Concise Survey of Western Civilization: Supremacies and Diversities Throughout History (A Concise Survey of Western Civilization) - Hardcover

Pavlac, Brian A

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 144223766X ISBN 13: 9781442237667

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2015

Synopsis

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."

About this title

Review:

This book is the way to go for a one-semester course: a text that's full, but not dense. It's well-informed and intelligently written, yet still accessible. The big-picture approach combined with guided questions keep students on track, while the writing is lively, anecdotal, and illustrative--a nice balance of the forest and trees. The concise nature of the text makes it particularly suitable for online or condensed semesters.--Christopher M. Bellitto, Kean University

I liked the first edition, and I love the second. Concise, clear, with lively text, this new edition adds useful primary sources while retaining the strengths of the earlier edition. Brian Pavlac does an exceptional job in demonstrating to students how historians work, while providing them the tools to begin their own forays into the thickets of history.--Judith Travers, Suffolk County Community College

About the Author:

Brian A. Pavlac is the Herve A. LeBlanc Distinguished Service Professor and chair of the Department of History at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

About this edition

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 144223766X
• ISBN 13: 9781442237667
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 528