The Roots Of The West-an Introduction To The European Cultural Tradition
(Prof. Louis J. Munoz)
BOOK REVIEW: THE ROOTS OF THE WEST ? AN INTRODUCTION TO THE EUROPEAN CULTURAL TRADITION The book was written in 2001 by Professor Louis J. Munoz and it contains twenty chapters of 278 pages. The author is a seasoned professor of political science and French studies in the Deparment of European studies of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. The book is a product of several years of teaching experience of the course at the university. The conceptual and practical relationship between the term culture and civilization were elaborately dealt with in the book. No stone was left unturned to explain the evolution of the western civilization and the consequence on earlier existing cultured and civilization. He presented his idea, knowledge and experience in the form of narration. Encounter between civilizations according to him is manifested primarily in language. He made the reader to understand that the natural potentials of the various nations of the world determine the nature of the global hegemony and it affects the world civilization. Insight was given into the three main political revolutions of America, France and the first industrial revolution. Similarly, the author brilliantly explains the effects of science and technology on world social order and the changing effects on the traditional pattern of life. He further describes nationalism, liberalism, socialism and communism as products of the revolutions. These ideologies cystallized into the various political regimes that are monstrous and dictatorial in the history of world governance. In the same spirit, he explains the true characters of the ideologies of socialism and communism. He started the narration from the rise and fall of the roman empire and he traced the development to the modern European culture and civilization. He identifies the various events and development responsible for global shift of attention from Roman Empire to other worlds. Analysing the collapse of Roman Empire, he considers German infiltration and conquest as contributing factor and the later events therefore led to the birth of the western culture and civilization. The role of the Church in the development of the world civilization across ages was focused in his analysis. The coming of Islam into the world of civilization and its impacts on the world history was narrated with reference to scientific inventions and scholarship. The book in a related manner explains the emergence of feudal society and its related institutions. The events of medieval world were explained and how it led to renaissance. According to him, the crises of the renaissance led to reformation world. How colonialism created a new world civilization and culture was explained. The role of the universities, scholarship and library development affect the growth of world civilization. The influence of democracy on the social changes in the world was put into awareness and proper perspective. In the final analysis, the book primarily prepared to serve the curriculum needs of the students of modern European language. The author did not include footnotes and quotations from the sources but further readings were suggested towards the end of the book. Dates in which some of the events listed in the book occurred were not included and this shows that he is more concerned with tides and currents than with the waves in the sea of history. This even reflects in his introduction to the book. The post scriptum was also included to increase the quality and the degree of exploitability of the book.
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