Chevron Left
Back to Introduction to Ancient Egypt and Its Civilization

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

4.6
stars
2,682 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

SE

Oct 6, 2022

This was an excellent course in the history of ancient Egypt. I have always been fascinated by their culture & this course taught me many things that i was not aware of. I really enjoyed this course.

AR

May 20, 2023

The course was very interactive and offers a tons of activities. The teacher was very nice and the teaching was very easy to understand. The assignments were a bit challenging but very interesting.

Filter by:

176 - 200 of 817 Reviews for Introduction to Ancient Egypt and Its Civilization

By Mark C

•

Feb 17, 2020

This is a great course about Ancient Egypt. I went right into the next course "Wonders of Egypt". I also love the Penn Museum in Philadelphia which inspired me to take this course!

By Jiayang T

•

Jan 22, 2018

The course is just like a documentary because it presents students with artifacts stored in museums. Students can definitely learn better when they see this eye-catching artifacts.

By Jalal K

•

May 9, 2020

The best and most comprehensive course I have ever attended. Thumbs up! Many Thanks to the University of Penn for such and opportunity and coursera for the access. Humbly grateful

By Merin G

•

Jan 1, 2020

This course offered by University of Pennsylvania had very much helped me in knowing the Egyptian civilization. The course plan and the method of teaching was immensely helpful.

By Alexandra H

•

Sep 27, 2020

I absolutely loved this course! Professor Silverman does a great job explaining the content and shows examples found at the museum. I hope he offers more courses on coursera.

By Andrew E

•

Nov 25, 2022

Exceptional course. I loved the real life artifacts and the artifact lab lecture. First rate. I would strongly endorse this course to anyone with an interest in the field.

By Glenn P

•

Mar 21, 2018

Learned more then I could have wished for, this is the best course I have had on Ancient Egypt. Thank you Professor David P. Silverman, you made this class very interesting.

By Vasiliki-Diamanto F

•

Nov 11, 2017

Mr. Silverman is very comprehensible and speaks slowely during the videos, which is very helpful for processing the information given. The course is very well structured.

By Richie H

•

Apr 13, 2020

I liked the video lectures a lot, but I wish there was more specific recommended reading for each video instead of the end. Also - show more of what they do in the lab!

By Annabelle M S

•

Jan 28, 2018

The most amazing course I have ever taken. SO full of information and actual lab accessibility to learn and understand what we have discovered of the Ancient Egyptians.

By carl w

•

May 17, 2020

Learned and satisfied my curiosity on a number of topics and subjects. I recommend this course for anyone who is seeking the basic knowledge on Egyptian civilization.

By Ll K

•

Apr 10, 2020

it was a pleasure to learn from Dr Silverman. Thoroughly chosen and very interesting information on Ancient Egypt. Great site with great choice of courses. Thank you!

By Peter B

•

Nov 26, 2016

Dr. Silverman the the content in this course is wonderful. Thanks for the great videos and thought-provoking questions. Please give us more courses on Ancient Egypt.

By Mrs E B D

•

Apr 9, 2018

This was a very interesting course , well presented with excellent reading materials. I have enjoyed learning about ancient Egypt very much. Thanks to all the team.

By Emiliano R V

•

Sep 3, 2017

Great introduction! Very dynamic and interesting overview of this fascinating culture. It would be great to have an advance course on these topics (or many of them)

By Alex P

•

Mar 20, 2022

We found this course very interesting. We knew a bit aout the information but learned a lot. We think it would be fun to visit the Penn Museum at the university.

By ALEJANDRO D M

•

May 24, 2021

David P. Silverman is very good at explaining and conveying his knowledge to listener. The course is brief, but it´s very informative to talk about Ancient Egypt.

By Antonio B

•

Apr 24, 2020

I found this course a joy to complete - yes its demanding. I suggest you pay close attention to the video's you really need to think and listen. superb structure.

By Alessandra R

•

Apr 21, 2020

Really interesting. I am already an experienced archaeologist, but Egyptology was missing from my previous studies. This was a really good chance to catching up.

By Santiago V R

•

Nov 27, 2016

This course is recommendable for anyone who wants to begin to study the Ancient Egypt word. It contains very interesting videos and readings! I have enjoyed it!

By Steo

•

Jan 6, 2018

This is the best overview course about Ancient Egypt civilisation I could dream of. Mr Silverman brings reliable information and can transmit his passion well.

By Matteo S

•

Feb 8, 2019

The course provides a good overview, a lot information, spurs to acquire also a good iconographic knowledge of the subject and reason about the main concepts.

By josé m

•

Dec 26, 2021

Um curso completo e incrível para quem é da área de História e deseja aprofundar-se no estudo do Egito Antigo! Simplesmente fantástico e incrível este curso.

By jui a

•

Apr 28, 2021

Amazing lecture. there was so much to learn about the traditions, customs, and life of the ancient Egyptians! I wish to learn more on this courser in detail

By Elizabeth G

•

May 8, 2020

Very interesting overview of Egyptology, good videos which feature artifacts in the Penn museum. Thanks to Dr Silverman for making this course available.