The West

A. Daniel Frankforter is Professor of History at the Pennsylvania State University, where he has taught for four decades. His undergraduate work was in the history of ideas and philosophy at Franklin and Marshall College. He earned a Master of Divinity degree from Drew University, did graduate work at Columbia University and the University of Gottingen, and completed master's and doctoral degrees in medieval history and religious studies at Penn State. His research interests are in English ecclesiastical history, the evolving status of women in medieval Europe, and textual criticism. Articles on these topics have appeared in such journals as Manuscripta, Church History, The British Studies Monitor, The Catholic Historical Review, The American Benedictine Review, The International Journal of Women's Studies, and The Journal of Women's History. His books include A History of the Christian Movement: An Essay on the Development of Christian Institutions, Civilization and Survival, The Shakespeare Name Dictionary (with J. Madison Davis), The Medieval Millennium: An Introduction, The Western Heritage, brief edition (with Donald Kagan, Stephen Ozment, and Frank Turner), The Heritage of World Civilizations, brief third edition (with Albert Craig, William Graham, Donald Kagan, Stephen Ozment, and Frank Turner), an edition and translation of Poullain de la Barre's De L'Egalite des deux Sexes, and Stones for Bread: A Critique of Contemporary Worship. His most recent work is: Word of God/Words of Men: The Use and Abuse of Scripture. Over the course of his career he has developed 15 courses dealing with aspects of the ancient and medieval periods of Western civilization, the Judeo-Christian tradition, and gender issues. His service in the classroom has been acknowledged by the Penn State Behrend Excellence in Teaching Award and the prestigious Amoco Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching Performance. William M. Spellman is Professor of History at the University of North Carolina Asheville and Director of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges, a constorium of twenty-six institutions in the United States and Canada. He is a graduate of Suffolk University, Boston, and holds a PhD from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He is the author of John Locke and The Problem of Depravity (Oxford, 1988); The Latitudinarians and the Church of England (Georgia, 1993); John Locke (Macmillan, 1995): European Political Thought, 1600-1700 (Macmillan, 1997); Monarchies, 1000-2000 (Reaktion, 2000); The Global Community: Migration and the Making of the Modern World (Sutton, 2002): A Concise History of the World Since 1945 (Palgrave, 2006); Uncertain Identity: International Migration Since 1945 (Reaktion, 2008); and A Short History of Western Political Thought (Palgrave, 2011).

Found in this section: 1. Brief Table of Contents 2. Full Table of Contents 1. BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Part I Departure Prehistory to 1000 B.C.E. Chapter 1 The Birth of Civilization Chapter 2 The Rise of Empires and the Beginning of the Iron Age Part II The Classical Era 2000 B.C.E. to 30 C.E. Chapter 3 Aegean Civilizations Chapter 4 The Hellenic Era Chapter 5 The Hellenistic Era and the Rise of Rome Chapter 6 Rome's Empire and the Unification of the Western World Part III The Division of the West 300 to 1300 Chapter 7 The West's Medieval Civilizations Chapter 8 The Emergence of Europe Chapter 9 Europe Turns Outward Chapter 10 Europe's High Middle Ages Part IV Challenges, Conflicts, and Departures 1300 to 1700 Chapter 11 Challenges to the Medieval Order Chapter 12 Renaissance and Exploration Chapter 13 Reformation, Religious Wars, and National Conflicts 2. FULL TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Part I - Departure Prehistory to 1000 B.C.E. Chapter 1: The Birth of Civilization Key Question: How do environments shape human communities and human communities alter environments? The Evolution of the Prehistoric Cultures The Archaic States The Origin of Civilization in Mesopotamia: Sumer The Rise of Civilization in Egypt Chapter 2: The Rise of Empires and the Beginning of the Iron Age Key Question: Does civilization promote or intensify divisions among peoples? The Transition States Imperial Egypt: The New Kingdom The Indo-Europeans and the Clash of Empires The Bible and History Part II - The Classical Era 2000 B.C.E. to 30 C.E. Chapter 3: Aegean Civilizations Key Question: When does civilization in the West become "Western" civilization? Minoan Mentors The Mycenaeans, Greece's First Civilization The Aegean Dark Age The Hellenic Era The Rise of the Mainland Powers The Persian Wars: Crucible of a Civilization Chapter 4: The Hellenic Era Key Question: What did the Greeks contribute to the development of modern civilization? Persian Wars as Catalyst The Peloponnesian War Intellectual and Artistic Life in the Polis Chapter 5: The Hellenistic Era and the Rise of Rome Key Question: What circumstances are likely to undermine governments by the people? The Hellenistic Era The Origin of Rome The Roman Republic Rome's Civil War Chapter 6: Rome's Empire and the Unification of the Western World Key Question: Do people prefer order to liberty? The Augustan Era Order and Continuity: The Dynastic Option Order and Continuity: The Elective Option Life in an Imperial Environment The Decline of Rome Part III - The Division of the West 300 to 1300 Chapter 7: The West's Medieval Civilizations Key Question: Should freedom of religion be limited? The Christian Element The German Element The Byzantine Empire of Constantinople Islam Chapter 8: The Emergence of Europe Key Question: How did Europe build on its legacies from the ancient world? The Merovingian Kingdom: Europe's Nucleus The Franks' Neighbors The Carolingian Era Retrenchment and Reorganization The Culture of Europe's Dark Age Chapter 9: Europe Turns Outward Key Question: Was conflict among the medieval civilizations inevitable? Islam's Crest and Byzantium's Resurgence The Reorganization of Feudal Europe The Eleventh-Century Turning Point Chapter 10: Europe's High Middle Ages Key Question: Why are some societies more open to change than others? The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century Universities and Scholasticism Religious Revival and Diversity of Opinion The Artistic Vision of the High Middle Ages Government in the High Middle Ages Part IV - Challenges, Conflicts, and Departures 1300 to 1700 Chapter 11: Challenges to the Medieval Order Key Question: What did the crises of the late medieval era reveal about the strengths and weaknesses of Europe's civilization? Challenges from Nature Turmoil in the Middle East Spiritual Crises Political Responses: The Burdens of War Chapter 12: Renaissance and Exploration Key Question: How should a society use its history? The Context for the Renaissance The Culture of the Renaissance The Northern Renaissance The Middle East: The Ottoman Empire Europe and Atlantic Exploration Chapter 13: Reformation, Religious Wars, and National Conflicts Key Question: How do civilized societies justify war? The Lutheran Reformation The Swiss Reformation The Catholic Reformation The Habsburg-Valois Wars England's Ambivalent Reformation Convergence of Foreign and Domestic Politics: England, Spain, and France The Final Religious Upheaval