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The Foundations of Western Civilization cover art

The Foundations of Western Civilization

Written by: Thomas F. X. Noble, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Thomas F. X. Noble
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Publisher's Summary

What is Western civilization? According to Professor Noble, it is "much more than human and political geography," encompassing myriad forms of political and institutional structures - from monarchies to participatory republics - and its own traditions of political discourse. It involves choices about who gets to participate in any given society and the ways in which societies have resolved the tension between individual self-interest and the common good.

Within this series of 48 lectures, you'll discover the many ways in which Western civilization has addressed those questions, from its first stirrings in the great river valleys of Iraq and Egypt in 3000 B.C to the beginning of the 17th century and the dawn of the modern world. Your learning will cover vast amounts of territory and thousands of years, beginning in the ancient Near East and moving to Greece and then Rome. You'll explore ancient empires, including those of Persia, Alexander the Great, and Rome.

You'll watch as western Europe gradually expands, both physically and culturally. And you'll examine the globalizations of Western civilization with the Portuguese and Spanish voyages of exploration and discovery.

This broad and panoramic series, ripe with the telling detail on which history can turn, will help you pull an enormous sweep of history together into one coherent - though by no means closed - framework as you watch history develop under the influence of such critical factors as ecology and environment, geography, and climate; government and economics; technology; religion; work and leisure; philosophy; literature; art and architecture; and virtues, values, and aesthetics.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2002 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2002 The Great Courses

What listeners say about The Foundations of Western Civilization

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very protestant and narrow

This series was disappointing for me. I came away with no understanding of Western Civilization. The course is a rehash of all the stories and cliches that attempt to draw links from ancient societies to contemporary european culture. But the continuity is not there despite the best efforts of the lecturer. It is a continuation of a mythology with lots of dates and names thrown in to give some sort of realistic justification for the use of the word Foundation. But by the end I found myself still wondering what the Foundations of Western Civilization were. A history of various western civilizations and cultures would be a more accurate description.

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12 people found this helpful

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Superlative in every way

this was a great delight to listen to very informative and well presented, plan to listen to the remainder of his material. people who hate our civilization willl likely not enjoy it.

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Amazing

Great delivery and the content was superb.
Once more I loved everything about these master classes

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Adaquate for an overview

Contains little that I would return to for reference, which is what a history book should be most useful for.

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