History of Western Civilization I
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Ancient Greece by
This highly original introduction to ancient Greece uses the history of eleven major Greek cities to illuminate the most important and informative aspects of Greek culture. Cartledge highlights the role of such renowned cities as Athens (birthplace of democracy) and Sparta, but he also examines Argos, Thebes, Syracuse in Sicily, and Alexandria in Egypt, as well as lesser known locales such as Miletus (home of the West's first intellectual, Thales) and Massalia (Marseilles today), where the Greeks introduced the wine grape to the French. The author uses these cities to illuminate major themes, from economics, religion, and social relations, to gender and sexuality, slavery and freedom, and politics.
Call Number: DF 77 C345 2011ISBN: 9780199601349Publication Date: 2011
Ancient Worlds : a global history of antiquity by
"As panoramic as it is learned, this is ancient history for our globalized world." Tom Holland, author of Dynasty and Rubicon Twenty-five-hundred years ago, civilizations around the world entered a revolutionary new era that overturned old order and laid the foundation for our world today. In the face of massive social changes across three continents, radical new forms of government emerged; mighty wars were fought over trade, religion, and ideology; and new faiths were ruthlessly employed to unify vast empires. The histories of Rome and China, Greece and India-the stories of Constantine and Confucius, Qin Shi Huangdi and Hannibal-are here revealed to be interconnected incidents in the midst of a greater drama. In Ancient Worlds, historian Michael Scott presents a gripping narrative of this unique age in human civilization, showing how diverse societies responded to similar pressures and how they influenced one another: through conquest and conversion, through trade in people, goods, and ideas. An ambitious reinvention of our grandest histories, Ancient Worlds reveals new truths about our common human heritage. "A bold and imaginative page-turner that challenges ideas about the world of antiquity." Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads
Call Number: CB 311 S368 2016ISBN: 9780465094721Publication Date: 2016
The Crusades : a very short introduction by
Crusading fervour gripped Europe for over 200 years, creating one of the most extraordinary, vivid periods in world history. Whether the Crusades are regarded as the most romantic of Christian expeditions, or the last of the barbarian invasions, they have fascinated generations ever since, andtheir legacy of ideas and imagery has resonated through the centuries, inspiring Hollywood movies and great works of literature. Even today, to invoke the Crusades is to stir deep cultural myths, assumptions and prejudices.Yet despite their powerful hold on our imaginations, our knowledge of them remains obscured and distorted by time. Were the Crusaders motivated by spiritual rewards, or by greed for the power and booty to be captured in the east? Was the papacy imposing uniformity from within, or defending itselffrom the infidel enemy without? Were the Crusades an experiment in European colonialism, or a manifestation of religious love? How were they organized and founded?Christopher Tyerman picks his way through the many debates to present a clear and lively discussion of the Crusades; bringing together issues of colonialism, cultural exchange, economic exploitation, and the relationship between past and present.
Call Number: D 157 T88 2005ISBN: 0192803255Publication Date: 2005-03-01
The European Reformations by
Combining seamless synthesis of original material with updatedscholarship, The European Reformations 2nd edition,provides the most comprehensive and engaging textbook available onthe origins and impacts of Europe's Reformations - and theconsequences that continue to resonate today. A fully revised and comprehensive edition of this popularintroduction to the Reformations of the sixteenth century Includes new sections on the Catholic Reformation, the CounterReformation, the role of women, and the Reformation in Britain Sets the origins of the movements in the context of latemedieval social, economic and religious crises, carefully tracingits trajectories through the different religious groups Succeeds in weaving together religion, politics, social forces,and the influential personalities of the time, in to one compellingstory Provides a variety of supplementary materials, includingend-of-chapter suggestions for further reading, along with maps,illustrations, a glossary, and chronologies
Call Number: BR 305.3 L54 2010ISBN: 9781405180689Publication Date: 2009
Heretics! - The Wondrous (And Dangerous) Beginnings of Modern Philosophy by
An entertaining, enlightening, and humorous graphic narrative of the dangerous thinkers who laid the foundation of modern thought This entertaining and enlightening graphic narrative tells the exciting story of the seventeenth-century thinkers who challenged authority--sometimes risking excommunication, prison, and even death--to lay the foundations of modern philosophy and science and help usher in a new world. With masterful storytelling and color illustrations, Heretics! offers a unique introduction to the birth of modern thought in comics form--smart, charming, and often funny. These contentious and controversial philosophers--from Galileo and Descartes to Spinoza, Locke, Leibniz, and Newton--fundamentally changed the way we look at the world, society, and ourselves, overturning everything from the idea that the Earth is the center of the cosmos to the notion that kings have a divine right to rule. More devoted to reason than to faith, these thinkers defended scandalous new views of nature, religion, politics, knowledge, and the human mind. Heretics! tells the story of their ideas, lives, and times in a vivid new way. Crisscrossing Europe as it follows them in their travels and exiles, the narrative describes their meetings and clashes with each other--as well as their confrontations with religious and royal authority. It recounts key moments in the history of modern philosophy, including the burning of Giordano Bruno for heresy, Galileo's house arrest for defending Copernicanism, Descartes's proclaiming cogito ergo sum, Hobbes's vision of the "nasty and brutish" state of nature, and Spinoza's shocking Theological-Political Treatise. A brilliant account of one of the most brilliant periods in philosophy, Heretics! is the story of how a group of brave thinkers used reason and evidence to triumph over the authority of religion, royalty, and antiquity.
Call Number: B 801 N335 2017ISBN: 9780691168692Publication Date: 2017
A History of Western Society by
A bestseller in its field, A History of Western Society examines the lives of both historical figures and ordinary people, using an engaging, lively writing style to capture and maintain student interest. The authors pay careful attention to political and cultural phenomena, providing a balanced account of Western history as a whole.In addition to its emphasis on social history, the Eighth Edition retains the text's hallmark pedagogical features and visual appeal. In order to promote critical thinking, Listening to the Past features present primary source documents and Questions for Analysis that reinforce themes in social history. Individuals in Society biography features focus on the impact of historical events on an individual or group and explain the actions taken by those people.
Call Number: CB 245 M38 2006ISBN: 0618522662Publication Date: 2005
Mesopotamia : The Invention of the City by
Mesopotamia, situated roughly where Iraq is today, was one of the greatest ancient civilizations. It was here that the very first cities were created, and where the familiar sights of modern urban life - public buildings and gardens, places of worship, even streets and pavements - were originally invented. This remarkable book is the first to reveal everyday life as it was in ten long-lost Mesopotamian cities, beginning with Eridu, the Mesopotamian Eden, and ending with Babylon, the first true metropolis- cosmopolitan, decadent, multicultural and the last centre of a dying civilization. Using archaeological fragments of jewellery, textiles and writings, Gwendolyn Leick paints a colourful picture of the lives of Mesopotamians - from poets and priests to business-women and divorcees - and the incredible achievements of their advanced and imaginative society.
Call Number: DS 69.5 L45 2002ISBN: 9780140265743Publication Date: 2003
The Middle Ages by
The Middle Ages is a term coined around 1450 to describe a thousand years of European History. In this Very Short Introduction, Miri Rubin provides an exploration of the variety, change, dynamism, and sheer complexity that the period covers. From the provinces of the Roman Empire, which becameBarbarian kingdoms after c.450-650, to the northern and eastern regions that became increasingly integrated into Europe, Rubin explores the emergence of a truly global system of communication, conquest, and trade by the end of the era.Presenting an insight into the challenges of life in Europe between 500-1500 - at all levels of society - Rubin looks at kingship and family, agriculture and trade, groups and individuals. Conveying the variety of European experiences, while providing a sense of the communication, cooperation, andshared values of the pervasive Christian culture, Rubin looks at the legacies they left behind.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, andenthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Call Number: D 117 R83 2014ISBN: 9780199697298Publication Date: 2014
Ancient Egypt by
Ancient Egypt is a beautifully illustrated, easy-to-read book covering the formative era of the Egyptian civilization: the age before the pyramids. Douglas Brewer shows why an awareness of the earliest phase of Egyptian history is crucial to understanding of later Egyptian culture.nbsp; Beginning with a quick review of the fields of Egyptology and archaeology, Ancient Egypt takes the reader on a compelling survey of Egypt's prehistoric past.nbsp; The books tours the Nile Valley to explore its impact on all aspects of life, from day-to-day living to regional politics, and introduces the reader to the Nile Valley's earliest inhabitants and the very first "Egyptians". nbsp;
Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9780582772533Publication Date: 2005
Ancient Greece by
This compact yet comprehensive history brings ancient Greek civilization alive, from its Stone Age roots to the fourth century B.C. "A highly readable account of ancient Greece."--Kirkus Reviews Focusing on the development of the Greek city-state and the society, culture, and architecture of Athens in its Golden Age, Thomas R. Martin integrates political, military, social, and cultural history in a book that will appeal to students and general readers alike. Now in its second edition, this classic work now features new maps and illustrations, a new introduction, and updates throughout. "A limpidly written, highly accessible, and comprehensive history of Greece and its civilizations from prehistory through the collapse of Alexander the Great's empire. . . . A highly readable account of ancient Greece, particularly useful as an introductory or review text for the student or the general reader."--Kirkus Reviews "A polished and informative work that will be useful for general readers and students."--Daniel Tompkins, Temple University
Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9780300160055Publication Date: 2013
Ancient Mesopotamia at the Dawn of Civilization by
The alluvial lowlands of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in southern Mesopotamia are widely known as the ?cradle of civilization,? owing to the scale of the processes of urbanization that took place in the area by the second half of the fourth millennium BCE. ??????????? In Ancient Mesopotamia at the Dawn of Civilization, Guillermo Algaze draws on the work of modern economic geographers to explore how the unique river-based ecology and geography of the Tigris-Euphrates alluvium affected the development of urban civilization in southern Mesopotamia. He argues that these natural conditions granted southern polities significant competitive advantages over their landlocked rivals elsewhere in Southwest Asia, most importantly the ability to easily transport commodities. In due course, this resulted in increased trade and economic activity and higher population densities in the south than were possible elsewhere. As southern polities grew in scale and complexity throughout the fourth millennium, revolutionary new forms of labor organization and record keeping were created, and it is these socially created innovations, Algaze argues, that ultimately account for why fully developed city-states emerged earlier in southern Mesopotamia than elsewhere in Southwest Asia or the world.
Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9780226013770Publication Date: 2008Reformation Unbound by Fundamentally revising our understanding of the nature and intellectual contours of early English Protestantism, Karl Gunther argues that sixteenth-century English evangelicals were calling for reforms and envisioning godly life in ways that were far more radical than have hitherto been appreciated. Typically such ideas have been seen as later historical developments, associated especially with radical Puritanism, but Gunther's work draws attention to their development in the earliest decades of the English Reformation. Along the way, the book offers new interpretations of central episodes in this period of England's history, such as the 'Troubles at Frankfurt' under Mary and the Elizabethan vestments controversy. By shedding new light on early English Protestantism, the book ultimately casts the later development of Puritanism in a new light, enabling us to re-situate it in a history of radical Protestant thought that reaches back to the beginnings of the English Reformation itself.
Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9781107074484.Publication Date: 2014
The Renaissance: a Very Short Introduction by
This wide-ranging exploration of a defining period in world history sees the Renaissance as a time of unprecedented intellectual excitement, cultural experimentation, and interaction on a global scale, existing alongside a darker side of religion, intolerance, slavery, and massive inequality of wealth and status. It guides the reader through the issues that defi ned the period, from its art, architecture and literature, to advancements in the fields of science, trade and travel. The book offers us a timely perspective by exploring Europe's reciprocal relationship with its eastern neighbours.
Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9780192801630Publication Date: 2006
Selkirk College acknowledges the traditional territories of the Sinixt (Lakes), the Syilx (Okanagan), the Ktunaxa and the Secwépemc (Shuswap) Peoples.
