This book focuses on the forces of social change and what they have meant in the lives of the people caught in the middle of them from medieval times through our current era of globalization.

Covering Western history from the ancient world to the current era of globalization, The Modernization of the Western World describes the forces of social change and what they have meant to the lives of the people caught up in them. The volume presents the history of Western civilization from a historical sociology perspective, introducing readers to the analyses of thinkers like Émile Durkheim, Karl Marx, Adam Smith, Ferdinand Tönnies, and Max Weber, in order to provide tools for understanding how societies function and change. This application of modernization theory argues, not that what has happened in the West should or even must happen in non-Western societies, but that understanding modernization as a process of social change affords a better understanding of why and how life has changed over the past millennium. The interactions of Western and non-Western societies have had a profound effect on each other; this is the story of the development of a truly global economy. This new edition has been updated to include a final chapter which addresses recent developments—economic disturbances in the global marketplace, cyberwarfare, and the rise of populist movements—testing the relevance of classic modernization theory for today. Featuring a glossary, maps and illustrations, boxed features, and an extensive index, this book will be of particular interest to students looking to understand world history as well as those interested in historical sociology and modernization theory.

The Modernization of the Western World presents an overview of the history of Western civilization and provides readers with the intellectual tools they need to comprehend how societies function and change. Covering Western history from ancient history to the current era of globalization, it draws on the tradition of historical sociology to describe the forces of social change and what they have meant to the lives of the people caught in the midst of them. This second edition is revised throughout to bring the content up to date with recent developments and discusses key themes such as terrorism, refugees, the European Union and multinational corporations. It also includes a new chapter on the Ancient World, covering this era from the advent of urbanization and agriculture in the Middle East to the fall of Rome and emergence of Christianity, providing valuable historical context. Clear and concise, this book succinctly illustrates the essential turning points in the history of Western society and identifies the economic, social, political and cultural forces that are transforming the wider world to this day. Illustrated with maps and images and containing a glossary and new boxed features explaining key concepts, this is the perfect introductory book for students of the development of Western civilization.

DIVA new and more concrete understanding of the inseparability of colonialism and modernity that also explores how the rhetoric of modernity disguises the logic of coloniality and how this rhetoric has been instrumental in establishing capitalism as the econ/div

The Modernization of the Western World presents an overview of the history of Western civilization and provides readers with the intellectual tools they need to comprehend how societies function and change. Covering Western history from ancient history to the current era of globalization, it draws on the tradition of historical sociology to describe the forces of social change and what they have meant to the lives of the people caught in the midst of them. This second edition is revised throughout to bring the content up to date with recent developments and discusses key themes such as terrorism, refugees, the European Union and multinational corporations. It also includes a new chapter on the Ancient World, covering this era from the advent of urbanization and agriculture in the Middle East to the fall of Rome and emergence of Christianity, providing valuable historical context. Clear and concise, this book succinctly illustrates the essential turning points in the history of Western society and identifies the economic, social, political and cultural forces that are transforming the wider world to this day. Illustrated with maps and images and containing a glossary and new boxed features explaining key concepts, this is the perfect introductory book for students of the development of Western civilization.

Sophie Bessis book gives a thorough history of colonial and developmentalist thought. Bessis tells the story of the West's relationship with those parts of the rest of the world it came to dominate. Bessis follows this trajectory, from the conquest of the Americas, through the slave trade and the scramble for Africa, the White Man's burden, Manifest Destiny and the growth of "scientific" racism, on to decolonization, the ideology of development, and structural adjustment.