A Concise Survey of Western Civilization : Supremacies and Diversities Throughout History

History's story -- Wanderers and settlers: the Ancient Middle East to 400 BC -- The chosen people: Hebrews and Jews, 2000 BC to AD 135 -- Trial of the Hellenes: the Ancient Greeks, 1200 BC to AD 146 -- Imperium Romanum: the Romans, 753 BC to AD 300 -- The Revolutionary Rabbi: Christianity, the Roman Empire, and Islam, 4 BC to AD 1453 -- From Old Rome to the New West: the Early Middle Ages, AD 500 to 1000 -- The Medieval Mêlée: the High and Later Middle Ages, 1000 to 1500 -- Making the modern world: the Renaissance and Reformation, 1400 to 1648 -- Liberation of mind and body: Early Modern Europe, 1543 to 1815 -- Mastery of the machine: the Industrial Revolution, 1764 to 1914 -- The Westerner's burden: Imperialism and Nationalism, 1810 to 1918 -- Rejections of democracy: the Interwar years and World War II, 1917 to 1945 -- A world divided: the Early Cold War, 1945 to 1980 -- Into the future: the Contemporary Era, 1980 to the present -- Epidogue: Why Western Civilization?;This lively text offers a brief history of Western civilization. Providing a focused narrative and interpretive structure, Pavlac uses the joined terms "supremacies and diversities" to develop themes of conflict and creativity. His easily accessible yet deeply knowledgeable book covers the basic information that all educated adults should know. This lively text offers a brief, readable description of our common Western heritage. Providing a tightly focused narrative and interpretive structure, Brian A. Pavlac covers the basic historical information that all educated adults should know. His joined terms “supremacies and diversities” develop major themes of conflict and creativity throughout history. “Supremacies” centers on the use of power to dominate societies, ranging from warfare to ideologies. Supremacy seeks stability, order, and incorporation. “Diversities” encompasses the creative impulse that produces new ideas, as well as the efforts of groups of people to define themselves as “different.” Diversity creates change, opportunity, and individuality. These themes of historical tension and change—whether applied to political, economic, technological, social, or cultural trends—offer a bridging explanatory organization. The text is also informed by five topical themes: technological innovation, migration and conquest, political and economic decision making, church and state, and disputes about the meaning of life. Throughout, judicious “basic principles” present summaries of historical realities and primary source projects offer students the chance to evaluate differing points of view about the past. Written with flair, this easily accessible yet deeply knowledgeable text provides all the essentials for courses on Western Civilization.