Main Description
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.
Specifcally designed to accompany
The Western Humanities,
Readings in the Western Humanities offers students selections from the West's literary and philosophical heritage, helping them establish vital intellectual links to the achievements of the continually evolving Western tradition. Each reading is preceded by an introduction providing information about the author and historical context for the document.
PrefaceIntroduction: Why Study Cultural History? A Humanities Primer: How to Understand the Arts Chapter 1. Prehistory and Near Eastern CivilizationsPrehistory and Early Cultures Paleolithic Period The Neolithic RevolutionThe Age of Metals, The Rise of Civilization: MesopotamiaThe Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonian KingdomsThe Cradle of Civilization WritingENCOUNTER: The Phoenicians and the AlphabetLiteratureLawScience, Mathematics, and MedicineSLICE 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 LiteratureScience and MedicineArchitecture 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 EmpiresThe Assyrians The Neo-Babylonians The Medes and the Persians The Legacy of Early Near Eastern CivilizationsKEY CULTURAL TERMS QUESTIONS FOR CRITICAL THINKINGChapter 2. Aegean Civilizations: the Minoans, the Mycenaeans, and the Greeks of the Archaic AgePrelude: Minoan Civilization, 3000-1100 B.C.E. Beginnings: Mycenaean Civilization, 1900-1100 B.C.E. The Greek Dark Ages, 1100-800 B.C.ETechnology 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 PenthesileaENCOUNTER Near Eastern Art and Greek Pottery Philosophy and Science Natural Philosophy SLICE OF LIFE The Worlds of Women and Men in AncientGreece Sappho, "He Seems to Be a God" and Alcaeus, "Longing for Home"Architecture Sculpture The Legacy of Archaic Greek CivilizationKEY CULTURAL TERMS QUESTIONS FOR CRITICAL THINKING Chapter 3. Classical Greek Civilization: The Hellenic AgeDomestic 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 TragedyComedyHistory, Philosophy, Science, and Medicine HistoryPhilosophy, Science, and Medicine The Pre-SocraticsThe SophistsThe Socratic RevolutionPlatoAristotleMedicine The Visual ArtsArchitecture 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 LifeThe Experiences of Women Urban Life Roman Values Hellenistic CulturesSLICE OF LIFE: Street Scene in Hellenistic Egypt Theocritus, from Idylls Drama and Literature Philosophy and Religion CynicismSkepticismEpicureanismStoicismReligionScience 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 THINKINGChapter 5. Judaism and the Rise ChristianityJudaismThe People and Their Religion Egypt, Exodus, and MosesThe Kingdom of IsraelThe Babylonian Captivity and the Postexilic PeriodThe Hellenistic and Roman PeriodsSocietal 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 ChristianityThe 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 ChristianityThe Augustan Principate The Principate The Pax Romana ENCOUNTER: Roman Conquests and Romance LanguagesThe 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 BassusPainting 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 AgesThe Byzantine World The Birth of Byzantium: War and Government The Birth of Byzantium: Culture and Religion The early Medieval WestThe World of CharlemagneThe Reign of Charlemagne The Carolingian Renaissance The Post-Carolingian World ENCOUNTER: Globalization: The Silk Road The Literary Arts in the Early Middle AgesByzantine Writers The Latin West SLICE OF LIFE: Marriage Diplomacy Nets a Diplomatic Insult The Vernacular Achievement The Visual Arts in the Early Middle AgesByzantine Art Byzantine Architecture Western Art Western Architecture TechnologyMilitary Technology: Byzantine Military Technology: Western EuropeanAgriculture MUSIC The Legacy of the Early Middle Ages KEY CULTURAL TERMS QUESTIONS FOR CRITICAL THINKING Chapter 8. The World of Islam, 630-1517Muhammad, The Prophet Imperial Islam The Post-Muhammad Years The Umayyad Dynasty The Abbasid Dynasty The Fragmentation of the Caliphate Islam as ReligionMedieval Islamic CultureMedicine Philosophy and History PhilosophyHistory Technology Papermaking HydraulicMechanical Engineering Literature Poetry Prose Art and Architecture ENCOUNTER: An International Community of Scholars Architecture Painting 0SLICE OF LIFE: Fears of Assimilation in a Multicultural Society, Paul Albar INTERPRETING ART: The Night Journey of Muhammad Music The Legacy of Medieval IslamKEY CULTURAL TERMS QUESTIONS FOR CRITICAL THINKING Chapter 9. The High Middle Ages: The Christian Centuries Politics and SocietyLords and Vassals: Those Who Fight Those Who Work: Peasants The Rise of Towns (and the Rest of Those Who Work) Medieval GovernmentThe French MonarchyThe English Monarchy The German Empire The Papal Monarchy Medieval Christianity and the Church Christian Beliefs and Practices ENCOUNTER: Pagan Vikings Versus Christian Europeans Religious Orders and Lay PietyThe Crusades The Age of Synthesis: Equilibrium between the Spiritual and the SecularTheology and Learning SLICE OF LIFE: When Love Knows No Boundaries,Heloise, from a letter The Development of Scholasticism Peter AbelardThe Rise of the UniversitiesIntellectual Controversy and Thomas Aquinas
