The Human Drama: World History / Edition 1

by Jean Johnson

Overview

Chronological events are supplemented by thematic ones, such as the development of cities and trade, the spread of religions and the idea of the law, the use of technology and art, and migrations and invasions. The areas included in volume one are the Ancient Middle East, North and East Africa, Central Asia, India, China, Iran, Rome, Greece, and Meso-America.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781558762114
Publisher:	Wiener, Markus Publishers, Incorporated
Publication date:	06/01/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	340
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Jean Elliott Johnson teaches at the School of Continuing Education at New York University.

Donald James Johnson is professor of Asian History at the School of Continuing Education at New York University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Setting the Stage
Act One: The Origins of the Human Community: Learning to Cooperate (from earliest times to 3500 B.C.E)
Setting the Stage
Scene 1: Gathering and Hunting: Humans Share Resources
Scene 2: Revolutionary Changes Brought by Agriculture
Scene 3: Pastoralism: An Alternative Lifestyle
Critics Corner
Act Two: Surplus, Specialization, and Cities (third millenium B.C.E)
Setting the Stage
Scene 1: City-States in Mesopotamia
Scene 2: Permanence and Peace Along the Nile
Scene 3: City Planning in the Indus Valley
Scene 4: Settlements Along the Yellow River
Scene 5: Manufacturers and Traders in the Aegean
Critics Corner
Act Three: Nomadic Migrations and Invasions (second millenium B.C.E)
Setting the Stage
Scene 1: Nomadic Invasions in West Asia
Scene 2: Transformations in the Nile Valley
Scene 3: The Aryans in India
Scene 4: China Under the Shang and Zhou Dynasties
Scene 5: Mycenaeans and Dorians in Greece
Critics Corner
Act Four: The Axial Age (700-500 B.C.E)
Setting the Stage
Scene 1: The Axial Age in West Asia
Scene 2: The Axial Age in India
Scene 3: The Axial Age in China
Scene 4: The Axial Age in Greece
Critics Corner
Act Five: Establishing a Synthesis in the Age of Empires (500 B.C.E to 500 C.E.)
Setting the Stage
Scene 1: Establishing a Synthesis in the Eastern Mediterranean World
Scene 2: India: A Synthesis of Ideas
Scene 3: China Defines Itself as the People of Han
Scene 4: The Triumph of Law and the Military in the Roman Empire
Scene 5: Roads and Routes Across Afro-Eurasia
Scene 6: Why Don’t Empires Last?
Critics Corner
Illustration Sources
Quotation Sources
Index
About the Authors