Jennifer Pokorski

10/8/10

Western Civilization

Professor Hampton

Chapters 24 &25 Questions

Questions for Chapter 24:

1. What accounts for the prestige of science in the second half of the nineteenth
century? What were the consequences of this prestige?
Literacy began to improve during the 1860 due to government funding and new universities.

“The primary education in the basic skills of reading, writing, and elementary arithmetic

reflected and generated social change…The new literacy was the intellectual parallel of the

railroad and the steamship. People could leave their intellectual surroundings because literacy is

not an end in itself but leads to other skills and other knowledge.” (Kagan 726)

The increase in knowledge led to new discoveries and theories. During this century, there

were many famous scientists who could be considered founding fathers of science. Auguste

Comet developed the philosophy of positivism, which claimed that the human intellect had

developed in three stages, the highest of which was science. The study of sociology is based on

his beliefs of positive knowledge was possible in other areas, including social behavior.

Darwin was also another scientist with breakthrough discoveries during this time period. In

1859, he wrote On the Origin of Species, it proposed natural selection-survival of the fittest-was

the process of evolution. This book encountered many critics from the religious and scientific
realms. For evolution by natural selection, did not support the theory that a god or other being

created the earth. Darwin believed that religion was merely a tool humans used in their struggle

for survival.

The churches followers were quickly declining during the late nineteenth century. Many

scientists were questioning the historical accuracy of the bible. The new scientific developments

were also leaving many confused. Through everything the church remained strong. They denied

the new theories being brought forth. However, as the centuries progressed the church was

increasing losing power with its people and state.

2. Define modernism. How was it manifested in art and literature?

“The term modernism commonly applies to those forward-looking architects, designers

and artisans who, from the 1880s on, forged a new and diverse vocabulary principally to escape

Historicism, the tyranny of previous historical styles.” (Modernism)

Modernism had the focus on beauty and aesthetics. They were not concerned with

political or social issues. The ideas of modernism flowed through literature and art. It depicted a

fantasy or escape from the world, which was greatly needed as World War I approached. New

styles began to appear including, impressionism, post impressionism and cubism. The

impressionistic paintings included activities of the middle class. These paintings contained

beautiful colors and play with lighting. Postimpressionistic artists focused more on the form and

structure. The most famous cubism artist would have to be Pablo Picasso. They presented

paintings in only two dimensions. Viewers could imagine, what the artist was wishing to depict

for it was not obvious.

Questions for Chapter 25:
1. What was new about the “New Imperialism”? How would you explain the surge
in colonization at the end of the nineteenth century?

During the late nineteenth century, “New Imperialism” involved all sectors of social,

economic and political life. The main motive was economic. In efforts to increase the economy,

Europe began to colonize in Africa. This intensified the sense of nationalism in Europe. It

became increasingly clear that imperialism would lead to many confrontations among other

nations. The great powers looked to their armies and navies for security. The acceleration of

technological development greatly increased military needs, expenditures, and training programs,

just as the developing alliance system demanded larger armed forces.

Strategic and political factors played a role in the scramble for Africa. The British

needed to control the Suez Canal in order to control the India trade, and to protect Egypt they

needed to control the Sudan. Following Britain, smaller European states equated colonization

with political status.

2. What were the root causes of World War I? Was war inevitable, or could the
underlying issues have been dealt with through better diplomacy?

Political changes that occurred before the New Imperialism, the Crimean war, the

unification of Italy and Germany, and the defeat of France by Germany, created tension and a

shift in the balance of power. I believe that war was inevitable. Scarcity is the inability to fulfill

human wants and desires. Those in power wish to stay in power and be extremely successful.

After Napoleon, many did not wish to be dominated and took control in to their own hands.
 Works Cited

Kagan, Donald. Ozment, Steven. and Turner, Frank. The Western Heritage. New Jersey:
Pearson Education, Inc., 2010.

“Modernism.” The Minneapolis Institute of Arts. 2010.

http://www.artsmia.org/modernism/