The Western Tradition
series not in production
Ended
Documentary
Seasons | 1
Episodes | 52
avg.Runtime | 27 min
First EP | 1989-01-01
Last EP | 1989-01-01
Overview
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Covering the ancient world through the age of technology, this illustrated lecture by Eugen Weber presents a tapestry of political and social events woven with many strands — religion, industry, agriculture, demography, government, economics, and art. A visual feast of over 2,700 images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art portrays key events that shaped the development of Western thought, culture, and tradition.
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Season List
season 1 || Season 1
Relesed on | 1989-01-01
1
The Dawn of History
1989-01-01
The origins of the human race are traced from anthropoid ancestors to the agricultural revolution.
2
The Ancient Egyptians
1989-01-01
Egyptian irrigation created one of the first great civilizations.
3
Mesopotamia
1989-01-01
Settlements in the Fertile Crescent gave rise to the great river civilizations of the Middle East.
4
From Bronze to Iron
1989-01-01
Metals revolutionized tools, as well as societies, in the empires of Assyria, Persia, and Neo-Babylonia.
5
The Rise of Greek Civilization
1989-01-01
Democracy and philosophy arose from Greek cities at the edge of the civilized world.
6
Greek Thought
1989-01-01
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle laid the foundation of Western intellectual thought.
7
Alexander the Great
1989-01-01
Alexander's conquests quadrupled the size of the world known to the Greeks.
8
The Hellenistic Age
1989-01-01
Hellenistic kingdoms extended Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean.
9
The Rise of Rome
1989-01-01
Through its army, Rome built an empire that shaped the West.
10
The Roman Empire
1989-01-01
Rome's civil engineering contributed as much to the empire as did its weapons.
11
Early Christianity
1989-01-01
Christianity spread despite contempt and persecution from Rome.
12
The Rise of the Church
1989-01-01
The old heresy became the Roman empire's official religion under the Emperor Constantine.
13
The Decline of Rome
1989-01-01
While enemies slashed at Rome's borders, civil war and economic collapse destroyed the empire from within.
14
The Fall of Rome
1989-01-01
Despite the success of emperors such as Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius, Rome fell victim to barbarian invasions.
15
The Byzantine Empire
1989-01-01
From Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire carried on the traditions of Greece and Rome.
16
The Fall of Byzantium
1989-01-01
Nearly a thousand years after Rome's fall, Constantinople was conquered by the forces of Islam.
17
The Dark Ages
1989-01-01
Barbarian kingdoms took possession of the fragments of the Roman Empire.
18
The Age of Charlemagne
1989-01-01
Charlemagne revived hopes for a new empire in Western Europe.
19
The Middle Ages
1989-01-01
Amid invasion and civil disorder, a military aristocracy dominated the kingdoms of Europe.
20
The Feudal Order
1989-01-01
Bishop, knight, and peasant exemplified some of the social divisions of the year 1000 A.D.
21
Common Life in the Middle Ages
1989-01-01
Famine, disease, and short life expectancies were the conditions that shaped medieval beliefs.
22
Cities and Cathedrals of the Middle Ages
1989-01-01
The great churches embodied the material and spiritual ambitions of the age.
23
The Late Middle Ages
1989-01-01
Two hundred years of war and plague debilitated Europe.
24
The National Monarchies
1989-01-01
A new urban middle class emerged, while dynastic marriages established centralized monarchies.
25
Renaissance & the Age of Discovery
1989-01-01
Renaissance humanists made man "the measure of all things." Europe was possessed by a new passion for knowledge.
26
Renaissance & the New World
1989-01-01
The discovery of America challenged Europe.
27
The Reformation
1989-01-01
Voiced by Martin Luther, Protestantism shattered the unity of the Catholic Church.
28
The Rise of the Middle Class
1989-01-01
As the cities grew, new middle-class mores had an impact on religious life.
29
The Wars of Religion
1989-01-01
For more than a century, the quarrels of Protestants and Catholics tore Europe apart.
30
The Rise of the Trading Cities
1989-01-01
Amid religious wars, a few cities learned that tolerance increased their prosperity.
31
The Age of Absolutism
1989-01-01
Exhausted by war and civil strife, many Europeans exchanged earlier liberties and anarchies for greater peace.
32
Absolutism and the Social Contract
1989-01-01
Arguments about the legitimate source of political power centered on divine right versus natural law.
33
The Enlightened Despots
1989-01-01
Monarchs considered reforms in order to create more efficient societies, but not at the expense of their own power.
34
The Enlightenment
1989-01-01
Intellectual theories about the nature of man and his potential came to the fore.
35
The Enlightenment and Society
1989-01-01
Scientists and social reformers battled for universal human rights during a peaceful and prosperous period.
36
The Modern Philosophers
1989-01-01
Freedom of thought and expression opened new vistas explored by French, English, and American thinkers.
37
The American Revolution
1989-01-01
The British colonists created a society that tested Enlightenment ideas and resisted restrictions imposed by England.
38
The American Republic
1989-01-01
A new republic, the compromise of radicals and conservatives, was founded on universal freedoms.
39
The Death of the Old Regime
1989-01-01
In France the old order collapsed under revolutionaries' attacks and the monarchy's own weakness.
40
The French Revolution
1989-01-01
Liberty, equality, and fraternity skidded into a reign of Terror.
41
The Industrial Revolution
1989-01-01
Technology and mass production reduced famine and ushered in higher standards of living.
42
The Industrial World
1989-01-01
A consumer revolution was fueled by coal, public transportation, and new city services.
43
Revolution and Romantics
1989-01-01
Leaders in the arts, literature, and political theory argued for social justice and national liberation.
44
The Age of the Nation-States
1989-01-01
The great powers cooperated to quell internal revolts, yet competed to acquire colonies.
45
A New Public
1989-01-01
Public education and mass communications created a new political life and leisure time.
46
Fin de Siècle
1989-01-01
Everyday life of the working class was transformed by leisure, prompting the birth of an elite avant-garde movement.
47
The First World War and the Rise of Fascism
1989-01-01
Old empires crumbled during World War I to be replaced by right-wing dictatorships in Italy, Spain, and Germany.
48
The Second World War
1989-01-01
World War II was a war of new tactics and strategies. Civilian populations became targets as the Nazi holocaust exterminated millions of people.
49
The Cold War
1989-01-01
The U.S. and Soviet Union dominated Europe and confronted each other in Korea.
50
Europe and the Third World
1989-01-01
Burdened with the legacy of colonial imperialism, the Third World rushed development to catch up with its Western counterparts.
51
The Technological Revolution
1989-01-01
Keeping up with the ever-increasing pace of change became the standard of the day.
52
Toward the Future
1989-01-01
Modern medicine, atomic energy, computers, and new concepts of time, energy, and matter all have an important effect on life in the 20th century.
CAST
CREW
“I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained.” – Walt Disney