TC History Course Comparison

[Chrysalis Academy]

I'm looking for insight/comparison about the following two courses:

 

History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective

 

vs.

 

Foundations of Western Civilization I

 

 

I get that they differ in that the first takes a, well, more global perspective.   ;)   But I wonder if anyone can talk to me about how engaging they are? How interesting? The speakers? Quality of the guidebooks in terms of additional readings/discussion questions?

 

Our library has Western Civ and I've watched it, but I don't have access to Global Perspective and I'm trying to compare them for potential use for an 8th grade Ancient History overview.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Foundations of Western Civ goes all the way through the Middle Ages into the Renaissance. So there may be more specific ancient lectures in the other.

Does your library have sets that are culture specific like Roman stuff by Harl?

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Can I add a question?

 

I am trying to decide between these as well. Does anyone have thoughts on video vs audio?  I'm wondering specifically about these two courses.

 

Thanks for starting the thread, Rose. Let me know the final plan and the rest of the course materials/schedule when you have them chosen. Also, what time your Skype classes will be....

 

:thumbup1:    

 

 

:lol:

[Chrysalis Academy]

Foundations of Western Civ goes all the way through the Middle Ages into the Renaissance. So there may be more specific ancient lectures in the other.

Does your library have sets that are culture specific like Roman stuff by Harl?

 

I own Vandiver's lectures - Greek Mythology, The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Aneid.  I also have The Western Literary Canon in Context.

 

My library has these: are any of them good?

Buddhism - Eckel

Famous Greeks - Fears

Famous Romans - Fears

History of Ancient Rome - Fagan

Ancient Greek Civilization - McInerney

The History of Ancient Egypt - Brier

[Cosmos]

I listened to History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective last summer, mostly working in my shade garden. Looking back over the lecture titles, I can often remember what section I was working on while listening to each one. Isn't it funny how brains work like that?

 

I enjoyed it quite a bit. The lectures were quite engaging, not as "academic" as some of the other history courses I've done. My memory is that Aldrete doesn't get bogged down in a lot of historiography and spends time to paint a picture of the historical setting. The guidebook is fairly typical. Thorough notes arranged in bullet points and including a lot of detail. The notes essentiall recreate the lecture. Suggested reading and a couple of questions to consider for each lecture. For example, the lecture on Indus Valley civilization has two questions: 1. Why do you think water was so important to Indus Valley Civilization, and what did it represent to them? and 2. What do you think are the most significant gaps in our current knowledge about the Indus Valley Civilization.

 

I can't compare it to Western Civ, though.

[Luckymama]

Our library has Western Civ and I've watched it, but I don't have access to Global Perspective and I'm trying to compare them for potential use for an 8th grade Ancient History overview.

If you want to concentrate on ancient history, I'd go with the Global Perspectives choice.

 

We are at lecture 26 of the 48 and are just beginning early Rome ("People of the Toga--Etruscans, Early Rome").

 

We have the audio version, WMA :) I don't think the video is necessary in this case. Sometimes we keep a map open on the table while we listen. For one arts lecture I kept a book out to reference styles.

 

I have matched the lectures up with many books, some I purchased and more from the library. Lisa/swimmermom got me started last year with a few recommendations---The Human Record: Sources of Global History (volume 1; Andrea Overfield) and The Bedford Anthology of World Literature (I bought the first two volumes, dirt cheap, on Amazon).

[Woodland Mist Academy]

I listened to History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective last summer, mostly working in my shade garden. Looking back over the lecture titles, I can often remember what section I was working on while listening to each one. Isn't it funny how brains work like that?

 

 

It is! I have a connection between certain points in history and points on our commute. (Gardening memories sound much better than fleeting visions of gas stations...)

[Cosmos]

It is! I have a connection between certain points in history and points on our commute. (Gardening memories sound much better than fleeting visions of gas stations...)

 

There's a walk that I take a lot in the summer, like nearly every day, on a wooded trail. I have listened to so many Great Courses on that trail and it's odd which ones will float into my memory at certain points. There's one spot where my mind will almost always go to Achilles in his tent. And there's a spot in my front yard that's the Dred Scott decision and another one that's Marbury v. Madison. Weird and kind of cool!

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

I listen to audiobooks in the car all the time, particularly on one long drive I do once a month.  Certain stretches of the drive, I hear the audio narrator's voice reading a particular passage - even after months have gone by.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

There's a walk that I take a lot in the summer, like nearly every day, on a wooded trail. I have listened to so many Great Courses on that trail and it's odd which ones will float into my memory at certain points. There's one spot where my mind will almost always go to Achilles in his tent. And there's a spot in my front yard that's the Dred Scott decision and another one that's Marbury v. Madison. Weird and kind of cool!

 

 

The first TC series I owned and listened to all the way through was Rome and the Barbarians.  I listened to a lot of the lectures on my walks around a lake in Berlin.  So I tend to picture tree covered paths and glimpses of the water.  

[Chrysalis Academy]

I might even go with the digital download version - it feels so weird to not have anything to hold in your hot little hand! But we mostly listen/watch on the laptop anyway, so why pay extra for the hard copy, I'm thinking?

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I own Vandiver's lectures - Greek Mythology, The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Aneid.  I also have The Western Literary Canon in Context.

 

My library has these: are any of them good?

Buddhism - Eckel

Famous Greeks - Fears

Famous Romans - Fears

History of Ancient Rome - Fagan

Ancient Greek Civilization - McInerney

The History of Ancient Egypt - Brier

 

I enjoyed McInerney a lot, even though I didn't listen to the whole thing.  Fears has a huge following, but I think the only Roman set I've listened to is Rome and the Barbarians by Harl.

 

I liked Vandiver a lot.  Listening to one of her lectures made me want to go right home and grab a book off the shelf so I could read the play or myth she'd been discussing.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Can I add a question?

 

I am trying to decide between these as well. Does anyone have thoughts on video vs audio?  I'm wondering specifically about these two courses.

 

Thanks for starting the thread, Rose. Let me know the final plan and the rest of the course materials/schedule when you have them chosen. Also, what time your Skype classes will be....

 

:thumbup1:    

 

 

:lol:

 

Personally there are very few TC lectures I can sit and watch.  How to Look and and understand Great Art is good, because it's very visual, but even then, I tried to find a nice photo of the work being discussed so that I had something to look at.

 

For history lectures I have to be doing something else.  Cleaning the kitchen or bathroom is good for one or two lectures.  Mowing the lawn can get me through 2-3.  Raking in the fall could get me through most of a set.  But I hate to just sit and watch someone talk.

[swimmermom3]

I might even go with the digital download version - it feels so weird to not have anything to hold in your hot little hand! But we mostly listen/watch on the laptop anyway, so why pay extra for the hard copy, I'm thinking?

 

If you have a couple of courses you are considering buying, make a spreadsheet that shows what TTC charges for those courses on sale in both hard copies and digital download. Always factor in the $10 or $20 TTC charges for shipping unless you have a code.  Haunt ebay and Amazon and your local library sales for those titles and keep track of the prices.

 

Originally, ds preferred audio for the lectures, then he hit hormonal half-witdom and now prefers video as I think he can concentrate a bit more easily.  I have picked up some amazing deals on like-new lecture series that end up being about a third of what TTC charges. you can also get the lecture on Audible and then just pick up a guidebook for $10 or less on Amazon. I've spent $30 total for a lecture series that never seems to go under $129 on sale.

 

[Luckymama]

(There may be a copy of History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective available in June ;) )

[Chrysalis Academy]

(There may be a copy of History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective available in June ;) )

 

Yes, Please!  ;)

[Chrysalis Academy]

If you a couple of courses you are considering buying, make a spreadsheet that shows what TTC charges for those courses on sale in both hard copies and digital download. Always factor in the $10 or $20 TTC charges for shipping unless you have a code.  Haunt ebay and Amazon and your local library sales for those titles and keep track of the prices.

 

Originally, ds preferred audio for the lectures, then he hit hormonal half-witdom and now prefers video as I think he can concentrate a bit more easily.  I have picked up some amazing deals on like-new lecture series that end up being about a third of what TTC charges. you can also get the lecture on Audible and then just pick up a guidebook for $10 or less on Amazon. I've spent $30 total for a lecture series that never seems to go under $129 on sale.

 

 

Thanks for the advice! I do prefer video lectures myself, for whatever reason.

[swimmermom3]

(There may be a copy of History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective available in June ;) )

 

I forgot you were doing it. And - your thoughts, madam?

 

[swimmermom3]

I have both sets and we have used them in different ways.

 

We used Global Perspective in 9th grade when ds came home from public high school at the end of the first semester. We had 4.5 month to fly through ancient history and as a family we are more interested in the well, global perspective versus just Western Civilization.

 

We used Lectures 1-45, stopping with monasticism as that is often a starting point for medieval times (even though technically I think it's pinned to around 200 CE). Charlemagne definitely belongs there.  Aldrete has a relaxed delivery and while I like him just fine, my ds has other lecturers he prefers more. I can easily see his delivery and sense of humor appealing to college students. 

 

We were using an AP World History text as a spine and I could see where certain topics aligned with AP World History. Somewhere during the course, we changed texts to Strayer's Ways of the World: A Brief Global History with Sources, courtesy of EKS's suggestions. That book rocks. In one of the "Documents" section, there is DBQ exercise on "Considering the Evidence: Life and Afterlife in Mesopotamia and Egypt." This ties in perfectly with Lecture 5 in the Global Perspective. It's a good, basic critical thinking exercise for your student. Lecture 9 on Homer and Indian poetry runs along the same lines and we really liked it. Another case study that comes straight from AP World History is the comparison of the Han and Roman empires, which again ties in with an analysis in chap. 4 of the Strayer text.

 

If I remember right, Aldrete offers little or no mention of the Hebrews and the first mention of Christianity shows up with Diocletion and the Later Roman Empire. Luckymama has done this more recently and perhaps she will correct me if I am wrong.

 

To correct some perceived gaps, I pulled from other courses I have:

 

Foundations of Western Civilization I: L4 (Hebrews), L23-24 (Jesus and Emergence of Christian Church)

Foundations of Eastern Civilization

Origins of Great Ancient Civilizations: I think I used 10-12. If you need me to check, I can.

 

Thomas Noble, the lecturer for Foundations of Western Civilization 1, is a fine lecturer and is among our favorites. He's more "old-school," - a bit more formal. We used Lectures 38-47 at the beginning of our AP European History year crossing over with the Foundations II.

 

Which set you use is going to depend on what your emphasis is for your study of ancient history: world or Western.

 

I'd have to add that we have yet to meet an Elizabeth Vandiver set we didn't like, except the Aeneid. Even the divine Ms. V couldn't make that loathed work better for us. I can't tell you what it is about her, it's not that the delivery is smooth or that she is an exciting speaker and yet, we can listen to her for hours. We really respect her, maybe that's it.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Thanks for the details, Lisa! It sounds like the Strayer book is something I should check out.

 

Shannon really wants to delve into Greek Mythology plus the Iliad and the Odyssey.  I think that's great, and that we'll focus on Greek lit, but I wanted a more broad introduction to World History to go along with that.  I think this will be a nice combo - Global Perspectives for the broad overview, plus drilling down into some Greek history and literature.  

 

I'm not married to the idea of doing The Aneid, we will play it by ear and see how we feel about it.  We may do a couple of the Ancient Shakespeare plays, too, because we can't get enough Shakespeare!

 

 

[swimmermom3]

Thanks for the details, Lisa! It sounds like the Strayer book is something I should check out.

 

Shannon really wants to delve into Greek Mythology plus the Iliad and the Odyssey.  I think that's great, and that we'll focus on Greek lit, but I wanted a more broad introduction to World History to go along with that.  I think this will be a nice combo - Global Perspectives for the broad overview, plus drilling down into some Greek history and literature.  

 

I'm not married to the idea of doing The Aneid, we will play it by ear and see how we feel about it.  We may do a couple of the Ancient Shakespeare plays, too, because we can't get enough Shakespeare!

 

This is the Strayer book. If you have a full year, you could do some cool things with this as your spine for the very reason that it would leave you room to do some readings in Herodotus etc. I can also tell you what we did the Vandiver's Classical Mythology course before we ran out of time. Ds was bummed and would have loved to keep going.

 

Honestly, the Iliad and the Odyssey have been some of the highlights of homeschooling in highschool. Since ds is into political satire, he thoroughly enjoys Aristophanes as well.

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

I just wanted to pop back in here and say thanks for suggesting the Strayer book, Lisa.  My copy arrived yesterday and it looks just perfect!  I really like this documentary history approach, this book will be a great fit for us. I put together our history/Great Books plan using it as a text, some of the SHEG lessons, the Global Perspective TC course, and a bunch of the Vandiver courses to go with lit reading.  It's going to be a fun year!

 

Now I just have to find Global Perspectives on super-sale . . . 

[swimmermom3]

Rose, I know you will have more than enough stuff to do, but have you looked at TTC's The History of Science: Antiquity to 1700?

 

I personally enjoyed the course and would work it in with a strong student with not only an interest in science, but philosophy. Lectures 1-12 will get you through the ancients up to the end of the classical world. Get it used as you can only download it now from TTC.

 

One of the most popular science classes at our high school before they revamped their program was a class that utilized Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything with lab experiments in physics, chemistry, and biology.  The teacher's brilliant idea was to pull in kids who were less than thrilled by the prospect of science by focusing on how academic advances are made. That seems to entail a lot of intrigue, back-stabbing, strange personal habits, brilliance balanced by blind luck, hard work and going against the norm. Perfect for getting young people excited.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Oh, that does look interesting! We love history of science here.  We might even do a year of it at some point in high school, a history & philosophy of science course.  We did the first two Hakim Story of Science books in 6th grade and have been working through the Big History Project this year, incorporating lots of extra science - cosmology and astronomy, chemistry, origins/evolution, human anthropology, nutrition & cooking.  It's been by far our best year of history and of science - making these connections is awesome, so much richer than studying the subjects in isolation.  One of the books we'll use in Natural History/Biology over the next two years is Science as a Way of Knowing: Foundations of Modern Biology by John Moore.

 

Thanks for the suggestion!

[swimmermom3]

Oh, that does look interesting! We love history of science here.  We might even do a year of it at some point in high school, a history & philosophy of science course.  We did the first two Hakim Story of Science books in 6th grade and have been working through the Big History Project this year, incorporating lots of extra science - cosmology and astronomy, chemistry, origins/evolution, human anthropology, nutrition & cooking.  It's been by far our best year of history and of science - making these connections is awesome, so much richer than studying the subjects in isolation.  One of the books we'll use in Natural History/Biology over the next two years is Science as a Way of Knowing: Foundations of Modern Biology by John Moore.

 

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

Thanks so much for mentioning this book. I just ordered. I used to hoard writing programs, now it's science books. Go figure. You all are a bad influence.

 

[Murrayshire]

I have both sets and we have used them in different ways.

 

We used Global Perspective in 9th grade when ds came home from public high school at the end of the first semester. We had 4.5 month to fly through ancient history and as a family we are more interested in the well, global perspective versus just Western Civilization.

 

We used Lectures 1-45, stopping with monasticism as that is often a starting point for medieval times (even though technically I think it's pinned to around 200 CE). Charlemagne definitely belongs there. Aldrete has a relaxed delivery and while I like him just fine, my ds has other lecturers he prefers more. I can easily see his delivery and sense of humor appealing to college students.

 

We were using an AP World History text as a spine and I could see where certain topics aligned with AP World History. Somewhere during the course, we changed texts to Strayer's Ways of the World: A Brief Global History with Sources, courtesy of EKS's suggestions. That book rocks. In one of the "Documents" section, there is DBQ exercise on "Considering the Evidence: Life and Afterlife in Mesopotamia and Egypt." This ties in perfectly with Lecture 5 in the Global Perspective. It's a good, basic critical thinking exercise for your student. Lecture 9 on Homer and Indian poetry runs along the same lines and we really liked it. Another case study that comes straight from AP World History is the comparison of the Han and Roman empires, which again ties in with an analysis in chap. 4 of the Strayer text.

 

If I remember right, Aldrete offers little or no mention of the Hebrews and the first mention of Christianity shows up with Diocletion and the Later Roman Empire. Luckymama has done this more recently and perhaps she will correct me if I am wrong.

 

To correct some perceived gaps, I pulled from other courses I have:

 

Foundations of Western Civilization I: L4 (Hebrews), L23-24 (Jesus and Emergence of Christian Church)

Foundations of Eastern Civilization

Origins of Great Ancient Civilizations: I think I used 10-12. If you need me to check, I can.

 

Thomas Noble, the lecturer for Foundations of Western Civilization 1, is a fine lecturer and is among our favorites. He's more "old-school," - a bit more formal. We used Lectures 38-47 at the beginning of our AP European History year crossing over with the Foundations II.

 

Which set you use is going to depend on what your emphasis is for your study of ancient history: world or Western.

 

I'd have to add that we have yet to meet an Elizabeth Vandiver set we didn't like, except the Aeneid. Even the divine Ms. V couldn't make that loathed work better for us. I can't tell you what it is about her, it's not that the delivery is smooth or that she is an exciting speaker and yet, we can listen to her for hours. We really respect her, maybe that's it.

I'm going to butt in and let Swimmermom3 know how helpful this post is! Thank you!

[3in9th]

Wow! The number of these courses is dizzying! How do you weed out some of the ones available like "Understanding Greek and Roman Technology"?

 

 

[Luckymama]

Wow! The number of these courses is dizzying! How do you weed out some of the ones available like "Understanding Greek and Roman Technology"?

We own this one :D but haven't used it yet. Dd was the one who asked me to purchase it. As it is only 12 hours long (24 lectures), it will be used as part of a larger course at some time in the next three years.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Wow! The number of these courses is dizzying! How do you weed out some of the ones available like "Understanding Greek and Roman Technology"?

 

Mostly by asking on this board which one people have used and liked! I agree, there are a ton I'd like to use if I had the time and money.

[3in9th]

Well, let me ask this, then.

 

I'm a fan of Lucent Books and their World History Series. I've identified 20+ books that will cover the Ancient period. Does anyone think doing both the books and the Great Courses might be overkill (noting that WHS only is for history and not literature)? Or do y'all think they will be good reinforcements of each other?

[swimmermom3]

Wow! The number of these courses is dizzying! How do you weed out some of the ones available like "Understanding Greek and Roman Technology"?

 

Again, if you know your focus and your student's interests, you can whittle you choices down. If you have a student that is STEM focused and maybe not that delighted about history, then the title above might be a good choice to include, perhaps along with some of the History of Science lectures.

 

Some kids are into military battles and you can follow that approach.

 

We are very interested in global perspective, so I look for series that round that out.  The Foundations of Eastern Civilization came out near the end of our ancients course, so I rolled it into 9th and 10th grade.  My MIL grew up in China and my dh grew up in Japan, so there is some family background.

[HootyTooty]

I love these threads. Is anyone integrating literature in their global choices? I think I have an idea of what we are doing with history but I need more literature choices to investigate.

[swimmermom3]

Well, let me ask this, then.

 

I'm a fan of Lucent Books and their World History Series. I've identified 20+ books that will cover the Ancient period. Does anyone think doing both the books and the Great Courses might be overkill (noting that WHS only is for history and not literature)? Or do y'all think they will be good reinforcements of each other?

 

Don Nardo wrote a bunch of those, right?  We used them in middle school, but if I remember right, the writing is solid, interesting, and it really could be at the younger end for high school. You would have some overlapping, but there is no rule that you have to watch every lecture or read the entire book. I'll usually eliminate redundancy ahead of time.  My only concern is that because each book stands alone, you may not have the comparisons made across cultures that give high school history greater depth. You would need to supply those comparisons yourself, which isn't all that difficult.

 

Also, Great Courses can be a bit spotty for coverage of Eastern Civilization and I think the WHS series leaves no civilization unexamined, so that would be a big plus.

 

[3in9th]

This is what I started working on yesterday.

 

We've used History Odyssey from Pandia Press in the past and found the assignments very thorough, but the readings rather shallow. (I find the opposite to be truth of WTM's history program.) So we've always supplemented with the World History Series. Anyway, here's what I have so far based on the History Odyssey's course outline for their 3rd level (9th grade) Ancients. I added "Human Prehistory" because evolution and prehistory are important for my kids to know. GC = Great Course, WHS = World History Series

 

 

Human Prehistory

GC- Human Prehistory and the First Civilizations

WHS- The Stone Age

Films- Journey of Man- 120 minutes

Journey to 10,000 BC- 94 minutes

Clash of the Cavemen- 94 minutes

Walking with Cavemen-

Literature- ???

 

Early Civilized Life

GC- ???

WHS- ???

Films- National Geographic: Birth of Civilization- 90 minutes

The First Civilizations- 50 minutes

Literature- ???

 

Ancient Mesopotamia

GC- ???

WHS- Ancient Mesopotamia

Literature- The Epic of Gilgamesh by N.K. Sandars

Films- ???

 

Ancient Egypt

GC- ???

WHS- Ancient Egypt

Films- National Geographic: Egypt: Lost Tombs

National Geographic: Great Pyramid

Mysteries of Egypt: IMAX

Modern Marvels: Egyptian Pyramids

National Geographic: Egypt: Pharaohs

Ancient Civilizations: The Pharaohs

Literature- The Tale of Sinhue and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems by R.B. Parkinson

 

Intruders and Invaders: The Dark Ages of the Ancient Near East

GC- Old Testament

Beginnings of Judaism

The Book of Genesis

WHS- ????

Films- ????

Literature- The Bible

 

The Beginnings of Civilization in Eastern Asia

GC- Foundations of Eastern Civilization

Great Minds of the Eastern Intellectural Tradition

WHS- Ancient Chinese Dynasties (2000 BC to 221 AD)

The Ancient Near East

Ancient India

Films-

Literature- ???

 

The Other Worlds of the Ancient Past (Africa, Megalithic Europe, and The Americas)

GC-

WHS- Maya Civilization

Aztec Civilization

The Inca Empire

Ancient America

Traditional Africa

Films- ???

Literature-

 

More cultures to come...

 

MORE WHS that I haven't plugged into the course outline yet:

The Roman Republic

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

The Roman Empire

The Persian Empire

Greek and Roman Mythology

Greek and Roman Science

Greek and Roman Theater

Caesar’s Conquest of Gaul

Women of Ancient Greece

Greek and Roman Sport

Age of Pericles

Punic Wars

 

Anyway, that's what I have so far. Again, if anyone is willing to collaborate or we can fill in some of the stuff on this board, I'd really appreciate it. I'm not at all familiar with Great Courses, but am a downright expert in WHS and documentary films.

[HootyTooty]

For The Beginnings of Civilization in Easter Asia what about The Bhagavad Gita?, in one of the GC courses there is a lecture on it and it might fit into your plans.

 

[Woodland Mist Academy]

I love these threads. Is anyone integrating literature in their global choices? I think I have an idea of what we are doing with history but I need more literature choices to investigate.

 

We are. I'm still in the planning stages, though...

[Luckymama]

I love these threads. Is anyone integrating literature in their global choices? I think I have an idea of what we are doing with history but I need more literature choices to investigate.

We are not integrating literature but nonfiction instead, using diaries, letters, government documents, writings of historians who wrote at the time period we're studying, religious and philosophical pieces, and so on.

 

We started with The Human Record: Sources of Global History http://www.amazon.com/Human-Record-Sources-Global-History/dp/0495913073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424197217&sr=8-1&keywords=the+human+record+sources+of+global+history (volume 1 to 1500; there are newer and older editions of each volume).

 

For China we are using Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Civilization-Sourcebook-2nd-Ed/dp/002908752X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1424197379&sr=1-2&keywords=patricia+ebrey

[Woodland Mist Academy]

We are not integrating literature but nonfiction instead, using diaries, letters, government documents, writings of historians who wrote at the time period we're studying, religious and philosophical pieces, and so on.

 

In my delusions plans, we'll be doing both/and, as well as some other bits and pieces....

[swimmermom3]

I love these threads. Is anyone integrating literature in their global choices? I think I have an idea of what we are doing with history but I need more literature choices to investigate.

 

There are a lot of choices, but I would recommend leaving a significant chunk of time for Greek literature. Things don't have to be lined up perfectly with history.

 

A couple of literature resources that would be helpful for those of you that are doing ancient history with a global perspective are:

 

The Bedford Anthology of World Literature, Book 1 and Book 2 $4-5 per book w/shipping

Classical Mythology by Morford and Lenardon   (get the cheapest edition, doesn't need to be current)

 

The Bedford Anthology books give you excerpts and full works (usually poetry) from around the world.

 

The first book that goes until 100 C.E. has the following sections:

 

Mesopotamia: The Formation of Cities and Earliest Literatures

Egypt: Seasons of the Nile

The Ancient Hebrews: Path of Righteousness and the Ten Commandments

Greece: The Golden Age of Literature and Philosophy

India: The Timeless Worlds of Priests, Warriors, and Caste

China: The Ancient Way: Ancestors, Emperors, and Society

 

The books are best for providing context and connections between works from different cultures and not always about specific literary traits.  While I like to use full works for our literature studies, these books allowed me to figure out what I wanted to add to my library.

 

The "Connections" questions are excellent fodder for discussion and possible paper topics.

 

The mythology text is the standard introductory college text. Many sections of it go well with Elizabeth Vandiver's Classical Mythology Course.  I would recommend that you have full works for Homer and many of the plays, but if you don't want to purchase Hesiod or The Homeric Hymns, there is plenty to work with in this book. There are also examples of art inspired across the ages by classical mythology.

 

There is a companion book that gives you sound bites of the full text (people actually asked for that :tongue_smilie:), but it also lists art, music, and videos about and/or inspired by classical mythology. I'd only get if you are obsessed, which is a danger if you listen to Elizabeth Vandiver long enough.

[Luckymama]

In my delusions plans, we'll be doing both/and, as well as some other bits and pieces....

I planned on literature, too. Finding good whole-world literature made the load just too heavy with dd's outsourced English class in the mix...and her other classes :lol:

 

She definitely prefers the nonfiction, and she still gets the flavor of each civilization through it.

 

I figure she'll probably get a lot of the Greek and Roman lit in future English classes (if she goes with the Lukeion options).

[swimmermom3]

Potential literary selections:

 

Epic of Gilgamesh - recommend, and I would use Andrew George's translation and the Annenberg Lerner lecture

                                (there are a couple of poems worth doing as well). What is cool with the Annenberg lecture is that your student sees ex

 

ETA: Oops, this one got away from me. Will fix shortly.

[swimmermom3]

:blush: Hey Rose,

 

I just realized we are kind of messing with your thread. Would you like us to take it elsewhere?Or are you okay with organic growth?

[Woodland Mist Academy]

If you move to a new thread, please link it!

[Chrysalis Academy]

No, do it here!!  This is awesome!!

[3in9th]

More...

 

The End of the Old World

GC- The Persian Empire

WHS- The Persian Empire

Films-

Literature- ???

 

The Greeks

GC- The Iliad

The Odyssey

Masterpieces of Ancient Greek Literature

Greek Tragedy

Classical Mythology

Plato’s Republic

WHS- Women of Ancient Greece

Greek and Roman Sport

Age of Pericles

Greek and Roman Mythology

Greek and Roman Science

Greek and Roman Theater

Films- ???

Literature- The Iliad (GC companion)

The Odyssey (GC companion)

Aescylus- Oresteia (GC companion)

Sophocles- Three Theban Plays (GC companion)

Euripides- Medea (GC companion)

Aristophanes- The Frog and the Clouds (GC companion)

Plato- The Republic (GC companion)

 

Rome

GC- Practical Philosophy- The Greco-Roman Moralists

The Aeneid

WHS- The Roman Republic

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

The Roman Empire

Caesar’s Conquest of Gaul

Punic Wars

Films- ???

Literature- The Aeneid (GC companion)

Plutarch- Lives

Ovid- Metamorphoses

Aurelius- Meditations (GC companion)

 

If y'all could help me find literature for some of the missing pieces and/or Great Courses companions, specifically:

 

More East Asian literature

Any African or South American Literature (will be willing to do mythology in which I am versed if there's nothing else)

Persian Empire literature

GC companions for Plutarch- Lives, Ovid- Metamorphoses, and Aristotle- Poetics.

 

Thanks!

[HootyTooty]

We have studied Mythology in the past (my child was obssessed for a few years), so we are going to skip reading but will listen instead.

 

Here are the books, plays and poems I was thinking about adding to History and Lit combo:

The Epic of Gilgamesh translated by N.K. Sandars

The Tale of Sinhue

Poetry selections from the Bedford book

The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor

The Dialogue of a Man and His Soul

The Teaching of Vizier Ptahhotep

Bhagavad Gita

The Iliad by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles

The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fagels

Selections from Lives by Plutarch

Selections from Dao De Jing by Laozi

Selections from Classic of Poetry (Shi jing)

The Analects

Sophocles, Three Theban Plays, translated by Robert Fagles (only one)

Julius Ceasar by Shakespeare

Aurelius, Meditations,  any translation

Augustine, The Confessions,  any translation

Listening to Vandiver’s literature lectures along the way

Tao Qian- selections from

Selections from Ramayana

The Life of Muhammad, "The Ascent to Heaven"

The Mu'allaqah

The Conference of the Birds

 

Does that look like too little if I want to cover major works of global pieces as they unfolded in history?