February 2 – EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM. May 21 – THE RITE OF...
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February 2 – EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM. In the modern age, Europeans built empires of two major types: territorial and colonial. Territorial imperialism has shaped the territories of modern Britain, Russia and Germany. Colonial empires gave Europe its dominance over the Global South. February 9 – THE SUN NEVER SET ON IT. Starting with the union of England and Scotland in the 15th century, the British managed to build the biggest political realm in world history, which grew to hold sway over one-fifth of humanity and one-quarter of the world’s landmass. February 23 – RUSSIA’S EURASIAN REALM. Conquered by nomads of the Great Steppe in the 13th century, the only way for Russia to regain its independence and assure its security was to fight for an empire of its own. March 2 – THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES. Neither traditional European empires nor the newer, fascist and communist, types survived the century of world wars and revolutions. March 9 – GLOBALIZATION AND STRUGGLES FOR HEGEMONY. The fall of the Soviet Union cleared the last obstacles to the rise of a new world order in which the United States has more power than any other state. But this unique global hegemony is also a passing phenomenon. COURSE F – Thursday 1-3 p.m. SIX BENCHMARK BALLETS Lecturer: Michael Crabb Women’s Art Association of Canada, 23 Prince Arthur Ave. This six-lecture course, designed for devoted ballet devotees and newcomers alike, examines the development of Western theatrical dance through the portals of six benchmark ballets that continue to be performed today. They were all made to original music, which helped secure their survival, and either defined their era or have had enduring impacts on the way ballet choreographers work today. Their iconic status means that each has been preserved in more or less faithful versions but many continue to be adapted to reflect contemporary values and the evolution of dance technique. Recurring issues that will emerge during the course include the notion of “authenticity” and the various ways ballets are preserved through the generations. April 16 – GISELLE. First danced in Paris in 1841, Giselle is considered the epitome of Romantic ballet, a genre in which the realms of the flesh, the spirit and the supernatural meet – often with tragic consequences. It also elevated the ballerina to the aesthetic pinnacle of the art form. April 23 – COPPÉLIA. Coppélia, given its premiere on the eve of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, represents the 19th-century highpoint of French ballet before leadership in the art form gravitated east, to Russia. April 30 – SWAN LAKE. The great Russian-American choreographer George Balanchine once quipped that all ballets should be called Swan Lake because “then people would come.” Why has this ballet, far from a hit in its 1877 Moscow original, become the emblem of everything that is mysterious and beautiful at the ballet? May 21 – THE RITE OF SPRING. The 1913 original of the Stravinsky/Nijinsky Sacre du printemps famously caused a riot in the theatre at its premiere. Yet, the legend of that event still haunts the ballet world and the score has become the most choreographed in the history of dance. May 28 – ROMEO AND JULIET. There were Romeo and Juliet ballets long before Prokofiev wrote his famous score in 1935 but it is his music that, in variously choreographed productions, has placed Shakespeare’s tale of star-crossed lovers at the epicenter of the global ballet repertoire. June 4 – LA FILLE MAL GARDÉE. Although the original has been lost, the survival of the story and elements of the production, make La fille mal gardée, from 1789, the oldest ballet still performed today, in large part due to the success of Frederick Ashton’s 1960 version for the Royal Ballet, now performed around the world. FACULTY PAULA CITRON is an arts journalist, broadcaster, lecturer and critic specializing in classical music, dance and theatre. She is senior dance and frequent theatre writer for The Globe and Mail, arts reviewer for CLASSICAL 96.3 FM, and an associate editor with Opera Canada magazine. She is a contributor to a multi-disciplinary array of North American arts magazines. In November, 2007, Ms. Citron was the guest critic at the British Columbia Dance Showcase in Vancouver. Before retiring from a thirty year teaching career in 1997, she was a staff member at the theatre department of the Claude Watson Performing Arts High School. MICHAEL CRABB Michael Crabb has been active as an author, arts journalist and broadcaster for more than 40 years. For more than 30 of these he worked for the CBC as a radio producer, arts commentator and on-air host. He began cover- ing dance for The Toronto Star in 1977, switched to The National Post in 1998, but returned to The Star in 2009 where he remains its dance critic. His book, An Instinct for Success: Arnold Spohr and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, was published in 2002.Michael, who delivered his first Kaleidoscope course in 1988, has lectured about dance at institutions across Canada and in the United States. ARNE KISLENKO is Associate Professor of History at Ryerson University and an instructor in the International Relations Program at Trinity College/the Munk School for International Studies at the University of Toronto. His teaching focus is on 19th and 20th century international relations, and includes courses on the two world wars, the Cold War, the history of espionage/intelligence services, comparative foreign policy, modern Southeast Asia, and culture/ identity/nationalities. He has won numerous awards for his teaching, including the prestigious 3M National Teaching Fellowship (2011). Arne’s research interests include United States diplomatic history, 20th century international relations, modern Southeast Asia, and contemporary intelligence/national security issues. He is currently working on a history of modern international relations for University of Toronto Press among other projects. He appears regularly in the media commenting on current affairs and as an historical advisor for several news and television programmes. RICK PHILLIPS was the Host and Producer of SOUND ADVICE, the weekly guide to classical music and recordings, heard across Canada on CBC Radio One and CBC Radio Two every weekend for 14 years. Rick was affiliated with CBC Radio for 30 years, working in Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto in a career that spanned production to management to on-air. As well as broadcasting and webcast- ing, he is also a busy freelance writer and reviewer, speaker, panel moderator, consultant, musical tour guide and concert host. He is often a juror in the classical music categories for the Juno Awards, and is the author of “The Essential Classical Recordings – 101 CDs” published by McClelland & Stewart. Rick leads a variety of Music History & Appreciation courses at the University of Toronto, York University and other venues. He holds a B. Mus. from McGill University and a M. Mus. from the University of Toronto. DAMIANO PIETROPAOLO is a multi-award winning producer/ director, writer, translator, and teacher with an extensive background in senior management in the arts. He was educated at the Universities of Toronto and Florence. While he was working on a PhD in drama, his freelance life as actor, writer and stage director led him to join CBC Radio as a documentary and drama producer. He is a writer and translator whose critical and personal essays have been published nationally and internationally. His translation and stage adaptation of The Fellini Radio Plays by Federico Fellini was presented at the Stratford Festival of Canada’s 50th Anniversary season in 2002. Damiano lectures widely on contemporary fiction and cinema, and has been an Artistic Consultant and curator to Luminato: Toronto’s Festival of the Arts and Creativity. From 1999 to 2011, Damiano was adjunct professor in Dramaturgy, Media and Performance studies at the University of Toronto. His sound sculpture The Idea of Glenn was presented as part of the Dreamers, Renegades, Visionaries: the Glenn Gould Variations, a two day symposium/performance held at the University of Toronto. SERGEI PLEKHANOV was born and educated in Moscow, USSR. He holds an M.A. in International Relations and a Ph.D. in History. From 1975 to 1993, he worked at the Institute for the Study of the USA and Canada in Moscow, specializing in the study of American politics and foreign policy. From 1985 to 1990, Dr. Plekhanov served as an advisor to Mikhail Gorbachev and took part in the political efforts to bring the Cold War to an end and establish democracy in Russia. Since arriving in Canada in 1993, Dr. Plekhanov has taught Russian and post-Soviet politics as Associate Professor at York University’s Department of Political Science. He has also taught at the University of Toronto, University of California, Irvine, and Occidental College in Los Angeles. He has published books and articles on post-communist Russia, US-Russian relations, and American politics. Over the years, he has given hundreds of interviews to Canadian and international media. He is currently writing a book on the evolution of Russia’s role in world politics over the past century. 28TH SEASON! 2014-2015 Rochelle Diamond Sabina Green Developed by 416.781.0429 416.481.7734 e-mail: [email protected] www.anewwayoflearning.com
Transcript of February 2 – EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM. May 21 – THE RITE OF...
February 2 – EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM. In the modern age, Europeans built empires of two major types: territorial and colonial. Territorial imperialism has shaped the territories of modern Britain, Russia and Germany. Colonial empires gave Europe its dominance over the Global South.February 9 – THE SUN NEVER SET ON IT. Starting with the union of England and Scotland in the 15th century, the British managed to build the biggest political realm in world history, which grew to hold sway over one-fifth of humanity and one-quarter of the world’s landmass. February 23 – RUSSIA’S EURASIAN REALM. Conquered by nomads of the Great Steppe in the 13th century, the only way for Russia to regain its independence and assure its security was to fight for an empire of its own. March 2 – THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES. Neither traditional European empires nor the newer, fascist and communist, types survived the century of world wars and revolutions. March 9 – GLOBALIZATION AND STRUGGLES FOR HEGEMONY. The fall of the Soviet Union cleared the last obstacles to the rise of a new world order in which the United States has more power than any other state. But this unique global hegemony is also a passing phenomenon.
COURSE F – Thursday 1-3 p.m. SIX BENCHMARK BALLETSLecturer: Michael CrabbWomen’s Art Association of Canada, 23 Prince Arthur Ave.
This six-lecture course, designed for devoted ballet devotees and newcomers alike, examines the development of Western theatrical dance through the portals of six benchmark ballets that continue to be performed today. They were all made to original music, which helped secure their survival, and either defined their era or have had enduring impacts on the way ballet choreographers work today. Their iconic status means that each has been preserved in more or less faithful versions but many continue to be adapted to reflect contemporary values and the evolution of dance technique. Recurring issues that will emerge during the course include the notion of “authenticity” and the various ways ballets are preserved through the generations.
April 16 – GISELLE. First danced in Paris in 1841, Giselle is considered the epitome of Romantic ballet, a genre in which the realms of the flesh, the spirit and the supernatural meet – often with tragic consequences. It also elevated the ballerina to the aesthetic pinnacle of the art form.April 23 – COPPÉLIA. Coppélia, given its premiere on the eve of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, represents the 19th-century highpoint of French ballet before leadership in the art form gravitated east, to Russia.April 30 – SWAN LAKE. The great Russian-American choreographer George Balanchine once quipped that all ballets should be called Swan Lake because “then people would come.” Why has this ballet, far from a hit in its 1877 Moscow original, become the emblem of everything that is mysterious and beautiful at the ballet?
May 21 – THE RITE OF SPRING. The 1913 original of the Stravinsky/Nijinsky Sacre du printemps famously caused a riot in the theatre at its premiere. Yet, the legend of that event still haunts the ballet world and the score has become the most choreographed in the history of dance.May 28 – ROMEO AND JULIET. There were Romeo and Juliet ballets long before Prokofiev wrote his famous score in 1935 but it is his music that, in variously choreographed productions, has placed Shakespeare’s tale of star-crossed lovers at the epicenter of the global ballet repertoire.June 4 – LA FILLE MAL GARDÉE. Although the original has been lost, the survival of the story and elements of the production, make La fille mal gardée, from 1789, the oldest ballet still performed today, in large part due to the success of Frederick Ashton’s 1960 version for the Royal Ballet, now performed around the world.
FACULTY
PAULA CITRON is an arts journalist, broadcaster, lecturer and critic specializing in classical music, dance and theatre. She is senior dance and frequent theatre writer for The Globe and Mail, arts reviewer for CLASSICAL 96.3 FM, and an associate editor with Opera Canada magazine. She is a contributor to a multi-disciplinary array of North American arts magazines. In November, 2007, Ms. Citron was the guest critic at the British Columbia Dance Showcase in Vancouver. Before retiring from a thirty year teaching career in 1997, she was a staff member at the theatre department of the Claude Watson Performing Arts High School.
MICHAEL CRABB Michael Crabb has been active as an author, arts journalist and broadcaster for more than 40 years. For more than 30 of these he worked for the CBC as a radio producer, arts commentator and on-air host. He began cover-ing dance for The Toronto Star in 1977, switched to The National Post in 1998, but returned to The Star in 2009 where he remains its dance critic. His book, An Instinct for Success: Arnold Spohr and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, was published in 2002.Michael, who delivered his first Kaleidoscope course in 1988, has lectured about dance at institutions across Canada and in the United States.
ARNE KISLENKO is Associate Professor of History at Ryerson University and an instructor in the International Relations Program at Trinity College/the Munk School for International Studies at the University of Toronto. His teaching focus is on 19th and 20th century international relations, and includes courses on the two world wars, the Cold War, the history of espionage/intelligence services, comparative foreign policy, modern Southeast Asia, and culture/ identity/nationalities. He has won numerous awards for his teaching, including the prestigious 3M National Teaching Fellowship (2011). Arne’s research interests include United States diplomatic history, 20th century international relations, modern Southeast Asia, and contemporary intelligence/national security issues. He is currently working on a history of modern international relations for University of Toronto Press among other projects. He appears regularly in the media commenting on current affairs and as an historical advisor for several news and television programmes.
RICK PHILLIPS was the Host and Producer of SOUND ADVICE, the weekly guide to classical music and recordings, heard across Canada on CBC Radio One and CBC Radio Two every weekend for 14 years. Rick was affiliated with CBC Radio for 30 years, working in Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto in a career that spanned production to management to on-air. As well as broadcasting and webcast-ing, he is also a busy freelance writer and reviewer, speaker, panel moderator, consultant, musical tour guide and concert host. He is often a juror in the classical music categories for the Juno Awards, and is the author of “The Essential Classical Recordings – 101 CDs” published by McClelland & Stewart. Rick leads a variety of Music History & Appreciation courses at the University of Toronto, York University and other venues. He holds a B. Mus. from McGill University and a M. Mus. from the University of Toronto.
DAMIANO PIETROPAOLO is a multi-award winning producer/ director, writer, translator, and teacher with an extensive background in senior management in the arts. He was educated at the Universities of Toronto and Florence. While he was working on a PhD in drama, his freelance life as actor, writer and stage director led him to join CBC Radio as a documentary and drama producer. He is a writer and translator whose critical and personal essays have been published nationally and internationally. His translation and stage adaptation of The Fellini Radio Plays by Federico Fellini was presented at the Stratford Festival of Canada’s 50th Anniversary season in 2002. Damiano lectures widely on contemporary fiction and cinema, and has been an Artistic Consultant and curator to Luminato: Toronto’s Festival of the Arts and Creativity. From 1999 to 2011, Damiano was adjunct professor in Dramaturgy, Media and Performance studies at the University of Toronto. His sound sculpture The Idea of Glenn was presented as part of the Dreamers, Renegades, Visionaries: the Glenn Gould Variations, a two day symposium/performance held at the University of Toronto.
SERGEI PLEKHANOV was born and educated in Moscow, USSR. He holds an M.A. in International Relations and a Ph.D. in History. From 1975 to 1993, he worked at the Institute for the Study of the USA and Canada in Moscow, specializing in the study of American politics and foreign policy. From 1985 to 1990, Dr. Plekhanov served as an advisor to Mikhail Gorbachev and took part in the political efforts to bring the Cold War to an end and establish democracy in Russia. Since arriving in Canada in 1993, Dr. Plekhanov has taught Russian and post-Soviet politics as Associate Professor at York University’s Department of Political Science. He has also taught at the University of Toronto, University of California, Irvine, and Occidental College in Los Angeles. He has published books and articles on post-communist Russia, US-Russian relations, and American politics. Over the years, he has given hundreds of interviews to Canadian and international media. He is currently writing a book on the evolution of Russia’s role in world politics over the past century.
28TH SEASON!2014-2015
Rochelle Diamond Sabina Green
Developed by
416.781.0429416.481.7734
e-mail: [email protected]
www.anewwayoflearning.com
COURSE A – Tuesday 1-3 p.m. CONTEMPORARY FICTIONLecturer: Damiano PietropaoloTartu College, 310 Bloor St. West, entrance on Madison
September 16 – STONER by Joseph Williams. Stoner is born at the end of the nineteenth century into a dirt-poor Missouri farming family. Sent to the state university to study agronomy, he instead falls in love with English literature and embraces a scholar's life. He experiences a succession of disappointments with the American dream, and is driven ever deeper within himself. October 14 – THE ORENDA by Joseph Boyden. Boyden invites the reader to re-imagine a Canadian story we thought we knew. A historical epic about an idealistic missionary caught between warring tribes, hundreds of years before confederation. The Orenda illuminates the shadowy moment of our inception as a country. It forces us to bravely consider who we are. November 18 – THE CIRCLE by Dave Eggers.The Circle is a novel of ideas: current and relevant ideas about the social construction and deconstruction of privacy, and about the increasing corporate ownership of privacy, and about the effects such ownership may have on the nature of Western democracy. Dissemination of information is power, as the old yellow-journalism newspaper proprietors knew so well. What is withheld can be as potent as what is disclosed; in the Internet age, the code-owners have the keys to the kingdom.December 2 – MY BRILLIANT FRIEND by Elena Ferrante.A modern masterpiece from one of Italy’s most acclaimed authors: a rich, intense, and generous-hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila. Ferrante’s inimitable style lends itself perfectly to a meticulous portrait of these two women that is also the story of a nation and a touching meditation on the nature of friendship.January 20 – ALL THAT IS by James Salter. From his experiences as a young naval officer in battles off Okinawa, Philip Bowman returns to America and finds a position as a book editor. It is a time when publishing is still largely a private affair – a scattered family of small houses here and in Europe, a time of gatherings in fabled apartments and conversations that continue long into the night. Romantic and haunting, All That Is explores a life unfolding in a world on the brink of change.February 17 – LIFE AFTER LIFE by Kate Atkinson. Atkinson’s heroine, born in 1910, keeps dying and dying again, as she experiences the alternate courses her destiny might have taken. Life After Life follows Ursula Todd as she lives through the turbulent events of the last century again and again. With wit and compassion, Kate Atkinson finds warmth even in life’s bleakest moments, and shows an extraordinary ability to evoke the past. March 24 – THE INFATUATIONS by Javier Marías. Translated by Margaret Jull Costa. Marías’s metaphysical murder mystery explores its female narrator’s relationship with the widow and the best friend of a murdered man. Every day, María Dolz stops for breakfast at the same café. And every day she enjoys watching a handsome couple who follow the same routine. Then one day they aren't there: the murder novel as a metaphysical enquiry, addressing existential questions of life, death, love and morality.
April 21 – THE DISMAL SCIENCE by Peter Mountford. A middle-aged vice president at the World Bank, Vincenzo D’Orsi, publicly quits his job over a seemingly minor argument with a colleague. A scandal inevitably ensues, and he systematically burns every bridge to his former life. After abandoning his career, Vincenzo, a recent widower, is at a complete loss as to what to do with himself. The story follows his efforts to rebuild his identity without a vocation or the company of his wife.
COURSE B – Tuesday 1-3 p.m. A PARTICULAR HISTORY OF TERRORISMLecturer: Dr. Arne KislenkoTartu College, 310 Bloor St. West, entrance on Madison
“The War on Terror” has become a hallmark of the contemporary international order. 9/11, the Bali bombings, and 7/7 have become imbedded in our collective memories as symbols of a “new” global threat. Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and “orange alert” have become terms in the common vernacular. But is it all really anything new? Contrary to popular belief, terrorism has always been part of the international polity. From the terror cimbricus of ancient Rome, to the Ḥashshāshīn of the Fatimid Empire, to the anarchists of 19th century Russia: world history is littered with “terrorists.” But while we have used the word for more than two millennia, defining terrorism in any objective and universally agreed fashion has proven impossible. This course will explore some of the many dimen-sions of global terrorism. Beginning with definitions, we will trace the development of terror as a political tool from the ancient world to the 21st century: covering the cultural, religious, and ideological dimensions of some of the best - and least - known “terrorists” in history.
September 23 Terrere to Terreur: Part 1 – Terrorism in the Ancient and Medieval World September 30 Terrere to Terreur: Part 2 – Terrorism in the Enlightenment October 7 Revolution and Anarchy: Terrorism in the 19th Century October 21 “A Special System of Violence”: Terrorism and the Two World WarsOctober 28 Child of the Cold War: Part 1 - The Internationalization of Terror, 1945-1975November 4 Child of the Cold War: Part 2 - The Internationalization of Terror, 1975-1991November 11 The ‘End of History’ and other Fairy Tales: Terrorism in the post-Cold WarNovember 25 The “War on Terror”: Contemporary Perspectives on an Age-Old Problem
COURSE C – Wednesday 1-3 p.m.CONVERSATIONS WITH PAULA CITRONLecturer: Paula CitronWomen’s Art Association of Canada, 23 Prince Arthur Ave.
This entertaining course is back for its third year with another stellar line-up of guests. Audiences have a chance to get up close and personal in an intimate setting with cultural movers and shakers. In this informal gathering, Ms. Citron interviews each guest at length, followed by questions from the audience. The result is a series of fascinating conversations that track the guests from their early lives, to how they got to where they are now. Lots of laughs, lots of surprises, and lots of poignant moments.
September 17 RICHARD MARGISON, superstar opera tenorOctober 1 RICHARD OUZOUNIAN, theatre critic, The Toronto StarOctober 29 STUART HAMILTON, pianist, accompanist, vocal coach; founder of Opera in Concert seriesNovember 5 ALEKSANDAR ANTONIJEVIC, former danseur noble, The National Ballet of Canada; fine art photographerDecember 3 IRIS TURCOTT, dramaturge to playwrights Ronnie Burkett, Brad Fraser and Judith Thompson among others; company dramaturge, Factory Theatre December 17 KIRSTEN JOHNSON, iconoclast visual artist, filmmaker, actor
COURSE D - Monday 1-3 p.m.FRANZ SCHUBERTLecturer: Rick PhillipsTartu College, 310 Bloor St. West, entrance on Madison “Such is the spell of Schubert’s emotional world, that it very nearly blinds us to the greatness of his craftsmanship!” (Franz Liszt, 1811-1886) Although Franz Schubert (1797 -1828) lived a short life in Vienna of only 31 years, he left us a marvelous treasure chest of songs, piano music, chamber music and symphonies. With a natural gift for melody, Schubert brought a fresh, expressive and more emotional quality to his works, as the burgeoning 19th century Romantic trend in the arts developed into the full-fledged movement. Exhibiting innocence, passion, sorrow, joy and playfulness, the Viennese have long claimed that Schubert should be experienced with one eye wet, the other dry. Using classic recordings from the past and present, Rick Phillips will present an informative and enlightening series, opening eyes and ears to Schubert’s musical world.
September 22 and September 29 – THE SONGS AND SONG CYCLESSchubert’s most important legacy rests on his over 600 songs – masterpieces of the marriage of text and music, and voice with piano. But it’s not so much how Schubert set a text to music, as much as how he translated the text into the language of music. The song was never the same after Schubert and it opened up a whole new world of vocal music to the likes of Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, Mahler and Richard Strauss.
October 6 – PIANO MUSIC. Although he was never a concert pianist, Schubert wrote exceedingly well for the instrument. After his death in 1828 much of his piano music was neglected, terribly overshadowed by that of Beethoven, but in the early 20th century pianists realized its worth, and began to perform and champion it. Today it is considered the last voice of Viennese Classicism, once described as “like Beethoven in Heaven,” and part of the mainstream of the piano literature.October 20 – CHAMBER MUSIC. A fresh spontaneity and unforgettable melodies are the characteristic traits of the chamber music by Schubert. Although little known outside his circle of friends during his lifetime, today, some of the most popular chamber music works are by Schubert, including the Trout Quintet, the Octet and several of the string quartets.October 27 – SYMPHONIES. 1-5 During his lifetime in Vienna, Schubert was perceived as a "miniaturist" - known for his songs and short piano pieces. His nine symphonies wallowed in obscurity long after his death, viewed as poorly crafted, overly long and dull. But Synphonies 1-5 show the young developing composer, as he absorbed the symphonic concept, making it his own.November 3 –SYMPHONIES. 6-9 In the Symphonies 6-9, Schubert continued to master the form but they were never understood in his lifetime. Later in the 19th century, they were discovered by Robert Schumann and rightly given their due. Schumann said of them, "We are transported by the music to a region where we can never remember to have been before".
WINTER SESSION
COURSE E – Monday 1-3 p.m.EMPIRE AS A WAY OF LIFELecturer: Dr. Sergei PlekhanovTartu College, 310 Bloor St. West, entrance on Madison
Empires have been an ever-present feature of world politics for thousands of years. Even though the last century seemed to have put an end to imperial practices, in reality they continue in modified forms, as great powers keep trying to increase their influence over other territories by various means. This course will examine the phenomenon of empire in historical and contemporary contexts. We will review major types of empires, from the Roman Empire to the European Union and Communist China, seeking to understand why they rise, what leads to their decay and downfall, what roles they have played in human history, and whether an empire-free world is possible.
January 12 – WHY EMPIRE? Since ancient times, states have tried to expand their borders and establish unified political orders over diverse populations, driven by greed, power, and sometimes also by missionary zeal.January 19 – ANCIENT EMPIRES. In the ancient world, Persians, Macedonians and Romans mastered the arts of warfare and administration to subjugate other states. Some of the legacies of those early imperial practices are still felt today.January 26 – NOMADIC IMPERIALISTS. In the Middle Ages, the most successful imperialists were Arabs, Mongols and Turks, products of nomadic cultures of the Middle East and the Eurasian Steppe. Their massive conquests changed the course of human history.
