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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Introduction to Ancient Egypt and Its Civilization by University of Pennsylvania

4.6
stars
2,734 ratings

About the Course

Colossal pyramids, imposing temples, golden treasures, enigmatic hieroglyphs, powerful pharaohs, strange gods, and mysterious mummies are features of Ancient Egyptian culture that have fascinated people over the millennia. The Bible refers to its gods, rulers, and pyramids. Neighboring cultures in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean wrote about its god-like kings and its seemingly endless supply of gold. The Greeks and Romans describe aspects of Egypt's culture and history. As the 19th century began, the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt highlighted the wonders of this ancient land, and public interest soared. Not long after, Champollion deciphered Egypt's hieroglyphs and paved the way for other scholars to reveal that Egyptian texts dealt with medicine, dentistry, veterinary practices, mathematics, literature, and accounting, and many other topics. Then, early in the 20th century, Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun and its fabulous contents. Exhibitions of this treasure a few decades later resulted in the world's first blockbuster, and its revival in the 21st century has kept interest alive. Join Dr. David Silverman, Professor of Egyptology at Penn, Curator in Charge of the Egyptian Section of the Penn Museum, and curator of the Tutankhamun exhibitions on a guided tour of the mysteries and wonders of this ancient land. He has developed this online course and set it in the galleries of the world famous Penn Museum. He uses many original Egyptian artifacts to illustrate his lectures as he guides students as they make their own discovery of this fascinating culture....

Top reviews

JM

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This course offers a comprehensive introduction to Ancient Egypt and its civilization. By taking this course, you gain a understanding of basic concepts of the Anicent Egyptian life and afterlife.

AM

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The Introduction to Ancient Egypt and Its Civilization was truly a gift!!! Thank you so much. I truly learned so much and this course will assist in discovery when revisiting Egypt.

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801 - 825 of 836 Reviews for Introduction to Ancient Egypt and Its Civilization

By Saud A

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Feb 18, 2021

Beautifully and comprehensively expressed Ancient Egypt. Gave me so many insights in the life of ancient Egyptians. Like so many today they were obsessed with life after death.

By Cindy D

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Apr 22, 2020

in the first few weeks i found it very slow and hard to take in the info... the course gets more interesting as you go forward. I enjoyed the the two weeks the most

By Daniela C

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Nov 5, 2019

The information was well organized and presented well. However, the presentation was at times dry monotone. Over all, the course taught me what I wanted to learn.

By Mark

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Feb 9, 2017

Informative course for anyone not familiar with the ancient Egyptians; The quizzes have a low (50%) threshold in order to pass, but are not always easy.

By Emma W

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Jul 6, 2020

While the topics are incredibly interesting, one would wish for a little more enthusiasm in the presentation of the knowledge and the course material.

By Dayna A

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Nov 25, 2016

A very basic overview of Egyptian history, not as detailed as I had expected. It didn't cover as many topics as I would have liked.

By Gary W

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Oct 18, 2019

Author is quite slow in presentation. Otherwise material is good and the pictures are well coordinated with the material

By LURIE A F

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Jul 23, 2022

Although I gained knowledge, The course delivery was less than enthusiatic which mad it difficult to remain focused.

By Ananya G

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Jun 6, 2017

I think this course is very informative but I feel, the narration is very flat and some modulation can be used.

By Silke S

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Sep 24, 2020

A bit too theoretical, a list of information. Only the last Video was a bit interaction with other researchers

By Peter M

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Sep 19, 2020

I enjoyed the course. Dr. Silverman needs to stop reading a teleprompter - he literally was reading a script.

By Whitney B

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Mar 1, 2021

The video lectures are short and disjointed. Maybe they would make more sense as an add on to the text.

By Ahmad K

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Dec 4, 2016

A very enlightening course ... i would have liked to hear more about the mythology and the gods roles

By A M

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May 21, 2017

Too simple a course... Would be nice to have more structure period wise and content wise!

By User#9034

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Feb 15, 2021

Good content. Very informative. But, a little bit boring.

By Shawn C

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Apr 6, 2021

Very very basic and the instructor reads poorly.

By Sandra M

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Mar 11, 2023

Very interesting although with some errors

By Gorret F

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Jun 24, 2019

Un cours intéressant parfois un peu dense

By Lê C M

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Jul 23, 2024

dry for me, it's hard, I think so

By Spencer P

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Jan 14, 2021

A lot of information all at once

By David C

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Oct 12, 2022

a little "dry" in places.

By Yuen L T L

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Feb 23, 2019

The quiz was the best part

By Omid G

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Dec 17, 2020

Although the content is interesting but the teacher is very very verrrrrrrrrrrrry monotonic and boring. He doesnt teach he is a talking book, an audiobook with a face. That is not teaching really. It bores the audience and distracts them after some time. Also the modules are not well connected or maybe I didnt understand very well since I was bored after 5 minutes. There is space, alot of space for improvement.

By Ä°LKÄ°N B

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Jul 5, 2021

Just a few points to make: So many points are indicated or summarized at places. The way the texts written do not sound of the sciences. Referring to Heredotus and then nullifying him do not help but complicate. Akhenaten is very important as stated at the very beginning but left out of the scope for the sakeof length. No reference to read the story of Aten is given either. Pity!

By Caelyn M

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Nov 29, 2016

I was disappointed by this course. I thought it was poorly organized and focused too much on trivia and not enough on motivating and contextualizing Ancient Egyptian civilization. I was hoping to come away from this course with a richer understanding of Ancient Egypt. The lectures were surprisingly dry.