Recommended: Understanding the World's Greatest Structures: Science and Innovation from Antiquity to Modernity

Teaching Company courses are always outstanding, but this course (No. 1153) by Professor Stephen Ressler of West Point is exceptional. The first nine lectures lead the uninitiated through the fundamental physics of the basic structural elements – columns, beams, arches, etc. – and then the remaining lectures examine great buildings, bridges and structures throughout history in terms of how these structural elements are used, and how engineers learned to exploit these structures to build higher and span greater widths. A nice exploration of the intersection between science, engineering and architecture.