Western Tradition, The (8 Parts)

Synopsis

Series tracing the history of ideas, events and institutions that have shaped modern societies. Explores interconnections among politics, literature, economics, industry, agriculture, art, philosophy and culture. Illustrated with images from the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
1: How the concepts and practice of democracy and philosophy arose in a collection of Greek cities located at the furthest reaches of the ‘civilised’ world.
2: The building of the Roman Empire, focusing on weaponry and engineering, including roads and bridges.
3: The military aristocracy that dominated European kingdoms during the invasions and internal disorder that characterised the Middle Ages.
4: Drawing on ideas of the Enlightenment, British colonists in America fight for their rights as Englishmen and then for universal freedoms.
5: The idealistic concepts of liberty, equality and fraternity upon which the French Revolution was based and the reign of terror that followed the aboltion of the French monarchy.
6: Techonological development of the late 18th- and early 19th-centuries and how mass production raised the standard of living and reduced famine, but created a new kind of servitude.
7: The political changes during and after World War 1, with the demise of old empires and the rise of totalitarian states in Italy, Germany and Spain.
8: New tactics and strategies that developed during World War 2, focusing on he targeting of civilian populations and the Holocaust. Shows the war leaving Europe balanced between the first two superpowers - the Soviet Union and the United States.

Language

English

Country

United States

Medium

Video; Videocassette. VHS. col. 8 x 30 min.

Year of production

1989

Availability

Sale; 1997 sale: £29.50 (+VAT +p&p) each

Uses

Secondary/adult.

Subjects

History

Keywords

American revolution; Fascism; French Revolution; Greece - classical; industrialisation; Middle Ages; Roman Empire; World War 1; World War II

Credits

Cast

Eugen Weber

Sections

Title

Rise of Greek civilization, The

Synopsis

1: How the concepts and practice of democracy and philosophy arose in a collection of Greek cities located at the furthest reaches of the 'civilised' world.

Title

Roman Empire, The

Synopsis

2: The building of the Roman Empire, focusing on weaponry and engineering, including roads and bridges.

Title

Middle Ages, The

Synopsis

3: The military aristocracy that dominated European kingdoms during the invasions and internal disorder that characterised the Middle Ages.

Title

American Revolution, The

Synopsis

4: Drawing on ideas of the Enlightenment, British colonists in America fight for their rights as Englishmen and then for universal freedoms.

Title

French Revolution, The 1

Synopsis

5: The idealistic concepts of liberty, equality and fraternity upon which the French Revolution was based and the reign of terror that followed the aboltion of the French monarchy.

Title

Industrial Revolution, The 1

Synopsis

6: Techonological development of the late 18th- and early 19th-centuries and how mass production raised the standard of living and reduced famine, but created a new kind of servitude.

Title

First World War and the rise of fascism, The

Synopsis

7: The political changes during and after World War 1, with the demise of old empires and the rise of totalitarian states in Italy, Germany and Spain.

Title

Second World War, The 1

Synopsis

8: New tactics and strategies that developed during World War 2, focusing on he targeting of civilian populations and the Holocaust. Shows the war leaving Europe balanced between the first two superpowers - the Soviet Union and the United States.

Production Company

Name

WGBH Boston

Sponsor

Name

Annenberg Project at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Address

USA

Name

New York, NY, USA

Distributor

Name

Viewtech Educational Media

Notes

NB. Viewtech ceased trading in 2014 and the company’s products are no longer in distribution