Synopses & Reviews
What do we mean by Western Civilization? When did the expression originate and why? At a time when there is a widespread perception that Western Civilization is undergoing a historic crisis, and when postmodernism, feminist theory, afrocentrism, deconstruction, and other current philosophical schools define themselves as alternatives to, or critiques of, Western Civilization, this book seeks to trace the development of the concept of Western Civilization and to examine the reasons for its endurance. It also suggests ways in which proponents of Western Civilization can co-opt ideas from opponents.
Written from a multidisciplinary viewpoint, the essays in this volume trace the development of the concept of Western Civilization and seek to explode many standing beliefs—primarily those which concern the very existence of a Western tradition. Bound to be controversial, the book will be of interest to scholars and activists in the fields of cultural history, anthropology, and the history of ideas, as well as general readers interested in the enduring discussion of the notion of Western Civilization.
Review
This book exposes the cliches that have moved from imperialism to postcoloniality, from Eurocentrism to multiculturalism. It is a well-documented guide to new research agendas and to a pedagogy that is enlightened beyond mere polemic.Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Columbia University
Synopsis
Essays examining the origins of the concepts of Western Civilization and the myths that surround it.
Synopsis
What do we mean by "Western Civilization"? When did the expression originate and why? At a time when there is a widespread perception that "Western Civilization" is undergoing a historic crisis, and when postmodernism, feminist theory, afrocentrism, deconstruction, and other current philosophical schools define themselves as alternatives to, or critiques of, "Western Civilization," this book seeks to trace the development of the concept of Western Civilization and to examine the reasons for its endurance.
About the Author
SILVIA FEDERICI is Associate Professor of Philosophy and International Studies at Hofstra University.
Table of Contents
Introduction
A Genealogy of "Western Civilization"
Greece: Aryan or Mediterranean? Two Contending Historiographical Models by Martin Bernal
On the Scottish Origin of Civilization by George C. Caffentzis
True West: The Changing Idea of the West from the 1880s to the 1920s by Chris GoGwilt
The God that Never Failed: The Origins and Crises of Western Civilization by Silvia Federici
Satirical Appendix: Oedipus and the Coup by Sol Yurick
One or Many Civilizations?
Mathematics and Eurocentrism by George Gheverghese Joseph
Orientalism, Political Economy, and the Canonization of Indian Civilization by John Roosa
African Languages and European Linquistic Imperialism by Alamin Mazrui
They Came Before the Egyptians: Linguistic Evidence for the African Roots of Semitic Languages by Nicolas Faraclas
Index