Heritage of the West

Introduction to the study of civilization and history

Introduction to the study of civilization

• What is civilization? Civilization means…

• What are the indicators of the development, growth, and evolution of civilization?

• What, if any, are the limits of civilization?

Civilization means…

• cities

• organization

• writing

New York City

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Census_Regions_and_Divisions.PNG

Scribes were educated in the art of handwriting and copying laws, decrees, and other official records.

(L) An Egyptian scribe would have been trained to write hieroglyphics; (R) A European scribe at work.

The indicators of the development, growth, and evolution of civilization include…

cultural, economic, political, social, and technological change.

The limits of civilization are:

• class, or caste, distinctions

• sex differences

• social anxiety due to the restraints placed on individuals in increasingly complex social units

What is history?

Is history an art or a science? Why?

What do historians do?

What methods do historians use in history?

What is the purpose of history?

What is history?

According to R.G. Collingwood, history is the science of attempting to find things out about past human actions for the purpose of human self-fulfillment. This process is achieved through studying and interpreting documents, or things existing here and now.