The Golden Age Of Enlightenment

In essence, the study of history is the study of human cultures. Culture is the way of life that a society or group shares. It includes the way people act, the way they express themselves, and the way they are organized. Ways of living change as humans interact with each other. Belief systems and philosophies have greatly affected the people where they are practiced. They give guidelines on how to live their lives and affect every aspect of their cultures. Culture refers to the ways in which people express who they are. It includes religion and philosophy, art and literature, "high culture" and "low culture." The culture of each time and place is unique; however, behind each culture is the same set of issues, such as "What is the meaning of
In time, the Renaissance spread from Italy to northern Europe. Spain, Europe's wealthiest nation in the 1500's had its own golden age of culture. Painters included El Greco and Velazquez. Cervantes wrote the timeless novel Don Quixote de la Mancha about a man longing for a return to the days of chivalry. Then events in Europe reflected a new era in culture called the Age of Enlightenment, which stressed liberty, reason, and justice. Europe enjoyed a new gold age of culture; audiences in London enjoyed the plays of Shakespeare. Louis XIV of France, sponsored a variety of artists, creating the most glamourous court in Europe. Religion remained a controversial part of European culture; religious wars were sparked by the Reformation that continued into this period. Despite the struggles, philosophers looked to use reason rather than religion to expand human knowledge. In France, during the 1700's, this movement came to be known as the Enlightenment, and its influence spread through western Europe. The quickening pace of life in industrial Europe produced rapid cultural change. In the art world, romanticism gave way to realism, which in turn gave way to impressionism. Workers gained more leisure time and spent it enjoying
Why is it an important theme in global history? Since culture refers to ways of life, to what's important to each different culture, we study it so that we might value these differences. If we look back over history, we learn a lot from many sources. We are able to plan for the future based on our own understanding how culture evolves. Cultural literacy is more important today than ever before. In today's world it is necessary to study other cultures in order to minimize differences, create harmony between societies, benefit from each other and avoid conflicts. Cultural research provides the framework by which to understand variation among and across