So, About Modern Europe . . .: A Conversational History from the Enlightenment to the Present Day

The West – Europe and the USA – has kind of had its way with the world for a few centuries. Why else does everyone speak English, listen to hip-hop, and want to buy Mercedes? Starting with the Enlightenment, Europeans developed big ideas that have increased opportunities for people around the world and raised standards of living. But those same ideas have also produced wars, genocide, colonialism, and the potential for global environmental disaster. This book describes the origins and legacy of this mixed bag of ideas which includes everything from democracy and feminism to those old foes, communism and capitalism. After all, it’s a bag which still shapes how most people on the planet look at things today. In a natural, funny and engaging style, So, About Modern Europe... expertly guides readers through the good, the bad, and the indifferent of modern European history, convincingly arguing the need to “tip the cap” to the Enlightenment and its influence along the way. Cover page Halftitle page Title page Copyright page CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES AND MAPS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I KNOW YOU SKIP INTRODUCTIONS, BUT HERE’S WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS What even is a “conversational history”? So, what is the main story here, and why should I care? Almost done CHAPTER 1 (RE)BIRTHING NEW IDEAS IN THE RENAISSANCE Building the argument The Renaissance in a song There were no atheists in the Renaissance Why Italy? Unfrozen voices from the ancient world Humanism The Renaissance in a picture (well, two pictures) The Renaissance and all the humans who weren’t wealthy, white, Christianmen (that is, the majority of the world) Legacy of humanism CHAPTER 2 SCIENCE IS A HUMAN INVENTION Building the argument What was (and is) science anyway? Young science comes of age while people fight over religion Here comes the Sun Galileo, science, and the Church Witches and women of science The modern state and science Conclusion: the many legacies of science CHAPTER 3 THE ENLIGHTENMENT WILL FREE YOU AND MESS YOU UP Building the argument Humans are good An age of Enlightenment Light vs. Dark Where is all this happening? A fi nal word about humor CHAPTER 4 NOW, THAT’S A REVOLUTION! (FRANCE, 1789) Building the argument Causes of the Revolution: the long, medium, and short of it Long-term causes Medium-term causes Short-term causes And thus begins the “long nineteenth century” CHAPTER 5 I’VE GOT A FEVER, AND THE ONLY PRESCRIPTION IS MORE NATIONALISM! Building the argument 1815 and beyond Liberal nationalism: enemy of conservatives A hot mess of revolutions, 1820–49 Example 1. Italy: butter vs. olive oil Example 2. Forging Germany with blood and iron Example 3. Russia: messy and multi-ethnic across eleven time zones Nationalism’s long and violent history CHAPTER 6 INDUSTRIALIZATION, OR: WELCOME TO THE MACHINE Building the argument So, what was industrialization? And it all started in Great Britain Yeah, but was it a revolution? M&Ms, clocks, and potatoes: The impact on workers Who wants to be like the Brits? The second wave of industrialization Responses: reform, unions, revolution Karl Marx, socialist revolutionary and Enlightenment thinker Feminism: One idea that people did not kill and die for The politics of industrial history CHAPTER 7 ON THE ROAD AGAIN: THE IDEAS AND VIOLENCE OF WESTERN IMPERIALISM Building the argument Imperialism, colonialism: what’s the difference? Just a little history of imperialism Why “send forth the best ye breed”? Imperialist motives Dreams of the Orient: opening Asia The Dutch and the hajj: Islam and international empire The scramble for Africa Genocide in the sun: the massacre of the Herero and Nama Kipling vs. Orwell CHAPTER 8 LOOK, WE’VE GOT TO TALK ABOUT THE ENLIGHTENMENT Building the argument Irrationalism Are Freud and Nietzsche going to wreck the world or just make us self-absorbed? Sigmund Freud Friedrich Nietzsche And now a word from sociology Who you got, Newton or Einstein? Modernism in the arts: bring on the emotion!! Political implications of irrationalism CHAPTER 9 WORLD WAR I: THE WAR THAT DID NOTHING BUT CHANGED EVERYTHING Building the argument How bad was it? Numbers don’t lie Causes of the Great War: big-time, long-term, and all-too familiar Medium-term causes: alliances rock, alliances suck Now, let’s get this party started! Definitely not all quiet on the Western Front (Fourth) The Russian Revolutions The end Gender and the Great War’s legacy CHAPTER 10 BETWEEN THE WARS WITHOUT A CENTER,OR: UP THE CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE Building the argument “The centre cannot hold;” in fact, the centre is a joke! The new woman So, what even is fascism? Blame it on the Great Depression The Weimar Republic and Third Reich Meanwhile, back in the USSR The Spanish Civil War as dress rehearsal for World War II Up next: World War II CHAPTER 11 DOWNHILL ALL THE WAY: WORLD WAR II AND THE HOLOCAUST Building the argument The blitzkrieg bop: speedy German victories, 1939–41 This time it’s totaler war! And the rematch for the heavyweight title: Third Reich vs. USSR Holocaust = World War II = Holocaust Motives of perpetrators Experiences of Holocaust victims And the dramatic finish CHAPTER 12 THE COLD WAR AS A LINE IN THE SAND Building the argument Mega-nationalism after World War II High stakes and crazy culture in this MAD world The division of Germany as Cold War split The state and the good life And what happens when things aren’t so good? Elvis has left the building CHAPTER 13 THE LONG, STRANGE, AND NOT-SO-COMPLETE DEATH OF COLONIALISM Building the argument From imperialism to decolonization to post-colonialism How it went down: an overview of decolonization And the Cold War . . . The (mostly peaceful) end to British Empire And the French depart (kicking and screaming) Other empires fall CHAPTER 14 THE END OF HISTORY, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT Building the argument What exactly happened in 1989? The basic story: revolutionary change in 1989 1. Previous conflicts and political disillusionment 2. Economic difficulties 3. Pressure of the Cold War arms race 4. Gorbachev’s “Frank Sinatra” policy Watch the Soviet Union crumble Well, how did all this change work out? CHAPTER 15 YOU DO YOU: IDENTITY POLITICS Building the argument Identity before World War II Decolonization, immigration, and multicultural Europe Gender and queer rights Integration and disintegration: the 1990s to today Who are you anyway? EPILOGUE: NOW WHAT? 1. The Anthropocene 2. Big History Done! FURTHER READING INDEX (Re)birthing new ideas in the Renaissance -- Science is a human invention -- The Enlightenment will free you and mess you up -- Now, that's a revolution! (France, 1789) -- I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more Nationalism! -- Industrialization, or: welcome to the machine -- On the road again: the ideas and violence of Western Imperialism -- Look, we've got to talk about the Enlightenment -- World War I: the war that did nothing but changed everything -- Between the wars without a center, or: up the creek without a paddle -- Downhill all the way: World War II and the Holocaust -- The Cold War as a line in the sand -- The long, strange and not-so-complete death of Colonialism -- The end of history, or something like that -- You do you: identity politics "Starting with the Enlightenment, Europeans developed big ideas that have increased opportunities for people around the world and raised standards of living. But those same ideas have also produced wars, genocide, colonialism, and the potential for global environmental disaster. In a natural, funny and engaging style, Imhoof guides us through the good, the bad and the indifferent of modern European history"-- Provided by publisher