Writing and Civilization: From Ancient Worlds to Modernity

By: Marc Zender, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Marc Zender

At just over 5,000 years old, writing is actually a relatively recent invention. It has become so central to the way we communicate and live, however, that it often seems as if writing has always existed.

But the question remains: Who invented writing, and why?

In these 24 fascinating lectures, you'll trace the remarkable saga of the invention and evolution of "visible speech," from its earliest origins to its future in the digital age. Your guide is an accomplished professor and epigrapher who whisks you around the globe to explore how an array of sophisticated writing systems developed, then were adopted and adapted by surrounding cultures.

Along the way, you'll visit the great early civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, Japan, and the Americas, and you'll see how deciphering ancient scripts is a little like cracking secret codes - only far more difficult.

You'll be spellbound as you hear accounts of the breathtaking moments when the decipherment of ancient scripts broke centuries of silence. And you'll marvel at fascinating objects once shrouded in mystery, including the iconic Rosetta stone.

Writing and Civilization offers the chance to not only discover the history of ancient writing systems, but also the rare opportunity to actually hear those scripts read aloud and to learn the meaning of their messages hidden in plain sight.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2013 The Great Courses (P)2013 The Teaching Company, LLC

Boringly named - totally mindblowing

History buffs need to buy this book. It will change your view on so many things.
period.

excellent

excellent information. good effort to remain unbiased. versed clearly in all topics. listened to on Audible.

Fascinating

If you love Languages, and I mean "really love languages", you should get this course. It was absolutely fascinating. I will admit, though, that the sections on deciphering ancient scripts were a little outside of my particular interests and I found myself drifting off a bit.

Excellent content and delivery

I can’t speak highly enough about Professor Zender’s course. It’s accessible but not reductive. It has just the right amount of humor.

Fantastic history of writing!

This is a great double feature with John McWhorter’s language great courses and very similar style. Though McWhorter is slightly more engaging and much funnier ✌️

Loved it!

Where does Writing and Civilization: From Ancient Worlds to Modernity rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Definitely in the top 20.

What did you like best about this story?

Fascinating detail about how writing systems from all over the world and their commonalities and differences

Fascinating, surprising

An illuminating survey of the history and mechanics of writing. Spans millennia and continents but nevertheless offers enough detail and real-world examples to make the broader analysis accessible. You'll be surprised at how much you didn't know about writing, and how much of what you knew was wrong.

Another Wonderful Course!

I enjoy listening to Audible's The Great Courses series of books. This one started out slow... lot's of background information... but the narrator is excellent and at the 30% mark, I was hooked!

There are so many interesting facts and so much information about how languages and writing styles came and went, and I would have enjoyed this much more if there had been lecture handouts with graphs and images, but still all in all a great course/lecture.

The one thing that shocked me was learning that The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy proposed in 2009, and now adopted by 45 of the United States, does not mandate cursive instruction. Only keyboarding is required.

So, what happens when/if there's a time, generations from now, when something happens - like a solar flare - that shuts down electrical grids and there are no keyboards to type on? How will people communicate? Also, think about what that means. Cursive is a dying art form, and someday your grand-kids will be asking you to show them what writing looks like.

One of the best great courses

I've listened to around thirty great courses series from audible now and this is one of the best. The information density is quite high, and the professor weaves an engaging series of narrative history on decipherment along with linguistics. I found its execution very similar in style to the set on ancient Egypt. The lack of visible slides (such as a grid of symbols or an inscription that's being described) is an issue because they are referenced frequently, but not a deal breaker.

Excellent beginning to end

High quality work and presentations. A joy to read. Do not pass this one up.