The second half of the nineteenth century was an era of relative tranquillity and progress It was an age of free acquisition and disposition of private property among individuals and families, in a phrase, a bourgeois era. This book tells the story of European history from the middle of the nineteenth century to the outbreak of the First World War. Encompassing in his account the entire European continent, the author describes: - the structures and processes of economic growth - the creation of an urban-industrial society - the rise and transformation of voluntary associations - the changing structures of gender and the position of women - the triumphs and defeats of positivism and empiricism in the natural and social sciences - artists' search for new forms of expression - the rise of mass politics and the growth of nationalism - the changing relations and scope of actions of the Great Powers.
Table of Contents
BRIEF CONTENTS List of figures and tables List of maps Introduction Part 1 The age of progress, 1850 1875 1 Overview of the age of progress 2 Population and the economy 3 Social structures and social institutions 4 The arts and sciences 5 The politics of the people 6 The politics of the powers 7 The dynamics of power Notes to Part 1 Part 2 The age of uncertainty, 1871 1895 8 Overview of the age of uncertainty 9 Population and the economy 10 Social structures and social institutions 11 The arts and sciences 12 The politics of the people 13 The politics of the powers 14 The dynamics of power Notes to Part 2 Part 3 The age of classical modernism, 1890 1914 15 Overview of the age of classical modernism 16 Population and the economy 17 Social structures and social institutions 18 The arts and sciences 19 The politics of the people 20 The politics of the powers 21 The dynamics of power Notes to Part 3 ConclusionBibliography Index
Author Biography
Jonathan Sperber is Curators' Professor of History at the University of Missouri. He has written eight books and twenty-three articles on nineteenth century and twentieth century European history, including The European Revolutions, 1848-1851.
