“How is it that we know we are headed for destruction as a species, and yet are unable to effect the necessary changes needed for survival?” We know from history that our current thinking and values will not lead to a peaceful, sustainable future. It is more crucial now than ever that we learn to break the cycle so that we can create a global community that balances diversity and individuality with integration and harmony. The answer lies in how we think. We are trapped in social systems based on power structures designed to keep us divided in antagonistic and non-viable behaviors. We have divorced how we understand the world through science with how we find meaning in our lives through religion, alienating us from the world and each other. To overcome these challenges, we need to focus our thinking on the global community by giving priority to universal ethical values. With ethical priority, we can shift power interests from a tribal to a human perspective and reconnect understanding with meaning. We can reduce alienation and improve harmony around the world. In The Ethical Society, William Carruthers provides the roadmap for us to finally achieve that peaceful, sustainable world.

The fifth volume of the this series examines historical events and cultural, social and political structures which were introduced between the 16th and 18th centuries.

The Routledge Companion to Cultural History in the Western World is a comprehensive examination of recent discussions and findings in the exciting field of cultural history. A synthesis of how the new cultural history has transformed the study of history, the volume is divided into three parts – medieval, early modern and modern – that emphasize the way people made sense of the world around them. Contributions cover such themes as material cultures of living, mobility and transport, cultural exchange and transfer, power and conflict, emotion and communication, and the history of the senses. The focus is on the Western world, but the notion of the West is a flexible one. In bringing together 36 authors from 15 countries, the book takes a wide geographical coverage, devoting continuous attention to global connections and the emerging trend of globalization. It builds a panorama of the transformation of Western identities, and the critical ramifications of that evolution from the Middle Ages to the twenty-first century, that offers the reader a wide-ranging illustration of the potentials of cultural history as a way of studying the past in a variety of times, spaces and aspects of human experience. Engaging with historiographical debate and covering a vast range of themes, periods and places, The Routledge Companion to Cultural History in the Western World is the ideal resource for cultural history students and scholars to understand and advance this dynamic field.

"Like the other volumes in the series, Music in the Renaissance brings a fresh perspective to the study of music by emphasizing social, cultural, intellectual, and political contexts of the music. Richard Freedman looks far beyond the notes on the page or the details of composers’ lives to embrace audiences, performers, institutions, and social settings. For example, the text shows how new technologies of music printing in the Renaissance permitted composers to align notation with sound, causing audiences accustomed to aural transmission to rethink the concept of a musical work."--Résumé du site web de l'éditeur.

Christianity is the world’s largest religion, and has had a profound impact on the course of civilization. Introduction to the History of Christianity is a beautifully crafted and clearly written introduction to Christianity over its 2000 year history. The broad underlying theme of the book is the interaction between Christianity and the secular world, exploring how one has shaped and been shaped by the other. The volume does not attempt to cover the whole of Christian history in detail. It focuses on three key chronological periods pivotal in the development of Christianity: Christ and Caesar, Christianity circa 300–500; Expansion and Order, Latin Christendom, circa 1050–1250; and Grace and Authority, Western Christianity, circa 1450–1650, as well as a concluding section on Christianity in the modern world, providing illustrative snapshots of the tradition over the course of its long development. In addition, the volume includes maps, timelines, quotations from primary source material, a glossary, and a further reading section. No staid, laborious introduction to its subject, Introduction to the History of Christianity offers an inviting and informative overview of this rich religious tradition.

This comprehensive five-volume set contains readable essays that describe and interpret the most important global events since the European Renaissance, some accompanied by related document excerpts and primary source materials. What were the effects of the Age of Exploration on today's ethnic groups and social structure? How did the development of moveable type pave the way for Facebook and Twitter? Why is the Reformation so critical for understanding today's religious controversies? This set will help readers answer these questions by exploring the most significant historical events of the modern world. This five-volume set covers times from the Renaissance to the present. Each volume focuses on a specific historic period and examines 12 events within those time frames that changed the world. Each entry provides an introduction that lays out factual material in a chronological manner, an in-depth essay interpreting the event's significance, and an annotated bibliography of the most important current works on the topic. Select entries are followed by primary sources pertaining to the event under consideration, such as diary entries. Targeted to both general readers as well as entry-level university students, this book also directly supports high school and undergraduate curricula, allowing students to identify and contextualize events in order to think critically about their causes, aftermath, and legacy.

Promoting cultural understanding in a globalized world, this collection provides a concise and unique introduction to Western culture, through the voices of Chinese scholars. Written by a team of experts in their fields, the book provides insights into Western history and culture, covering an interdisciplinary range of topics across literature, language, music, art and religion. It addresses such issues as tourism and etiquette, as well as the key differences of distinct cultures, providing readers with a succinct yet effective way to master a basic understanding of Western culture.