西元一千年，甚至一千五百年前，西方相較於東方文明的繁華富麗、璀璨輝煌，仍顯的得破敗貧瘠，落後不前。其後五百年，西方卻以驚人速度崛起，在物質技術、軍事武器、政治制度、經濟擴展和思想觀念上，躍升而為世界強權，成為支配世界的文明，進而形成殖民掠奪性質的「文明的帝國」。
如何解釋西方的崛起和西方支配論，其關鍵要素、歷史條件為何，自來是文明比較的關注課題。為深入課程，瞭解這一議題背景、脈絡，先透過當代幾位知名史家對這議題的討論和觀點以為學習基礎：
（一）尼爾˙弗格森(Neil Ferguson)的《文明》一書，探討東方文明與西方文明的興起與衰落，西方何以支配現代世界超過500年？他提出的答案是：西方發展出六大利器：競爭、科學、財產權、醫學、消費社會與工作倫理，而正是世界其他地區所缺乏的。
（二）伊安˙摩里士(Ian Morris)的《西方憑什麼》關注亦是西方文明何以支配全世界？其關鍵要素是什麼？他指出西方征服新大陸靠的是「槍炮、病菌與鋼鐵」，而槍炮、鋼鐵都源自中國，鄭和航海和造艦技術都遠勝哥倫布，為何沒橫越太平洋，征服新大陸的卻是西方？摩里士以全球史的觀照上溯遠古，一直追到二十一世紀。他更以中國史和西方史相互對照比較，試圖找出西方何以支配世界的歷史因素。
（三）諾貝爾經濟學獎得主諾思(North, Douglass C and Thomas, Robert Paul)的《西方世界的興起》則從經濟史的角度解釋歐洲近代民族國家興起問題。多數經濟史學家認為技術進步是西方經濟成長的主因，經濟發展又帶來西方的興盛富強。但諾思指出該強調的是經濟成長如何引發，他認為關鍵在於經濟組織和制度是否有效率，而不是工業革命技術的革新，否則經濟成長難以發生。諾思試圖從現代所有權體系和社會制度的發展過程，尋找歐洲民族國家經濟增長、興盛原因，開啟經濟史與制度分析研究的進程。
（四）另一位探討西方興起的知名世界史家麥克尼爾(William H.McNeill)，在《西方的興起：人類共同體史》一書則將人類歷史分為三個階段：中東統治的時代、歐亞文明均勢的時代和西方統治的時代。不同時期的文明雖有興衰之勢，但麥克尼爾並不特別突顯文明的霸權支配地位，他更強調不同文明間的互動過程，視全球文明為不斷互動互變的整體，並展示各個文明交融涵化、興衰演變的歷史圖貌。其目的在說明人類社會在不同程度上都是相互聯結的；各個文明之間的互動交融是文明演化、歷史變革的動力來源。
（五）巴特利特(Robert Bartlett)的《歐洲的創生：950-1350年的征服、殖民與文化變遷》，則是一本觀點相當別緻的歐洲如何形成的歷史分析著作，作者從歐洲中世紀內部殖民的角度切入，探討歐洲在當時如何發生了一股內部征服、殖民和經濟增長的浪潮，由此歐洲從一個由各自獨立分裂的小王國組成的世界變成了一個由各具獨特文化，且強大統一的王國所構成的帝國。這種內部殖民征服現象，既塑造歐洲大陸也影響當今世界文明。
上述各家觀點除麥克尼爾較宏觀全面外，既各有所專，也各有所偏，展現西方文明興起強盛的諸多面向和繁複的要素。本課程則將以戴利(Jonathan Daly)，《現代西方的興起》(The Rise of Western Power: A Comparative History of Western Civilization)一書，切入西方興起的探源，回答「為什麼是西方」的問題，此書以不同的分析面向，試圖解釋摩里士和弗格森分別提出的「西方憑什麼」以及西方何以成為強權西方(the West)，其它文明何以成為西方的其餘(the Rest)的發展過程和歷史條件的問題。此書透過文明比較的方法，以議題分析的方式，全面性的爬梳西方文明發展脈絡和興盛的複雜理路。透過教皇革命、軍事革命、探索世界、文字印刷大爆炸、宗教改革、科學革命、商業革命、政治革命、工業革命、技術革命、社會革命等歷史事件和關鍵議題，指出西方進步的主要力量在於變革和創新，在四分五裂、紛爭激烈的歐洲社會中，高度的社會互動與利益競爭，不斷的刺激創新的生成，這股競爭動力成為西方興起的龐大能量。西方近代的崛起史就是物質、技術、制度、觀念創變的歷史，也帶來現代科學、自由、民主與法治的成就。此書同時也反思西方興起過程中出現的危機和災難，如奴隸貿易、世界大戰與種族滅絕等。此外也討論其他文明對西方興起的貢獻，並指出這些文明在近代遲滯不前的原因。
One thousand or even fifteen hundred years ago, compared with the prosperity, splendor and splendor of Eastern civilization, the West still seemed dilapidated, barren and lagging behind. In the next five hundred years, the West rose at an alarming rate. In terms of material technology, military weapons, political systems, economic expansion, and ideological concepts, it became a world power and a civilization that dominated the world, and then formed a colonial and predatory "civilization." 's empire".
How to explain the rise of the West and the theory of Western dominance, and what are its key elements and historical conditions, have always been a topic of concern in comparison of civilizations. In order to deepen the course and understand the background and context of this issue, we first use the discussions and opinions of several well-known contemporary historians on this issue as a basis for learning:
(1) Neil Ferguson's book "Civilization" explores the rise and decline of Eastern and Western civilizations. Why has the West dominated the modern world for more than 500 years? The answer he proposes is that the West has developed six powerful tools: competition, science, property rights, medicine, consumer society and work ethics, which are exactly what the rest of the world lacks.
(2) Ian Morris's "Why the West" focuses on why Western civilization dominates the world? What are its key elements? He pointed out that the West relied on "guns, germs and steel" to conquer the New World. Guns and steel all came from China. Zheng He's navigation and shipbuilding technology were far superior to Columbus. Why didn't the West conquer the New World instead of crossing the Pacific? ? Morris's perspective on global history goes back to ancient times and reaches the twenty-first century. He also compared Chinese history and Western history with each other, trying to find out the historical factors why the West dominated the world.
(3) "The Rise of the Western World" by North, Douglass C and Thomas, Robert Paul, Nobel Prize winner in economics, explains the rise of modern nation-states in Europe from the perspective of economic history. Most economic historians believe that technological progress is the main cause of Western economic growth, and economic development brings prosperity and strength to the West. But North pointed out that the emphasis should be on how economic growth is triggered. He believed that the key lies in the efficiency of economic organizations and systems, rather than the technological innovation of the Industrial Revolution, otherwise economic growth will be difficult to occur. North tried to find the reasons for the economic growth and prosperity of European nation-states from the development process of modern ownership systems and social systems, and started the process of economic history and institutional analysis and research.
(4) William H. McNeill, another well-known world historian who discussed the rise of the West, divided human history into three stages in his book "The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community": the era of Middle East rule, The era of balance of power in Eurasian civilizations and the era of Western dominance. Although civilizations rise and fall in different periods, McNeil does not particularly highlight the hegemonic dominance of civilizations. He emphasizes the interaction process between different civilizations, views global civilization as a whole that is constantly interacting and changing, and demonstrates the integration of various civilizations. A historical picture of the evolution of acculturation, rise and fall. Its purpose is to illustrate that human societies are interconnected to varying degrees; the interaction and integration between civilizations is the driving force for civilization evolution and historical change.
(5) Robert Bartlett's "The Creation of Europe: Conquest, Colonization, and Cultural Change from 950 to 1350" is a historical analysis of how Europe came to be with a very unique perspective. The author draws from European From the perspective of internal colonization in the century, it explores how Europe experienced a wave of internal conquest, colonization and economic growth at that time. As a result, Europe changed from a world composed of independent and divided small kingdoms to a world composed of each with its own unique culture. An empire composed of powerful and unified kingdoms. This phenomenon of internal colonial conquest not only shaped the European continent but also influenced today's world civilization.
With the exception of McNeil's, who is more macro- and comprehensive, the above-mentioned views have their own specialties and biases, showing the many aspects and complex factors of the rise and power of Western civilization. This course will use the book "The Rise of Western Power: A Comparative History of Western Civilization" by Jonathan Daly to explore the origins of the rise of the West and answer the question "Why the West?" , this book uses different aspects of analysis to try to explain the development process and history of "Why the West" proposed by Morris and Ferguson respectively, how the West became the powerful West (the West), and how other civilizations became the rest of the West (the Rest). Conditional issues. This book uses the method of civilization comparison and issue analysis to comprehensively explore the development context and complex logic of the prosperity of Western civilization. Through historical events and key issues such as the Papal Revolution, the Military Revolution, the Exploration of the World, the Explosion of Writing and Printing, the Religious Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, the Commercial Revolution, the Political Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the Technological Revolution, and the Social Revolution, it is pointed out that the main force of Western progress lies in change. and innovation. In the fragmented and fiercely disputed European society, the high degree of social interaction and interest competition continue to stimulate the generation of innovation. This competitive driving force has become a huge energy for the rise of the West. The history of the rise of the West in modern times is a history of material, technological, institutional, and conceptual changes, which also brought about the achievements of modern science, freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. The book also reflects on the crises and disasters that occurred during the rise of the West, such as the slave trade, world wars, and genocide. It also discusses the contributions of other civilizations to the rise of the West and points out the reasons why these civilizations have stagnated in modern times.
Daly, Jonathan，《現代西方的興起》(The Rise of Western Power: A Comparative History of Western
Daly, Jonathan. The Rise of Western Power: A Comparative History of Western
| 評分項目 Grading Method | 配分比例 Grading percentage | 說明 Description |
|---|---|---|
| 課堂報告和出席課堂報告和出席 Class Reports and Attendance |
25 | 課程以講授和討論方式進行，每週安排同學負責閱讀材料之摘要報告，和閱讀心得，並提出問題。A4一頁，報告當天書面繳交。請勿無故缺席課堂報告（無法到課報告請事先請假）。每週點名，出席率列入平時成績計算。 |
| 平時作業平時作業 Daily homework |
25 | 每位同學需就各週之指定教材，任選六篇撰寫閱讀心得，期中考前和期末考前各繳三篇，每篇A4一頁左右書面繳交。切勿缺繳。 |
| 期中/期末考期中/期末考 Midterm/Final Exam |
50 | (分數各佔25%)申論題，非開放考試。 |
