Civilization and Its Contents / Bruce Mazlish.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mazlish, Bruce, Author.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (208 p.)

Place of Publication:

Stanford, CA : Stanford University Press, [2022]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

"Civilization" is a constantly invoked term. It is used by both politicians and scholars. How useful, in fact, is this term? Civilization and Its Contents traces the origins of the concept in the eighteenth century. It shows its use as a colonial ideology, and then as a support for racism. The term was extended to a dead society, Egyptian civilization, and was appropriated by Japan, China, and Islamic countries. This latter development lays the groundwork for the contemporary call for a "dialogue of civilizations." The author proposes instead that today the use of the term "civilization" has a global meaning, with local variants recognized as cultures. It may be more appropriate, however, to abandon the name "civilization" and to focus on a new understanding of the civilizing process.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Acknowledgments

Contents

Preface

1 The Origins and Importance of the Concept of Civilization

2 Civilization as Colonial Ideology

3 Civilization as European Ideology

4 The Civilizing Process

5 Other Civilizations

6 The Dialogue of Civilizations in a Global Epoch

7 Conclusions

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 31. Jan 2022)

ISBN:

9780804767521

0804767521