When one thinks of Switzerland, things that immediately come to mind are high-precision watches and the Alps mountain range. But beyond these obvious highlights, the country can boast of a multi-cultural and multi-lingual demography as well as offering a high standard of living for its citizens. In many ways, Switzerland is unique among Western European…
Tag: Europe
Problems behind modernization in London
The city of London has historically been the heart of Western Europe. While across the channel Paris grew in reputation as the favored hub for artists, musicians and litterateurs, London was (and still is) the financial centre of Western European democracies. Given this background, the confines of metropolitan London had expanded gradually. Needless to say,…
The growth of Asian arts in Europe and America
The infiltration of pieces of Asian art into the museums and art houses of Europe and America goes back a long way. In spite of the obvious cultural differences between the hemispheric East and West, the exchange of artefacts across the divide is as old as international commerce. Asian art has not only found patronage…
How did the communist state arise and what kind of challenge did it provide to liberal capitalism in the West?
No single idea in the realm of political science has had the kind of impact on large sections of humanity as that of Communism. Right from its origins in the form of an abstract political philosophy in 1847 till its unexpected disintegration in the late 1980s, Communism had been an antidote to Capitalist ideology with…
The impact of abolitionism on first wave feminism
An interesting perspective on the history of North America and Europe over the last few centuries is attained by relating the women’s movement and the anti-slavery movement. The former, of course, would be denoted by historians as first wave and second wave feminist movements and the latter is termed the abolitionist movement. This connection makes…
The influence of race on the position of first-wave feminists
In discourses of women’s issues and the history of development of feminist thought, the first-wave feminist movement is accorded a place that is secondary to the second-wave activism of the 1960s and 1970s. One of the reasons for this is the relative lack of emphasis on racial equality in the first-wave movement. To illustrate the…
The relations between cultural claims, power and universal human rights
The scholarship of Brown, Bromley and Athreye present a detailed and analytical account of the relations between cultural claims, power and universal human rights. From a historical perspective, ever since the conception of geo-political organization through formation of nation-states, the notions of national identity have been at the forefront of politics. The roles of cultural…
Feminist interpretation of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Feminism is commonly understood to be the women’s movement for political, social, educational and economic equality with men. While the United States and Europe have been the geo-political arenas for feminist ideas, the rest of the world is also catching up. Feminist issues range from “access to employment, education, child care, contraception, and abortion, to…
The Enlightenment and its importance to modern universities?
The Age of Enlightenment was a period in early modern history when western societies, led by its intellectuals, made a marked shift from religion based authority to one of scientific reason. Prior to this period, the Church and the State were intricately interlinked; and the Enlightenment sought to sever states and politics from religion through…
Major social, economic, military, religious, and intellectual challenges during the Late Middle Ages in Europe
Identify the major challenges (social, economic, military, religious, and intellectual) facing Europeans during the Late Middle Ages in Europe. Then explain why Europe did not sink into a “dark age” similar to that which followed the fall of Rome and why instead there was a Renaissance first in Italy and then in Europe north of…