Synopses & Reviews
Chronologically organized, The Western Humanities presents the cultural achievements of western civilization--art and architecture, music, history, literature, philosophy, theater, film and the other arts--within their historical context. By examining the historical and material conditions that influenced the form and content of the arts and humanities, the authors provide students with a clear framework, a deeper understanding of the meaning of cultural works, and a broader basis for analyzing and appreciating the cultural achievements of the West. Hundreds of illustrations bring the arts and humanities to life, while extensive pedagogy consistently asks students to think about, interpret, and apply the information throughout the text and at the end of each chapter.
Table of Contents
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 Paleolithic Period The Neolithic Revolution The Age of Metals, The Rise of Civilization: Mesopotamia The Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonian Kingdoms The Cradle of Civilization Writing ENCOUNTER: The Phoenicians and the Alphabet Literature Law Science, Mathematics, and Medicine SLICE OF LIFE:"A Sumerian Father Lectures His Son" Anonymous, from clay tablets Art and Architecture The Civilization of the Nile Rover Valley: Egypt Continuity and Change over Three Thousand Years A Quest for Eternal Cultural Values Religion Writing and Literature Science and Medicine Architecture SLICE OF LIFE: Life's Instruction Book for Egyptians, Anonymous, from A Papyrus Text Sculpture, Painting, and Minor Arts Heirs to the Mesopotamian and Egyptian Empires The Assyrians The Neo-Babylonians The Medes and the Persians The Legacy of Early Near Eastern Civilizations KEY CULTURAL TERMS QUESTIONS FOR CRITICAL THINKING Chapter 2. Aegean Civilizations: the Minoans, the Mycenaeans, and the Greeks of the Archaic Age Prelude: Minoan Civilization, 3000-1100 B.C.E. Beginnings: Mycenaean Civilization, 1900-1100 B.C.E. The Greek Dark Ages, 1100-800 B.C.E Technology in Minoan Crete and Mycenae The Archaic Age, 800-479 B.C.E. Political, Economic, and Social Structures The Greek Polis: Sparta and Athens Technology in Archaic Greece The Emergence of Greek Genius: The Mastery of Form Religion Literature Epic Poetry Lyric Poetry INTERPRETING ART: Red Figure Ware: Achilles Killing the Amazon Queen Penthesilea ENCOUNTER Near Eastern Art and Greek Pottery Philosophy and Science Natural Philosophy SLICE OF LIFE The Worlds of Women and Men in Ancient Greece Sappho, "He Seems to Be a God" and Alcaeus, "Longing for Home" Architecture Sculpture The Legacy of Archaic Greek Civilization KEY CULTURAL TERMS QUESTIONS FOR CRITICAL THINKING Chapter 3. Classical Greek Civilization: The Hellenic Age Domestic and Foreign Affairs: War, Peace, and the Triumph of Macedonia Political Phases of the Hellenic Age The Arts of Hellenic Greece: The Quest for Perfection ENCOUNTER: The Representation of Blacks in Greek Art Theater Tragedy Comedy History, Philosophy, Science, and Medicine History Philosophy, Science, and Medicine The Pre-Socratics The Sophists The Socratic Revolution Plato Aristotle Medicine The Visual Arts Architecture SLICE OF LIFE Xenophon, "Secrets of a Successful Marriage in Ancient Greece", from Oeconomicus Sculpture Painting The Legacy of Hellenic Civilization KEY CULTURAL TERMS QUESTIONS FOR CRITICAL THINKING Chapter 4. Hellenistic Civilization and the Rise of Rome The Changing Framework of Politics The Hellenistic Monarchies The Rise of Rome The Nature of Government The Tenor of Life The Experiences of Women Urban Life Roman Values Hellenistic Cultures SLICE OF LIFE: Street Scene in Hellenistic Egypt Theocritus, from Idylls Drama and Literature Philosophy and Religion Cynicism Skepticism Epicureanism Stoicism Religion Science and Technology Architecture ENCOUNTER: The Invention of Parchment and the Birth of the Secular Library Sculpture INTERPRETING ART: Hagesandros, Polydoros, and Athanadoros, The Laocoon Group The Legacy of Hellenistic Civilization and the Rise of Rome KEY CULTURAL TERMS QUESTIONS FOR CRITICAL THINKING Chapter 5. Judaism and the Rise 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 The Bible SLICE OF LIFE A Jewish Eyewitness to the Destruction of the Second Temple, Flavius Josephus, from History of the Jewish War (75-59 C.E.) Early Jewish Art and Architecture ENCOUNTER: Baal, a Rival to the Israelites' God 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 Early Christian Literature SLICE OF LIFE: A Christian Mother Faces Death from Roman Authorities, Vibia Perpetua, A Martyr in the Early Christian Church The Legacy of Biblical Judaism and Early Christianity KEY CULTURAL TERMS QUESTIONS FOR CRITICAL THINKING Chapter 6. Roman Imperial Civilization and the Triumph of Christianity The Augustan Principate The Principate The Pax Romana ENCOUNTER: Roman Conquests and Romance Languages The Crisis of the Third Century The Reforms of Diocletian and Constantine The Later Roman Empire in West and East The End of the Western Empire SLICE OF LIFE A Roman Delegate at a Barbarian Banquet, Priscus The Eastern Empire The Triumph of Christianity The Growth of the Catholic Church Christian Monasticism Christianity and the Roman State Roman Imperial Civilization Secular Latin Literature Philosophy Science and Medicine Law From the Secular to the Spiritual: Christian Literature The Fathers of the Church Church History Poetry The Visual Arts Architecture Sculpture INTERPRETING ART: The Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus Painting and Mosaics Music The Legacy of Roman Imperial Civilization KEY CULTURAL TERMS QUESTIONS FOR CRITICAL THINKING Chapter 7. The Heirs of the Roman Empire: Byzantium and the West in the Early Middle Ages The Byzantine World The Birth of Byzantium: War and Government The Birth of Byzantium: Culture and Religion The early Medieval West The World of Charlemagne The Reign of Charlemagne The Carolingian Renaissance The Post-Carolingian World ENCOUNTER: Globalization: The Silk Road The Literary Arts in the Early Middle Ages Byzantine Writers The Latin West SLICE OF LIFE: Marriage Diplomacy Nets a Diplomatic Insult The Vernacular Achievement The Visual Arts in the Early Middle Ages Byzantine Art Byzantine Architecture Western Art Western Architecture Technology Military Technology: Byzantine Military Technology: Western European Agriculture MUSIC The Legacy of the Early Middle Ages KEY CULTURAL TERMS QUESTIONS FOR CRITICAL THINKING Chapter 8. The World of Islam, 630-1517 Muhammad, The Prophet Imperial Islam The Post-Muhammad Years The Umayyad Dynasty The Abbasid Dynasty The Fragmentation of the Caliphate Islam as Religion Medieval Islamic Culture Medicine Philosophy and History Philosophy History Technology Papermaking Hydraulic Mechanical Engineering Literature Poetry Prose Art and Architecture ENCOUNTER: An International Community of Scholars Architecture Painting 0 SLICE OF LIFE: Fears of Assimilation in a Multicultural Society, Paul Albar INTERPRETING ART: The Night Journey of Muhammad Music The Legacy of Medieval Islam KEY CULTURAL TERMS QUESTIONS FOR CRITICAL THINKING Chapter 9. The High Middle Ages: The Christian Centuries Politics and Society Lords and Vassals: Those Who Fight Those Who Work: Peasants The Rise of Towns (and the Rest of Those Who Work) Medieval Government The French Monarchy The English Monarchy The German Empire The Papal Monarchy Medieval Christianity and the Church