Western Civilization: A Global and Comparative Approach: Volume I: To 1715

by Campbell; Kenneth L.

• ISBN13: 9780765622532
• ISBN10: 076562253X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-07-15
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Featuring the one author, one voice approach, this text is ideal for instructors who do not wish to neglect the importance of non-Western perspectives on the study of the past. The book is a brief, affordable presentation providing a coherent examination of the past from ancient times to the present. Religion, everyday life, and transforming moments are the three themes employed to help make the past interesting, intelligible, and relevant to students. Readers will find an emphasis on interpretation and analysis as opposed to straightforward presentation of information. Also central to the presentation is the focus on a comparative approach that provides students with a greater understanding of the West through comparisons with other civilizations and cultures. Also included are Original Source boxes as well as web links to additional and complementary information.

Table of Contents

List of Tables, Maps, and Charts	p. xiii
List of Illustrations	p. xv
Preface	p. xvii
Acknowledgments	p. xxi
The Beginnings of History and the Ancient Near East	p. 3
Human Origins and Prehistory	p. 3
The Shaping of the Past: The Agricultural Revolution	p. 7
The First Civilizations and the Earliest Evidence for Religion	p. 9
The Urban Revolution in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and China	p. 11
Mesopotamia: Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, and Babylon	p. 14
Egypt: Politics, Religion, and Everyday Life	p. 17
Israel and the Religion of the Hebrews	p. 21
Human and Divine Law: Governing Human Behavior	p. 23
Conclusion	p. 26
Greece and the Mediterranean World, ca. 2000-350 BCE	p. 33
Early Greece	p. 36
The Shaping of the Greek Polis	p. 39
Persia and Greece	p. 42
Greece in the Classical Age	p. 47
The Shaping of the Past: The Peloponnesian Wars	p. 50
Classical Greek Culture (480-338 BCE)	p. 51
Conclusion	p. 61
The Hellenistic Age and the Rise of Rome, ca. 350-30 BCE	p. 64
Philip of Macedon, Alexander the Great, and the Hellenistic World	p. 66
The Division of Alexander's Empire	p. 69
The Shaping of the Past: Hellenistic Philosophy	p. 70
Hellenistic Science, Technology, and Medicine	p. 74
India in the Hellenistic Age	p. 77
Early Rome and the Shaping of the Roman Republic	p. 79
The Punic Wars and Overseas Expansion	p. 84
The Revolution of the Gracchi Brothers	p. 86
The Career of Caesar and the Collapse of the Roman Republic	p. 88
Conclusion	p. 92
The Roman Empire and the Enduring Legacy of the Ancient World, ca. 30 BCE-500 CE	p. 95
Augustus and Augustan Rome	p. 97
Hellenistic Judaism and the Dead Sea Scrolls	p. 101
The Shaping of the Past: The Life and Teachings of Jesus	p. 103
The Roman Empire to 284 CE	p. 105
The Han Empire of China	p. 110
Political and Economic Change and the Decline of the Roman Empire	p. 113
Social and Religious Change and the Decline of the Roman Empire	p. 117
The Fall of Rome	p. 120
The Continuation of the Eastern Empire	p. 122
Conclusion	p. 124
Early Christian Europe, Byzantium, and the Rise of Islam, ca. 410-750	p. 127
The Spread of Christianity	p. 129
Eastern Versus Western Monasticism	p. 131
Political Decentralization After the Fall of the Roman Empire	p. 137
The Emergence of New Kingdoms in the WestùFranks, Goths, and Lombards	p. 138
The Anglo-Saxons	p. 141
Justinian and Theodora	p. 143
Politics and Religion in the Byzantine Empire After Justinian	p. 147
Everyday Life in the Byzantine Empire	p. 150
The Shaping of the Past: The Life of Muhammad	p. 151
The Rise of Islam	p. 153
Conclusion	p. 156
The Shaping of Medieval Europe, ca. 750-1100	p. 159
Charlemagne	p. 161
The Carolingian Renaissance and Everyday Life in Carolingian Times	p. 163
The Decline of the Carolingians and the Emergence of Feudal Traditions	p. 165
War, Invasion, and the Political Development of Medieval Europe	p. 167
Changing Religious Values	p. 175
The Shaping of the Past: Medieval Art and Romanesque Architecture	p. 178
Life and Society in the Ninth and Tenth Centuries	p. 181
The Mayan Civilization of Mesoamerica	p. 183
Conclusion	p. 189
The High Middle Ages, ca. 1000-1300	p. 191
The Shaping of the Past: Agricultural Expansion and the Development of Urban Centers	p. 193
Society and Everyday Life in the High Middle Ages	p. 194
Political Leadership and Kingship in Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe	p. 196
Church and State in the High Middle Ages	p. 204
Historical Relations with the East-The Crusades	p. 207
Medieval Thought and Philosophy	p. 210
Medieval Art and Literature	p. 212
Conclusion	p. 218
The Crises of the Late Middle Ages, ca. 1300-1500	p. 221
The Black Death	p. 221
Social Upheaval and Peasant Rebellion in Europe and China	p. 225
The Shaping of the Past: Military Transformation and the Hundred Years War	p. 228
Warfare and Political Change in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries	p. 233
Symptoms of Waning Authority in the Western Christian Church	p. 236
Reform Ideas, the Conciliar Movement, and Popular Christianity	p. 238
Conclusion	p. 242
The Renaissance, ca. 1350-1517	p. 245
Signorial Rule in Milan and Northern Italy	p. 249
The Most Serene Republic of Venice	p. 250
Florence and Renaissance Society	p. 252
The Shaping of the Past: Petrarch and the Origins of Renaissance Humanism	p. 255
Humanism and the Dignity and Nobility of Humanity	p. 258
Humanism and the Northern Renaissance	p. 260
The Social Transformation of Art in Renaissance Italy	p. 262
The Social Transformation of Art in Northern Europe	p. 267
Ming China	p. 268
Conclusion	p. 273
The Beginnings of European Expansion, ca. 1400-1540	p. 276
The Rise of Capitalism	p. 276
The Rise of Portugal and Spain	p. 282
Mesoamerican Civilizations: The Aztecs and the Incas	p. 284
The First Encounters of Columbus with Native Americans	p. 290
The Shaping of the Past: Cortes and the Conquest of Mexico	p. 293
Pizarro and the Conquest of Peru	p. 295
Other Examples of Expansion	p. 299
Conclusion	p. 301
The Protestant and Catholic Reformations	p. 303
The Shaping of the Past: Martin Luther's Break with the Church	p. 305
The Further Shaping of the Protestant Reformation	p. 310
Thomas Cranmer, Henry VTA, and the English Reformation	p. 312
Social Consequences of the Reformation	p. 315
The Reformation and the Jews	p. 317
The Inquisition and the Religious Legacy of Sixteenth-Century Spain	p. 318
The Catholic Counter-Reformation	p. 320
Politics and Religion in the Sixteenth Century	p. 322
Russia and the Eastern Orthodox Church	p. 325
Conclusion	p. 331
The Age of European Expansion, ca. 1550-1650	p. 334
The Iberian Empires in Latin America	p. 336
The Erosion of Spanish Commercial Power and the Rise of the Dutch	p. 338
English Exploration and Expansion	p. 341
French Exploration and Expansion	p. 344
The Effects of European Colonization in North America	p. 345
European Expansion into Africa and the Slave Trade	p. 349
The Shaping of the Past: The Formation of the Dutch West India Company	p. 351
European Missionary Activity in the Far East	p. 353
The Effects of European Expansion in China and India	p. 358
Muscovite Expansion Through Siberia	p. 359
Japan in the Age of European Expansion	p. 360
Conclusion	p. 363
Absolutism and Political Revolution in the Seventeenth Century	p. 366
The Shaping of the Past: The Assassination of Henry IV and the Rise of French Absolutism	p. 368
Absolutism in France Under Louis XIV	p. 370
The Habsburgs in Spain and Austria	p. 372
Absolute Government in Prussia and Russia	p. 374
Absolute Government in East and West: Manchu China and Monarchical Europe	p. 377
The Shaping of the Past: The Execution of Charles I and the Struggle Against Absolute Government in Britain	p. 382
Political Conflict and Development in the Netherlands	p. 386
War and Political Consciousness in the Seventeenth Century	p. 387
Conclusion	p. 392
The Scientific Revolution and Changes in Thought and Society in the Seventeenth Century	p. 395
The Shaping of the Past: Copernicus's On the Revolution of the Heavenly Bodies and the Scientific Revolution	p. 395
Political Thought in the Seventeenth Century	p. 404
Art and Literature in the Seventeenth Century	p. 406
Everyday Life and Social Conditions in Seventeenth-Century Europe	p. 409
Early Modern India: Thought, Culture, and Social Change	p. 413
Conclusion	p. 419
Epilogue: The Shaping of the Past and the Challenge of the Future	p. 423
Index	p. 429
About the Author	p. 471
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