Rietbergen P. Europe: A Cultural History

London: Routledge, 2006. — 584 p. — ISBN10: 0415323592; ISBN13: 978-0415323598.Following on from his highly acclaimed first publication, Peter Rietbergen’s excellent second edition brings the reader up to date with Europe’s current cultural trends. Rietbergen examines the many varied cultural building blocks of Europe, their importance in the continent’s cultural identity, and how the perception of Europe has changed over the centuries. Working chronologically from the beginnings of agricultural society in Africa before Christ, right up to today’s mass culture, the book studies culture through the media of literature, art, science, technology and music. With thorough revisions on the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, a wide selection of excerpts, lyrics from contemporary songs, and illustrations, this book is an excellent student resource for both historical and cultural studies.Continuity and change: new ways of survivingBefore 'Europe': towards an agricultural and sedentary society
Rome and its empire: the effects and limits of cultural integration
An empire lost-an empire won? Christianity and the Roman EmpireContinuity and change: new forms of beliefTowards one religion for all
Three worlds around the Inner Sea: western Christendom, eastern Christendom and Islam
One world, many traditions. Elite culture and popular cultures: cosmopolitan norms and regional variationsInterludeContinuity and change: new ways of looking at man and the worldA new society: Europe's changing views of man
A new society: Europe as a wider world
A new society: Europe and the wider world since the fifteenth century
A new society: migration, travel and the diffusion and integration of culture in Europe
A new society: the 'Republic of Letters' as a virtual and virtuous world against a divided world
A new society: from Humanism to the EnlightenmentContinuity and change: new forms of consumption and communicationEurope's revolutions: freedom and consumption for all?
Progress and its discontents: nationalism, economic growth and the question of cultural certainties
Europe and the other worlds
The 'Decline of the Occident'-the loss of a dream? From the nineteenth to the twentieth century
Towards a new Europe?Epilogue