《21世紀英語專業(yè)系列教材：簡明西方文化史》供學習和了解西方文化史的學生和對西方文化傳統(tǒng)感興趣的讀者使用，其內容涵蓋了西方文化及文明研究中的核心主題、重大事件、代表性歷史人物的介紹和評價。全書分為引言和三個主要部分：引言為介紹部分，包括編者撰寫的關于西方文化演化的主題和重大事件的回顧與評述；第一部分為主要宏觀概念、重大事件及人物、權威學者關于文化研究的論述摘要；第二部分為案例研究部分。選擇幾位猶太民族代表性人物作為案例研究是遵循西方文化史研究中關于“雙�！奔僭O的范例，力圖展示猶太文明在西方文明發(fā)展進程中的奠基和基因式作用；第三部分是專為《21世紀英語專業(yè)系列教材：簡明西方文化史》設計的練習題及測試題，包括關于西方文化發(fā)展歷程的判斷題及相關的思考測試題，旨在幫助讀者和學習者進一步鞏固所學到的知識及概念并做更深入的思考。
Two Prologue Poems
Preface
Introd u c tio n
PART ONE
Articles Selected for Specific Topics, Themes and Events
An Opening Article
Unit One
1. Cultural Theory and Cultural Studies
2. Culture, a Broad Humanistic Concept
3. History, a Riddle for Humans
Unit Two
1. West Is Not a Directional Concept Alone
2. Western Culture and Its Deep Implications
Unit Three
1. Religion, a Human Spiritual Pillar and Faith
2. Judaism, a Mother Religion of Some Religions
3. Christianity, a Spiritual Rock of the West
4. Religious Reformation, a Milestone Event
that Paved the Way for the Rise of
Western Capitalism and Power
Unit Four
1. Roman Empire, the First Western Power
2. Hellenistic Civilization, a Beauty of the West
3. Greek Mythology, a Treasure of the West
Unit Five
1. Colonialism, a Global Expansion Idea
2. Capitalism, a Crazy Devil for Angels
Unit Six
1. Renaissance： a Turning Point for the West
2. The Enlightenment, an Age of Soul Liberation
3. Post-Modernity （POMO）, a Rebellious Movement
Unit Seven
1. Commercial Revolution, in Hot Pursuit of Wealth
2. Industrial Revolution, a Driving Force for Society
3. Scientific Revolution, a Miraculous Instrument for
the Rise of the West and Its Leadership
4. Science and Scientific Spirit
5. Information Revolution or Explosion
Unit Eight
1. A History of Economic Ideas, a Key for Wealth
2. A History of Political Philosophy of the West
Unit Nine
1. The Culture of the United States
2. A Book Excerpt Illustrating Cultural Contradictions of Modern Capitalism
3. Introduction to and Postscript of a Book Entitled
American Culture since ww Ⅱ by Paul Levine
Unit Ten
An Understanding of Western Culture
Unit Eleven
The Millennium of the West, a Golden Age?
Unit Twelve
An Introduction to the Clash of Civilizations
Postscript
Western Culture： a Beast and a Beauty?
PART TWO
Special Case Study
PART THREE
Exercises for the Textbook
Appendix I
Appendix Ⅱ
Postscript/Final Remarks for the Whole Textbook
Cultural Studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. Characteristically interdisciplinary， cultural studies provides a reflexive network of intellectuals attempting to situate the forces constructing our daily lives. It concerns the political dynamics of contemporary culture， as well as its historical foundations， conflicts and defining traits. It is distinguished from cultural anthropology and ethnic studies in both objective and methodology. Researchers concentrate on how a particular medium or message relates to ideology， social class， nationality， ethnicity， sexuality and/or gender， rather than investigating a particular culture or area of the world. Cultural studies approaches subjects holistically， combining feminist theory， social theory， political theory， history， philosophy， literary theory， media theory， film/video studies， communication studies， political economy， translation studies， museum studies and art history/criticism to study cultural phenomena in various societies. Thus， cultural studies seeks to understand the ways in which meaning is generated， disseminated， and produced through various practices， beliefs and institutions， also politically， economically and even social structures within a given culture.
History. The term was coined by Richard Hoggart in 1964 when he founded the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies. It has since become strongly associated with Stuart Hall， who succeeded Hoggart as Director. From the 1970s onward， Stuart Hall's pioneering work， along with his colleagues Paul Willis， Dick Hebdige， Tony Jefferson， Michael Green and Angela McRobbie， created an international intellectual movement. Many cultural studies scholars employed Marxist methods of analysis， exploring the relationships between cultural forms （the superstructure） and that of the political economy （the base）. By the 1970s， the politically formidable British working classes were in decline. Britain- s manufacturing industries were fading and union rolls were shrinking. Yet millions of working class Britons backed the rise of Margaret Thatcher. For Stuart Hall and other Marxist theorists， this shift in loyalty from the Labour Party to the Conservative Party was antithetical to the interests of the working class and had to be explained in terms of cultural politics.
In order to understand the changing political circumstances of class， politics and culture in the United Kingdom， scholars at the CCCS turned to the work of Antonio Gramsci， an Italian thinker of the 1920s and 1930s. Gramsci had been concerned with similar issues： why would Italian laborers and peasants vote for fascists?"In other words， why would working people vote to give more control to corporations and .see their own rights and freedoms abrogated? Gramsci modified classical Marxism in seeing culture as a key instrument of political and social control. In this view， capitalists used not only brule force （police， prisons， repression， military） to maintain control， but also penetrated the everyday culture of working people. Thus， the key rubric for Gramsci and for cultural studies is that of cultural hegemony.
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