The Western Tradition (1989) | Couchpile

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The Western Tradition (1989) | Couchpile

Season 1

52 Episodes

1989

E01

The Dawn of History

1/1/1989·30m

The origins of the human race are traced from anthropoid ancestors to the agricultural revolution.

E02

The Ancient Egyptians

1/1/1989·30m

Egyptian irrigation created one of the first great civilizations.

E03

Mesopotamia

1/1/1989·30m

Settlements in the Fertile Crescent gave rise to the great river civilizations of the Middle East.

E04

From Bronze to Iron

1/1/1989·30m

Metals revolutionized tools, as well as societies, in the empires of Assyria, Persia, and Neo-Babylonia.

E05

The Rise of Greek Civilization

1/1/1989·30m

Democracy and philosophy arose from Greek cities at the edge of the civilized world.

E06

Greek Thought

1/1/1989·30m

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle laid the foundation of Western intellectual thought.

E07

Alexander the Great

1/1/1989·30m

Alexander's conquests quadrupled the size of the world known to the Greeks.

E08

The Hellenistic Age

1/1/1989·30m

Hellenistic kingdoms extended Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean.

E09

The Rise of Rome

1/1/1989·30m

Through its army, Rome built an empire that shaped the West.

E10

The Roman Empire

1/1/1989·30m

Rome's civil engineering contributed as much to the empire as did its weapons.

E11

Early Christianity

1/1/1989·30m

Christianity spread despite contempt and persecution from Rome.

E12

The Rise of the Church

1/1/1989·30m

The old heresy became the Roman empire's official religion under the Emperor Constantine.

E13

The Decline of Rome

1/1/1989·30m

While enemies slashed at Rome's borders, civil war and economic collapse destroyed the empire from within.

E14

The Fall of Rome

1/1/1989·30m

Despite the success of emperors such as Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius, Rome fell victim to barbarian invasions.

E15

The Byzantine Empire

1/1/1989·30m

From Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire carried on the traditions of Greece and Rome.

E16

The Fall of Byzantium

1/1/1989·30m

Nearly a thousand years after Rome's fall, Constantinople was conquered by the forces of Islam.

E17

The Dark Ages

1/1/1989·30m

Barbarian kingdoms took possession of the fragments of the Roman Empire.

E18

The Age of Charlemagne

1/1/1989·30m

Charlemagne revived hopes for a new empire in Western Europe.

E19

The Middle Ages

1/1/1989·30m

Amid invasion and civil disorder, a military aristocracy dominated the kingdoms of Europe.

E20

The Feudal Order

1/1/1989·30m

Bishop, knight, and peasant exemplified some of the social divisions of the year 1000 A.D.

E21

Common Life in the Middle Ages

1/1/1989·30m

Famine, disease, and short life expectancies were the conditions that shaped medieval beliefs.

E22

Cities and Cathedrals of the Middle Ages

1/1/1989·30m

The great churches embodied the material and spiritual ambitions of the age.

E23

The Late Middle Ages

1/1/1989·30m

Two hundred years of war and plague debilitated Europe.

E24

The National Monarchies

1/1/1989·30m

A new urban middle class emerged, while dynastic marriages established centralized monarchies.

E25

Renaissance & the Age of Discovery

1/1/1989·30m

Renaissance humanists made man "the measure of all things." Europe was possessed by a new passion for knowledge.

E26

Renaissance & the New World

1/1/1989·30m

The discovery of America challenged Europe.

E27

The Reformation

1/1/1989·30m

Voiced by Martin Luther, Protestantism shattered the unity of the Catholic Church.

E28

The Rise of the Middle Class

1/1/1989·30m

As the cities grew, new middle-class mores had an impact on religious life.

E29

The Wars of Religion

1/1/1989·30m

For more than a century, the quarrels of Protestants and Catholics tore Europe apart.

E30

The Rise of the Trading Cities

1/1/1989·30m

Amid religious wars, a few cities learned that tolerance increased their prosperity.

E31

The Age of Absolutism

1/1/1989·30m

Exhausted by war and civil strife, many Europeans exchanged earlier liberties and anarchies for greater peace.

E32

Absolutism and the Social Contract

1/1/1989·30m

Arguments about the legitimate source of political power centered on divine right versus natural law.

E33

The Enlightened Despots

1/1/1989·30m

Monarchs considered reforms in order to create more efficient societies, but not at the expense of their own power.

E34

The Enlightenment

1/1/1989·30m

Intellectual theories about the nature of man and his potential came to the fore.

E35

The Enlightenment and Society

1/1/1989·30m

Scientists and social reformers battled for universal human rights during a peaceful and prosperous period.

E36

The Modern Philosophers

1/1/1989·30m

Freedom of thought and expression opened new vistas explored by French, English, and American thinkers.

E37

The American Revolution

1/1/1989·30m

The British colonists created a society that tested Enlightenment ideas and resisted restrictions imposed by England.

E38

The American Republic

1/1/1989·30m

A new republic, the compromise of radicals and conservatives, was founded on universal freedoms.

E39

The Death of the Old Regime

1/1/1989·30m

In France the old order collapsed under revolutionaries' attacks and the monarchy's own weakness.

E40

The French Revolution

1/1/1989·30m

Liberty, equality, and fraternity skidded into a reign of Terror.

E41

The Industrial Revolution

1/1/1989·30m

Technology and mass production reduced famine and ushered in higher standards of living.

E42

The Industrial World

1/1/1989·30m

A consumer revolution was fueled by coal, public transportation, and new city services.

E43

Revolution and Romantics

1/1/1989·30m

Leaders in the arts, literature, and political theory argued for social justice and national liberation.

E44

The Age of the Nation-States

1/1/1989·30m

The great powers cooperated to quell internal revolts, yet competed to acquire colonies.

E45

A New Public

1/1/1989·30m

Public education and mass communications created a new political life and leisure time.

E46

Fin de Siècle

1/1/1989·30m

Everyday life of the working class was transformed by leisure, prompting the birth of an elite avant-garde movement.

E47

The First World War and the Rise of Fascism

1/1/1989·30m

Old empires crumbled during World War I to be replaced by right-wing dictatorships in Italy, Spain, and Germany.

E48

The Second World War

1/1/1989·30m

World War II was a war of new tactics and strategies. Civilian populations became targets as the Nazi holocaust exterminated millions of people.

E49

The Cold War

1/1/1989·30m

The U.S. and Soviet Union dominated Europe and confronted each other in Korea.

E50

Europe and the Third World

1/1/1989·30m

Burdened with the legacy of colonial imperialism, the Third World rushed development to catch up with its Western counterparts.

E51

The Technological Revolution

1/1/1989·30m

Keeping up with the ever-increasing pace of change became the standard of the day.

E52

Toward the Future

1/1/1989·30m

Modern medicine, atomic energy, computers, and new concepts of time, energy, and matter all have an important effect on life in the 20th century.