funeral monuments inside cities, so they were built alongside the roads leading out of the towns. Spots directly alongside the road being the prime location. Tombs also sought to catch the eye, and were designed to be visited. They often contained items to promote a longer stay such as art, furnishings, and in one case, a well.

This series is well worth a viewing.

Available on iTunes and OU Podcasts

Another of the numerous Open University podcasts, this series of videos gives an overview of the town of Paestum, located in Campania. The town was originally called Poseidonia when founded by Greek colonists in the 7th century BC. There are 4 videos totalling just over 20 minutes in length. They are available in iPod or a larger (640×360) format. There are also transcripts. The visuals are of the modern ruins or of artefacts recovered from the town.

Modern day Paestum is dominated by three big temples built by the Greek founders. The first video spends some time on these temples and the time in which they were built. Unfortunately, the site was excavated in haste in the last century and damaged in the process. Despite this there is evidence of variations from established Greek culture. There are 24 flutes on the temples' columns rather than the traditional 20. The second video shows paintings from an archaic Greek tomb. In the 5th century BC Poseidonia was conquered by a nearby tribe - the Lucanians. The third video focuses on some funeral paintings from this period. Despite the Lucanians' reputation as barbarians, there is little physical evidence of disruption from this period in the city, and they must have been largely Hellenised. There was a large discontinuity to the city when it became Roman in 273BC and renamed Paestum. Much of the city was rebuilt in the Roman style although the temples remained intact. The fourth video deals with this period.

An interesting, but very short and narrowly focused, series.

Available at the course website.

Finding podcasts on ancient history which do not focus on Mediterranean civilisations is very hard. The only one I have found so far is UCLA's History 9A - History of India course. This is a recording of the lectures given as part of the university course by Vinay Lal at the end of 2009. However, the course encompasses far more than the ancient history for which I was searching. Starting with the first civilisations, it races through history to end with Indian Independence and Partition.

This course is not available on iTunes but there is a course website with the lectures in both MP3 audio-only and video in real player format. Unfortunately, two of the lectures were not recorded. The 27 recorded lectures are around 50 minutes in length and 24MB (for the MP3s, I didn't watch the videos). As is normal with recorded lectures there is some class discussion taking up the first few minutes of each podcast. The course reading is also available from the class website. Professor Lal occasionally mentions visual aids, but video is available. Production quality is otherwise fine and the material is presented in an interesting manner.

The podcasts start with the Indus Valley Civilisation (in what is modern Pakistan), one of the three early human civilisations along with Egypt and Mesopotamia). These people were replaced by the Aryans (no relation to the Nazi Aryans) in some disputed manner. From there the course quickly skips to Hindu religion and culture, telling Indian history through Hindu texts. I imagine a similar history of Europe could be told through early Christian texts, but it would miss much. In Europe, there were many non-religious texts; the lectures suggest that in comparison, Hindu texts are the main primary sources for ancient Indian history.

In any case the lectures on Hinduism are quite interesting if you don't already know much about the religion. The course covers the content of the main Hindu texts from the Vedas, Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Puranas and a little on the Bhakti poets. It is intriguing to see how some Hindu concepts such as Karma or Yoga have been transformed in western culture. Yoga is a much larger concept then physical exercise and describes many methods of achieving the goals of life. The Hindu gods also have many avatars - incarnations or personifications of aspects of the god. One of the avatars of the main god Vishnu is Buddha - this avatar appeared at a time when Buddhism was expanding in India. The lectures also detail the basic beliefs of Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism (including a discussion on its disappearance from India) - all of which have their origins in India.

After the arrival of Islam towards the end of the first millennium AD, the course returns to a more traditional history format. As there is still a thousand years to the present day, the coverage of events can be succinct. Starting with the Delhi Sultanate, Muslim rule of India continued with the Mughal Empire, which succumbed to the East India Company. It seems strange to have a country ruled by a foreign company and Professor Lal spends some time detailing how this occurred. The subsequent rule (and sometimes, misrule) of the British Empire is covered, with the final lecture detailing Gandhi and his policy of nonviolent civil disobedience leading to independence.

Not knowing much about Indian history other than the basics, I can't say I learnt a huge amount more through this podcast, although there are occasional worthwhile tidbits. However, I did learn a huge amount about Hinduism. It covers all Indian history in an introductory sweep.

Available on iTunes and and OU Podcasts

'Buildings of Ancient Rome' is another of the consistently good Open University short podcasts. This one describes and details the histories of certain buildings (mainly temples) of Ancient Rome in the Circus Flaminus, Largo Argentina and Roman Forum. Thus it focuses on a few quite small (and, apart from the Forum, less well-known) areas of ancient Roman ruins. The format is a series of 5 short video documentaries (although iTunes only lists 4 videos on its iPod page, it then lists all 5 on the Mac/PC page). The videos are available in a 640×360 format or a smaller iPod optimised format. They range from 2 minutes to 15 minutes in length, and transcripts are also available.

The videos are made entirely of pictures of the temples/buildings being discussed in their current state (with the very occasional floor plan). The audio comprises details of the buildings and their history. There are no reconstructions or interviews. The information comes think and fast - dates of construction (and sometimes destruction), architectural notes, interesting events in their history and how it is thought they were used. It can be hard to orientate yourself - a little knowledge of Rome's history and layout helps immensely. Interesting, but not introductory.

Available on iTunes and OU Podcasts

This Open University series examines theatre during the time of Classical Greece. In particular it details the production of the world's oldest surviving play The Persians by Aeschylus, first performed in Athens at the Theatre of Dionysus in 472BC. Like the other OU podcasts, this series is a set of short documentaries to accompany lectures. There are 4 video podcasts totalling around 40 minutes in length, with the individual videos ranging from 7 to 14 minutes. They are available in iPod or a larger (640×360) format. There are also transcripts. The visuals are mainly talking heads interspersed with shots of theatre ruins, vases or in later episodes modern productions of The Persians.

The first video details what the Theatre of Dionysus would have looked like in the 5th century BC and what it would have meant culturally to attend the theatre at that time. Performances would have been important events, it is estimated that the theatre could probably hold around a third of the male citizens of Athens (it is not certain women were allowed to attend). The second video covers the actors and chorus in Ancient Greek theatre. Ancient Greek plays only had 2 or 3 actors, who would each play multiple parts while wearing masks. The next video examines how some Greek plays have managed to survive 2500 years - only 7 of Aeschylus' estimated 90 plays still exist. The last episode discusses some modern interpretations of The Persians.

A good short podcast series, but probably only for people particularly interested in Ancient Greek theatre.

Available on iTunes and OU Podcasts

This Open University series focusses on the Acropolis in Athens, with special attention paid to its most famous structure, the Parthenon. This is not a series of recorded lectures, instead it is more like a documentary - and would be viewed by Open University students as part of their course. It consists of 6 short videos ranging from around 2 and a half to 6 minutes in length. The whole series combined is under half an hour, so it is just an introduction. The podcasts are well produced, easy to understand. The video is clear and consists mainly of views of the Acropolis in its current form (no CG recreations). There are two versions available: an iPod version recorded in 320×176 ranging in size from 13-32MB and a larger 640×360 version ranging from 26-68MB. Transcripts are also present.

The first video introduces the site through the route of the Panathenaia, the most important festival in ancient Athens. The following podcast shows some of the buildings on the Acropolis other than the Parthenon. Then the next three podcasts detail the Parthenon and its art (metopes, frieze and pediments) much of which now resides in the British Museum in London. The final video concerns how to visualise ancient buildings from conventional plans (here is the Parthenon's plan) - an incongruous but interesting addition.

A professional-level, short, video introduction to the Acropolis and Parthenon.

Available on iTunesU. I could not find a course website.

This is a series of 8 anthropology lectures on the topic Socities in Transition recorded at Linacre College, Oxford University during early 2009. Each podcast is just under an hour and audio only (occasional mention is made of slides). Each lecture is given by a different presenter. All are fairly academic in nature (a couple are quite dry and I found it hard to maintain concentration), but are still accessible to the non-expert. These lectures are not straight history, there is little discussion of historical events. Instead each podcast presents current research on the process of social transition during a notable period of history. They often provide an interesting snapshot (or at least intriguing tidbits) of life around the time of the transition.

The lectures are in chronological order, spanning the entirity of human history - and beyond. The first lecture is on the Neanderthals - their slow extinction and modern discovery. The next lecture deals with the spread of farming in South East Asia. Then follows an interesting lecture on the spread of metallurgy in the Bronze Age and what the metals meant to society at different times and places. Another interesting lecture details attempts to date and size the volcanic explosion at Thera (now Santorini). From this research the presenter trys to match up the likely effects with events and history in the region (mainly the Minoan society on Crete). The next two lectures are respectively on the beginning and end of Roman rule in Britain. Apparently the collapse of the British economy after the Romans left was particularly swift - previously common pottery and coins disappeared almost overnight and buildings quickly fell into disrepair. The last two lectures are on more modern topics - the industrial and the current information revolutions.

Worth a listen for background information on the timeperiods discussed.

Available on iTunesU. I could not find a course website.

These podcasts detail the life of the Carthaginian general Hannibal, often considered one of the greatest commanders of the ancient world. During the Second Punic War against the Roman Republic in the 3rd century BC, Hannibal led his army over the Alps into Italy. He then used superior strategy and tactics to defeat the Roman army at a number of engagements, resulting in the battle of Cannae - a devastating loss for Rome. After this, the Romans adopted many of Hannibal's techniques. At the Battle of Zama, Hannibal was defeated and Carthage lost the war.

The lectures were given by Patrick Hunt as part of the Stanford Continuing Studies Program sometime during 2007. I couldn't find a course website, but there are a few articles relating to the course. There are 8 lectures (strangely numbered 1 through 10), all of which are audio only and nearly two hours long (around 30MB in size). The first podcast is an interesting discussion on Carthaginian culture, in particular whether they really practiced child sacrifice. The second lecture introduces the First Punic War and Hannibal's father, Hamilcar Barca. The Second Punic War is covered over three lectures (along with an epilogue). The remaining three podcasts are dedicated to Hannibal's crossing of the Alps.

It seems Patrick Hunt organises regular expeditions to cross the Alps, trying to find archeological proof of where Hannibal crossed. Great attention is paid to how closely various mountain passes fit the ancient descriptions. Dr Hunt personally favours the Col de Clapier. If this historical event is of interest, then you will be well served. There is not one, not two, but three different first-person accounts of modern crossings of the Alps in attempts to follow Hannibal's footsteps: Hunt's; Ed Boenig, a student of Dr Hunt's; and John Hoyte's, who crossed the Col de Clapier in 1959 with an elephant (called Jumbo).

Apart from close concentration on a narrow historical time period, the series has many intriguing digressions. For instance, there is occasional mention of the meaning of Hannibal's name, "grace of Ba'al". Ba'al was the main Carthaginian deity, who supposedly lived on a mountain. Thus Dr Hunt suggests Hannibal would have had no fear of mountains. A bit of a stretch, but still interesting. If you have a particular interest in finding out about Hannibal's crossing of the Alps, then this is the podcast for you. However, there is still much to learn even if that is not your focus (and the second two alpine lectures can be safely skipped). On the downside, the first lecture (on the origins of Carthage) seems to be missing. Also, there is no sign of the lecture slides. Being able to see the maps and slides would have been particularly useful during discussions of which Alpine pass most closely matched ancient descriptions. Nevertheless, don't be put off by the long podcast length, this series is well worth a listen.

Available on iTunesU. I could not find a course website.

Professor Isabelle Pafford from The Ancient Mediterranean World podcasts returns for another series of Ancient History podcasts. This time a course on the Roman Republic given during Fall 2008 at Santa Clara University. There are 19 podcasts - 1 is a slide show video, but the others are audio only. Each podcast is around 50 minutes in length and around 50MB. In the audio podcasts there are often references to slides that are not available online.

The course starts with the stories of Rome's foundation along with details of the surrounding area and people, which presumably influenced early Rome. The Roman Kingdom is quickly passed over (perhaps due to a lack of information on the era) for the Roman Republic. Most attention is focussed on the Late Republic, with over half the lectures on the period from the Gracchi to Caesar - around 133BC to 49BC.

These lectures are full of engrossing details. There is a bit of historical timeline talk (on this date this happened and on that date that happened), but the series is more about the life and times of ancient Rome. For instance, there is often discussion of the Cursus Honorum (a series of military and administrative positions that provided a semi-formal structure to a political career) and how it affected the way people sought or achieved power. There was also a strong patron-client system, where a person's power could, in part, be measured by the number of clients/followers they had. Thus, manumission was common as freed slaves were typically clients of their previous owner. There is also some interesting consideration of which events are definitely known to have occurred, the fixed-points of history, and those parts of the primary sources that may be apocryphal.

Professor Pafford can be an engaging speaker, and it is clear this is an area she knows well. Indeed the extra colour provided as cracks began to appear in the republic had me hooked. It was a classic fight between two political parties, the Optimates and Populares - modern analogies are too easy to make. Although the ability to raise private armies and the tendency of losers to be executed adds an epic scale to proceedings. The final result may be well-known, with Caesar the unlikely Populares triumphing - but I still raced through the last half-dozen lectures.

It was a good thing I did know what happened in the end, as the end of the lecture series is missing (hint Caesar is assassinated and his nephew eventually dissolved the republic, becoming the first emperor, Augustus). I would guess that around a half-dozen of the lectures are unavailable, mainly around the mid-republic. At one point Professor Pafford apologises for losing some lectures in a hard-drive crash. So I suppose their absence is forgiveable. However, like the earlier Ancient Mediterranean podcasts, there are numerous other production issues. The audio quality is usually good, apart from a few notable exceptions. The video lecture is almost impossible to hear, and the slides are small relative to the screen. Another lecture on the First Triumvirate is split across two lectures because it sounds like the microphone failed (and the second part is very quiet). There is also quite a bit of course administrative talk (assignments, books, etc) - in one 40 minute lecture, 8 minutes are spent on such course administration topics. At least the class seem interested and ask some good questions. The lectures are also presented out of order on iTunes. It helps to know a bit of history to reorganise them from the titles.

Interesting history podcasts, again let down a little by production.

Available on iTunesU or at its website.

This is a recording of a University of California at Berkeley history course on the ancient Mediterranean given by Professor Isabelle Pafford during Fall 2007. There are 25 podcasts (each around one hour, and 15 MB) starting with a couple on Ancient Egypt and then passing through Ancient Greece, the Hellenistic Period, the Roman Republic before ending with the Roman Empire's collapse in the west around the 5th century AD. Most attention is paid to Greek and Roman history. A following course on Byzantine history is mentioned, but I couldn't find it online.

As should be expected for a series covering so much, the lectures often quickly pass over topics. Some parts of lectures were lists of important events. Despite this, there were more than enough digressions onto engaging side-topics to maintain interest (for instance, there was a passage on the nude in Greek sculpture and another on the formal political structure/progression in the Roman Republic). Thus the podcasts serve as a good introduction to the breadth of ancient Mediterranean civilisations and highlights areas you may want to explore further (after this I was looking forward to learning more on the mid and late Roman republic). I can't find much fault with the content of the course considering its scope.

I can find fault with the production standards, which overall are frustratingly poor. The sound quality is often annoyingly bad. For one lecture I had the volume turned up to max and pushed the earplugs deeper into my ears and I still could barely hear the lecturer, who sounded like she was mumbling next to a static noise generator. Course administration comments are sometimes made during a lecture - including asking unintentionally rhetorical questions to what seem to be largely apathetic students. Considering these are lecture recordings I can understand this, but usually the first few minutes of each lecture are taken up with course administration too (these could have easily been cut). Also, Professor Pafford regularly refers to visual aides that are no longer available online (the bspace website mentioned in the podcasts has been shutdown). Also the first two lectures are missing.

A good introduction to classical history, made slightly less pleasurable by poor production.

Available on iTunesU with a course website.

This complete university course (from Fall 2007) on Ancient Greek History from Yale is the best history podcast I have found so far. It consists of 24 lectures of about an hour's length each, all given by Professor Donald Kagan. It starts with an introduction to Mycenaean Greece before moving onto the Greek Dark Ages and Homeric stories. The series ends with Philip of Macedon's victory at the Battle of Chaeronea and the Greek Polis' permanent loss of independence. Along the way it details all the major events including: the rise and strangeness of Sparta; the rise of Athens and democracy; Persian wars; and the slow decrease of power in the struggle for hegemony after the Peloponnesian War. Only the 27 years of the Peloponnesian War seem to be under represented in coverage (from my previous knowledge of history). Despite 4 lectures being dedicated to it in the syllabus, most of these are taken by finishing prior topics and the buildup to the war. For the war itself, Professor Kagan suggests looking to other sources as it it too much to cover properly, and instead talks in detail about two related topics - Pericles' strategy and Thucydides' history.

One thing I can't fault is the production. The podcasts are professional from start to finish. The only blemish is Professor Kagan's occasional coughing, but this is a minor issue. The podcasts are available in a number of formats on the course website: audio-only (the same mp3s that are on iTunes); video, in both high (around 700 MB) & medium (around 250 MB) bandwith forms; and, complete text transcripts. The website also includes the notes handed out with each lecture, although these unfortunately are without the original images due to copyright problems. The website itself is downloadable too (albeit with only links to the audio and video files). While videos of the lectures are available, it is not really necessary to download them as they mainly just show Kagan talking at his podium. Rarely does he use any visual aid during the lectures. Thus these are excellent podcasts to listen to audio-only - very little will be missed.

The lectures are often a recitation of events together with discussion of how and why things may have occurred that way (for instance a section on various military strategies and whether they were correct). The aim appears to be getting the listener into the mindset of the ancient Greek statesmen (and thus the citystates in general). A goal largely achieved to my mind. There is less discourse on daily life (but still some). Professor Kagan also talks a little about historical controversies and often compares ancient events to modern history (in particular around the use of military force). In both situations he tends to declare his own prejudices so the listener is not led too much.

This is a highly recommended lecture series - interesting content that goes into the subject with some depth and so well produced it is surprisingly easy listening.

As long-time readers may have realised from my various holiday photos, I have an interest in ancient history. Discovering iTunesU, I was in history podcast heaven. There are numerous history lectures from many different institutions. In the ancient history area they mostly focus on Greek and Roman history. There is a paucity of lectures on other civilisations. I thought I'd start writing reviews of these podcasts. First up are three short series.

Great Sites Of The Ancient World - Podcasts from a lecture series at the University of Pennsylvania Museum. There have been at least 8 of these lectures over the past year, but unfortunately only three have made it online (I'm not sure if more will become available later). Each is about an hour long. The first, on Ur of the Chaldees, is audio only, but makes constant reference to missing slides. Thankfully, the other two on Troy and Abydos include the slideshow video. The lectures are given by archaeologists talking about their recent field research. As such they can sometimes become quite dry and focussed on the technical aspects of archaeology (livened with occasional stories and holiday snaps from the dig). However, you can still get a feel for the excitement of discovering or unearthing something unseen for millennia. Fans of the UK TV series Time Team should enjoy them - although they lack an equivalent of Tony Robinson's translation for the layman.

World Archaeology - Part of an Open University course, these 12 podcasts ranging from 6 to 19 minutes in length, form an introduction to archaeology as a subject of study. The course has a website, as does the series of podcasts, where transcripts are available. The podcasts are audio only and have been produced with this in mind - there is no mention of accompanying images and the delivery is very clear. However, the series is very repetitive. Many of the podcasts contain parts exactly the same as other podcasts in the series. I suspect that the series actually contains lectures from two versions of the same course. In general, if the names of two podcasts in the series look similar, the shorter one can be largely skipped without missing anything. In these podcasts history takes a backseat to archaeological definitions and theories like what is a city, how did agriculture start or empires form. Also, I found them quite introductory (which is probably intentional) and light on information. They quickly jump across so many times and civilisations there is not time to dig deeper. Still there are some interesting nuggets, but I won't be keeping a copy of this series on my computer.

Culture, identity and power in the Roman empire - Another Open University series, the 6 video podcasts are presented like short films (all under 9 minutes). Again the course and podcasts have their own websites. One is a short introduction to the geographical and cultural extent of the empire. Two are examinations of particular mosaics, and the remaining three look at the emperor as a force for unity in the empire. I have to admit to a soft spot for these podcasts as they make special mention of the Roman remains at Thugga (also know as Dougga) in Tunisia. I visited this site in 2008, you can see my photos here. This series is worth a look. The podcasts are too short to go into much detail but they have interesting visuals of current Roman sites and art.