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Interviews | November 19, 2009

Dave: IMG Finding John Irving: The Powells.com Interview



johnirving[Editor's note: The following is a reprint of our 2005 interview with John Irving, whose new novel, Last Night in Twisted River, has just come out... Continue »
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The Western Humanities, Complete

by Roy Matthews

The Western Humanities, Complete Cover

Table of Contents

The Western Humanities, 5/e

Preface

Introduction: Why Study Cultural History?

A Humanities Primer: How to Understand the Arts

Chapter 1

PREHISTORY AND NEAR EASTERN CIVILIZATIONS

Prehistory and Early Cultures

The Civilizations of the Tigris and Euphrates River Valley: Mesopotamia

    The Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonian Kingdoms

    The Cradle of Civilization

        Writing

        Religion

        Literature

    Personal Perspective: A Sumerian Father Lectures His Son

        Law

        Art and Architecture

The Civilization of the Nile River Valley: Egypt

    Continuity and Change over Three Thousand Years

    A Quest for Eternal Cultural Values

        Religion

        Writing and Literature

    Personal Perspective: The Instruction of Amenemope

Architecture

Sculpture, Painting, and Minor Arts

Heirs to the Mesopotamian and Egyptian Empires

The Legacy of Early Near Eastern Civilizations

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Chapter 1 Highlights

Windows on the World: 5000 - 500 B.C.

Chapter 2

AEGEAN CIVILIZATIONS: THE MINOANS, THE MYCENAEANS, AND THE GREEKS OF THE ARCHAIC AGE

Prelude: Minoan Civilization, 3000 - 1300 B.C.

Beginnings: Mycenaean Civilization, 1900 - 1100 B.C.

Interlude: The Dark Ages, 1100 - 800 B.C.

The Archaic Age, 800 - 479 B.C.

    Political, Economic, and Social Structures

    The Greek Polis: Sparta and Athens

    The Persian Wars

The Emergence of Greek Genius: The Mastery of Form

    Religion

    Epic Poetry

    Personal Perspective: Sappho, He Seems to Be a God; Alcaeus, Longing for Home and Drinking Song

    Lyric Poetry

    Natural Philosophy

    Architecture

    Sculpture

The Legacy of Archaic Greek Civilization

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Chapter 2 Highlights

Chapter 3

CLASSICAL GREEK CIVILIZATION: THE HELLENIC AGE

General Characteristics of Hellenic Civilization

Domestic and Foreign Affairs: War, Peace, and the Triumph of Macedonia

The Perfection of the Tradition: The Glory of Hellenic Greece

    Theater: Tragedy

        Features of the Greek Theater

    Encounter: The Representation of Blacks in Greek Art

        Tragic Drama

        Aeschylus

        Sophocles

        Euripides

    Theater: Comedy

    Music

    History

    Natural Philosophy

        The Pre-Socratics

        The Sophists

        The Socratic Revolution

        Plato

        Aristotle

    Architecture

        Sanctuaries

        The Temple: The Perfection of the Form

    Personal Perspective: Xenophon, Secrets of a Successful Marriage

    Sculpture

The Legacy of Hellenic Civilization

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Chapter 3 Highlights

Windows on the World: 500 - 300 B.C.

Chapter 4

CLASSICAL GREEK CIVILIZATION: THE HELLENISTIC AGE

The Stages of Hellenistic History

    The End of the Empire and the Rise of the States

    The Arrival and Triumph of Rome

The Cities of Hellenistic Civilization

    Pergamum

    Alexandria in Egypt

    Personal Perspective: Theocritus, Getting to the Concert on Time

The Elaboration of the Greek Tradition: The Spread of Classicism to the Hellenistic World

    Drama and Literature

    Philosophy and Religion

        Cynicism

        Skepticism

        Epicureanism

        Stoicism

        Fate and the Mystery Cults

    Architecture

        The Corinthian Temple

        The Altar

    Sculpture

    Rhodes: Late Hellenistic Style

The Legacy of the Hellenistic World

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Chapter 4 Highlights

Chapter 5

ROMAN CIVILIZATION: THE PRE-CHRISTIAN CENTURIES

The Colossus of the Mediterranean World

    General Characteristics of Roman Civilization

    The Etruscan and Greek Connections

    Rome in the Age of Kings, 753-509 B.C.

    The Roman Republic, 509-31 B.C.

        The Early Republic, 509-264 B.C.

        The Middle Republic, 264-133 B.C.

        The Late Republic, 133-31 B.C.

    Growing Autocracy: Imperial Rome, 31 B.C.-A.D. 284

        Pax Romana, 31 B.C.-A.D. 193

        Civil Wars, A.D. 193-284

The Style of Pre-Christian Rome: From Greek Imitation to Roman Grandeur

    Roman Religion

    Language, Literature, and Drama

        The First Literary Period, 250-31 B.C.

        The Second Literary Period: The Golden Age, 31 B.C.-A.D. 14-200

    Personal Perspective: Marcus, Son of Cicero, Changing My Ways

        The Third Literary Period: The Silver Age, A.D. 14-200

    Philosophy

        Stoicism

        Neo-Platonism

    Law

    The Visual Arts

        Architecture

    Encounter: Roman Conquests and Romance Languages

        Sculpture

        Painting and Mosaics

    Music

The Legacy of Pre-Christian Rome

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Chapter 5 Highlights

Windows on the World: 300 B.C. - A.D. 500

Chapter 6

JUDAISM AND THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY

Judaism

    The People and Their Religion

        Egypt, Exodus, and Moses

        The Kingdom of Israel

        The Babylonian Captivity and the Postexilic Period

        The Hellenistic and Roman Periods

        Societal and Family Relationships

    Personal Perspective: Flavius Josephus, The Destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem

    The Bible

    Early Jewish Art and Architecture

Christianity

    The Life of Jesus Christ and the New Testament

    Christians and Jews

    Christianity and Greco-Roman Religions and Philosophies

    Christians in the Roman Empire

    Personal Perspective: Vibia Perpetua, Account of Her Last Days Before Martyrdom

    Early Christian Literature

    Early Christian Art

The Legacy of Biblical Judaism and Early Christianity

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Chapter 6 Highlights

Chapter 7

THE CIVILIZATIONS OF LATE ROME, BYZANTIUM, AND THE EARLY MEDIEVAL WEST

The Last Days of the Roman Empire

    Diocletians Reforms and the Triumph of Christianity, 284-395

        The Great Persecution and Christian Toleration

        Early Christian Developments

    Christian Rome and the End of the Western Empire, 395-476

    Personal Perspective: Paulina, Epitaph for Agorius Praetextatus

The Transition from Classical Humanism to Christian Civilization

    Literature, Theology, and History

        The Fathers of the Church

    Personal Perspective: St. Jerome, Secular Education; The Fall of Rome

        Church History

    The Visual Arts

        Architecture

        Sculpture

        Painting and Mosaics

    Music

The Eastern Roman Empire and Byzantine Civilization, 476-1453

    History of the Byzantine Empire

    Byzantine Culture: Christianity and Classicism

        The Orthodox Religion

        Law and History

        Architecture and Mosaics

The Early Medieval West

    The Early Middle Ages: A Romano-Germanic Christianized World

    Religion and Culture in the Early Middle Ages

        Christianity: Leadership and Organization

    Personal Perspective: Anna Comnena, The Arrival of the First Crusade in Constantinople; Liudprand of Cremona, A Mission to the Byzantine Court

        Literature, History, and Learning

        Music

        Architecture

        Painting: Illuminated Manuscripts

The Legacy of Late Rome, Byzantium, and the Early Medieval West

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Chapter 7 Highlights

Windows on the World: 500-1000

Chapter 8

THE WORLD OF ISLAM, 630-1517

Muhammad, The Prophet

Imperial Islam

    The Post-Muhammad Years

    The Umayyad Dynasty

    The Abbasid Dynasty

    The Seljuk Turk Empire

    Imperial Decline

Islam as Religion

    Encounter: An International Community of Scholars

Medieval Islamic Culture

    Scholarship

    Literature

        Poetry

        Prose

    Art and Architecture

        Architecture

        Painting

    Personal Perspective: Abul-Faraj al-Isfahani, Marketing a Product

    Music

The Legacy of Medieval Islam

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Chapter 8 Highlights

Chapter 9

THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES: THE CHRISTIAN CENTURIES

Feudalism

    The Feudal System and the Feudal Society

    Peasant Life

    The Rise of Towns

    The Feudal Monarchy

        The French Monarchy

        The English Monarchy

        The Holy Roman Empire

        The Papal Monarchy

Medieval Christianity and the Church

    Encounter: Pagan Vikings versus Christian Europeans

Christian Beliefs and Practices

    Religious Orders and Lay Piety

    Personal Perspective: Abelard and Heloise, My Sorrow and My Loss

The Age of Synthesis: Equilibrium Between the Spiritual and the Secular

    Learning and Theology

        Cathedral Schools and the Development of Scholasticism

        Peter Abelard

        The Rise of the Universities

        Intellectual Controversy and Thomas Aquinas

    Literature

        Monastic and Feudal Writing

        Vernacular and Courtly Writing

        Dante

    Architecture and Art

        Romanesque Churches and Related Arts

        Gothic Churches and Related Arts

            Early Gothic Style, 1145-1194

            High Gothic Style, 1194-1300

    Music

The Legacy of the Christian Centuries

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Chapter 9 Highlights

Windows on the World: 1000 - 1300

Chapter 10

THE LATE MIDDLE AGES: 1300 - 1500

Hard Times Come to Europe

    Ordeal by Plague, Famine, and War

    Depopulation, Rebellion, and Industrialization

    The Secular Monarchies

    The Papal Monarchy

The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages

    Religion

    Personal Perspective: Henry Knighton,Political and Religious Rebels

    Theology, Philosophy, and Science

        The Via Antiqua Versus the Via Moderna

        Duns Scotus and William of Ockham

        Developments in Science

    Literature

        Northern Italian Literature: Petrarch and Boccacio

        English Literature: Geoffrey Chaucer

        French Literature: Christine de Pizan

    Art and Architecture

        Late Gothic Architecture

        Late Gothic Sculpture

        Late Gothic Painting and the Rise of New Trends

            Illuminated Manuscripts

            The Print

            New Trends in Italy: Giotto

            Flemish Painting: Jan Van Eyck and Hans Memling

    Music

The Legacy of the Late Middle Ages

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Suggestion for Listening

Chapter 10 Highlights

Windows on the World: 1300 - 1500

Chapter 11

THE EARLY RENAISSANCE: RETURN TO CLASSICAL ROOTS, 1400 - 1494

The Renaissance: Schools of Interpretation

Early Renaissance History and Institutions

    Italian City-States During the Early Renaissance

    Florence, the Center of the Renaissance

    The Resurgent Papcy, 1450-1500

The Spirit and Style of the Early Renaissance

    Humanism, Scholarship, and Schooling

    Personal Perspective: Laura Cereta, Defense of the Liberal Instruction of Women

    Thought and Philosophy

    Architecture, Sculpture, and Painting

        Artistic Ideals and Innovations

        Architecture

        Sculpture

        Painting

    Music

The Legacy of the Early Renaissance

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Suggestion for Listening

Chapter 11 Highlights

Chapter 12

THE HIGH RENAISSANCE AND EARLY MANNERISM, 1494 - 1564

The Rise of the Modern Sovereign State

    The Struggle for Italy, 1494-1529

    Charles V and the Hapsburg Empire

Economic Expansion and Social Developments

From High Renaissance to Early Mannerism

    Literature

        Gaspara Stampa

        Castiglione

        Machiavelli

    Painting

        Leonardo da Vinci

        Michelangelo

        Raphael

        The Venetian School: Giorgione and Titian

        The School of Parma: Parmigianino

    Sculpture

    Personal Perspective: Giorgio Vasari, Michelangelo Has the Last Word

    Architecture

    Music

The Legacy of the High Renaissance and Early Mannerism

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Suggestions for Listening

Chapter 12 Highlights

Chapter 13

NORTHERN HUMANISM, NORTHERN RENAISSANCE, RELIGIOUS REFORMATIONS, AND LATE MANNERISM, 1500 - 1603

Northern Humanism

The Northern Renaissance

    Northern Renaissance Literature

        Michel de Montaigne

        William Shakespeare

    Northern Renaissance Painting

        Albrecht Dürer

        Mathias Grunewald

        Hieronymus Bosch

        Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The Breakup of Christendom: Causes of the Religious Reformations

    The Protestant Order

        Luthers Revolt

            Luthers Beliefs

            Social and Political Implications of Luthers Revolt

    Personal Perspective: Albrecht Dürer, Fears for Luthers Safety

        The Reforms of John Calvin

        The Reform of the English Church

    The Counter-Reformation

        The Reformed Papacy

        New Monastic Orders

        The Council of Trent

    Warfare as a Response to Religious Dissent, 1520-1603

Late Mannerism

    Spanish Painting

    Spanish Literature

    Late Mannerist Painting in Italy: Tintoretto

    Music in Late-Sixteenth-Century Italy and England

The Legacy of Northern Humanism, Northern Renaissance, Religious Reformations, and Late Mannerism

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Suggestions for Listening

Chapter 13 Highlights

Windows on the World: 1500 - 1600

Chapter 14

THE BAROQUE AGE: GLAMOUR AND GRANDIOSITY, 1600 - 1715

Absolutism, Monarchy, and the Balance of Power

    France: The Supreme Example of Absolutism

    England: From Monarchy to Republic to Limited Monarchy

    Warfare in the Baroque Period: Maintaining the Balance of Power

        The Thirty Years War, 1618-1648

    Personal Perspective: Louis XIV, Reflections on Power; Duke of Saint-Simon, Memoirs

        The Wars of Louis XIV, 1665-1713

The Baroque: Variations on an International Style

    The Florid Baroque

        Architecture

        Sculpture

        Painting

    The Classical Baroque

        Architecture

        Painting

    The Restrained Baroque

        Painting

        Architecture

    Literature

        Baroque Literature in France

        Baroque Literature in England

    Music

The Legacy of the Baroque Age

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Suggestions for Listening

Chapter 14 Highlights

Windows on the World: 1600 - 1700

Chapter 15

THE BAROQUE AGE II: REVOLUTIONS IN SCIENTIFIC AND POLITICAL THOUGHT, 1600 - 1715

Theories of the Universe before the Scientific Revolution

The Magical and the Practical in the Scientific Revolution

    Astronomy and Physics: From Copernicus to Newton

        Nicolas Copernicus

        Johannes Kepler

        Galileo Galilei

        Isaac Newton

    Medicine and Chemistry

    The Impact of Science on Philosophy

        Francis Bacon

        Rene Descartes

        Blaise Pascal

    Ironies and Contradictions of the Scientific Revolution

    Personal Perspective: Suzanne Gaudry, A Witchs Trial

The Revolution in Political Thought

    Natural Law and Divine Right: Grotius and Bossuet

        Absolutism and Liberalism: Hobbes and Locke

European Exploration and Expansion

Responses to the Revolutions in Thought

    Encounter: The Sinews of Trade

    The Spread of Ideas

    Impact on the Arts

The Legacy of the Revolutions in Scientific and Political Thought

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Chapter 15 Highlights

Chapter 16

THE AGE OF REASON, 1700 - 1789

The Enlightenment

    The Philosophers and Their Program

    Deism

    The Encyclopedia

    The Physiocrats

The Great Powers During the Age of Reason

    Society: Continuity and Change

    Absolutism, Limited Monarchy, and Enlightened Despotism

        France: The Successors to the Sun King

        Great Britain and the Hanoverian Kings

        Enlightened Despotism in Central and Eastern Europe

Cultural Trends in the Eighteenth Century: From Rococo to Neoclassical

    The Rococo Style in the Arts

        Rococo Painting

        Rococo Interiors

        The English Response

    The Challenge of Neoclassicism

        Neoclassical Painting

        Neoclassical Architecture

    Political Philosophy

    Literature

        French Writers: The Development of New Forms

        Neoclassicism in English Literature

    Personal Perspective: Lady Mary Wortley Montague, Letter to Wortley, Avignon, 25 March 1744

        The Rise of the Novel

    Music

The Legacy of the Age of Reason

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Suggestions for Listening

Chapter 16 Highlights

Windows on the World: 1700 - 1800

Chapter 17

REVOLUTION, REACTION, AND CULTURAL RESPONSE, 1760 - 1830

The Industrial Revolution

    Industrialization in England

    Classical Economics: The Rationale for Industrialization

Political Revolutions, 1760 - 1815

    The American Revolution

    The French Revolution

    Encounter: Slavery and the French Revolution

Reaction, 1815 - 1830

Revolutions in Art and Ideas: From Neoclassicism to Romanticism

    Neoclassicism in Literature After 1789

    Neoclassical Painting and Architecture After 1789

    Romanticism: Its Spirit and Expression

    The Romantic Movement in Literature

    Romantic Painting

    German Idealism

    The Birth of Romantic Music

    Personal Perspective: Hector Berlioz, This Harmonious Revolution

The Legacy of the Age of Revolution and Reaction

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Suggestions for Listening

Chapter 17 Highlights

Chapter 18

THE TRIUMPH OF THE BOURGEOISIE, 1830 - 1871

The Political and Economic Scene: Liberalism and Nationalism

    The Revolutions of 1830 and 1848

    European Affairs in the Grip of Realpolitik

        Limited Reform in France and Great Britain

        Wars and Unification in Central Europe

    Civil War in the United States

    The Spread of Industrialism

    Encounter: The Tragedy of the Cherokee Nation

Nineteenth-Century Thought: Philosophy, Religion, and Science

    Liberalism Redefined

    Socialism

    Religion and the Challenge of Science

    Personal Perspective: Charlotte Brontë, The First Worlds Fair; Hippolyte Taine, A Day at the Races, 28 May, 1861

Cultural Trends: From Romanticism to Realism

    Literature

        The Height of French Romanticism

        Romanticism in the English Novel

        Romanticism in American Literature

        Realism in French and English Novels

        The Russian Realists

        Realism Among African American Writers

    Art and Architecture

        Neoclassicism and Romanticism After 1830

        The Rise of Realism in Art

    Photography

    Music

The Legacy of the Bourgeois Age

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Suggestions for Listening

Chapter 18 Highlights

Windows on the World, 1800 - 1900

Chapter 19

THE AGE OF EARLY MODERNISM, 1871 - 1914

Europes Rise to World Leadership

    The Second Industrial Revolution and the Making of Modern Life

    Response to Industrialism: Politics and Crisis

        Domestic Policies in the Heavily Industrialized West

    Personal Perspective: Lady Constance Lytton, Paying a Price for the Right to Vote

        Domestic Policies in Central and Eastern Europe

    Imperialism and International Relations

        The Scramble for Colonies

        The Outbreak of World War I    

Early Modernism

    Philosophy and Psychology

    Literature

        Naturalistic Literature

        Decadence in Literature

        Expressionist Literature

    The Advance of Science

    The Modernist Revolution in Art

        Impressionism

    Encounter: The French Impressionists Meet Ukiyo-e Art

        Post-Impressionism

        Fauvism, Cubism, and Expressionism

        New Directions in Sculpture and Architecture

    Music: From Impressionism to Jazz

The Legacy of Early Modernism

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Suggestions for Listening

Chapter 19 Highlights

Chapter 20

THE AGE OF THE MASSES AND THE ZENITH OF MODERNISM, 1914 - 1945

The Collapse of Old Certainties and the Search for New Values

    World War I and Its Aftermath

    The Great Depression of the 1930s

    The Rise of Totalitarianism

        Russian Communism

        European Fascism

    World War II: Origins and Outcome

    Personal Perspective: Elie Wiesel, Surviving in a Nazi Death Camp

The Zenith of Modernism

    Experimentation in Literature

        The Novel

        Poetry

        Drama

    Philosophy and Science: The End of Certainty

    Art, Architecture, and Film

        Painting

            Abstraction

            Primitivism and Fantasy

            Expressionism

        Architecture

        Film

    Music: Atonality, Neoclassicism, and an American Idiom

The Legacy of the Age of the Masses and High Modernism

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Suggestions for Listening

Chapter 20 Highlights

Windows on the World: 1900 - 1945

Chapter 21

THE AGE OF ANXIETY AND BEYOND, 1945 -

From a European to a World Civilization

    The Era of the Superpowers, 1945-1970

        Postwar Recovery and the New World Order

        The Cold War

        Emergence of the Third World

    Toward a New Global Order, 1970 and Beyond

        National Issues and International Realignment

        The Post-Cold War World

The End of Modernism and the Birth of Post-Modernism

    Philosophical, Political, and Social Thought

    Science and Technology

    The Literature of Late Modernism: Fiction, Poetry, and Drama

    The Literature of Post-Modernism

    Late Modernism and the Arts

        Painting

        Sculpture

        Architecture

    Post-Modernism and the Arts

        Painting

        Sculpture

        Installation Art

        Video Art

        Architecture

    Personal Perspective: Yo-Yo Ma, A Journey of Discovery

    Late Modern and Post-Modern Music

    Performance Art

    Mass Culture

A Summing Up

Key Cultural Terms

Suggestions for Further Reading

Suggestions for Listening

Chapter 21 Highlights

Windows on the World, 1945 -

APPENDIX

Writing for the Humanities: Research Papers and Essay Examinations

GLOSSARY

CREDITS

INDEX

Product Details

ISBN:
9780072556322
Author:
Matthews, Roy
Publisher:
McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Langua
Author:
Platt DeWitt
Author:
Matthews Roy
Author:
Platt, DeWitt
Subject:
History
Subject:
Folklore & Mythology
Subject:
Civilization, western
Subject:
World - General
Subject:
Civilization, Western -- History.
Copyright:
Edition Number:
5
Publication Date:
May 2003
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
College/higher education:
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
704
Dimensions:
10.82x8.62x1.13 in. 4.33 lbs.

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