Past to Present: Ideas That Changed Our World - Softcover

Hirschberg, Stuart; Hirschberg, Terry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0130979481 ISBN 13: 9780130979483

Publisher: Pearson, 2002

Synopsis

Comprehensive and accessible, Past to Present encapsulates for readers essential readings from the fields of humanities, social science, and science in a single book—putting a “human face” on the great ideas that have changed our world. The book is divided into seven thematic parts that trace the history of important ideas from their roots to their current incarnations. Each of the 73 readings includes discussions that focus on the history of the idea, the writer's rhetorical strategies, and the context in which the piece was written. For anyone who is interested in exploring the evolutions of the great ideas of our world.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Putting a human face on the great
ideas that have changed our world.

Past to Present: Ideas That Changed Our World offers a balance between past and present selections so that readers can trace the evolution of ideas through history and in many cultures. Each of the 73 readings includes discussions that focus on the history of the idea, the writer's rhetorical strategies, and the context in which the piece was written.

This innovative first edition anthology addresses issues of race, social class, and technology. It also redefines the traditional themes found in great ideas readers and offers a more focused, precise, and, most importantly, an up-to-date collection of readings.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Past to Present: Ideas That Changed Our World is intended for freshman composition, advanced and honors composition, history of ideas courses, and for courses that emphasize writing across the disciplines.

This book provides insight into the sources of the ideas that have shaped entire fields of study within the college curriculum, using the words of either those pioneers who have had great influence in these fields or those scholars who investigate the evolution of these important ideas.

The text is divided into seven thematic chapters, each tracing the history of important ideas that have, in many cases, defined the way we think about basic aspects of nature, culture, and the world. In the 74 selections included in this text, we can follow the evolution of important concepts from their origins through their articulation by the most creative artists and thinkers of every era, from the past to the present. The selections are arranged to illustrate the past-to-the-present adaption and/or reaction to important ideas that have shaped modern culture.

The readings are drawn equally from the humanities, social and political sciences, and the natural and physical sciences, and are designed to widen the students' field of vision to include the major ideas and "idea makers" who have shaped the disciplines that comprise the college curriculum. This text broadens the students' perspectives to include disciplines outside their majors and personal interests.

The wide range of rhetorical patterns used by these writers offers an unparalleled opportunity to study the techniques and strategies used by great writers in presenting the ideas that have shaped our world. We give extensive consideration to these rhetorical techniques, especially argumentation, and provide guidance in critical reading and in writing analytical essays.

CHAPTER DESCRIPTIONS

The readings in Past to Present: Ideas That Changed Our World are organized to highlight connections between past ideas and present applications and to move outward from the personal to the public, from the individual to the universal, and from the microcosm of the self to the macrocosm of the universe. To make these great ideas relevant for modern generations of readers we emphasize the issues of culture, race, social class, and technology. The seven chapters move from the individual experience (featuring letters, diaries, and essays by important figures) and the collective experience (that shapes entire societies) to consider the historical dimension and the natural and physical worlds. We cover profound reflections on the mind and the spirit and can appreciate the way the arts of civilization (art, music, drama, literature, architecture, cinema, dance, and language) have enhanced human existence.

Chapter 1, "The Individual Experience: Private Lives, Public Voices," introduces a range of autobiographical writing by personalities whose experiences have touched the lives of many peoples and whose works have had a profound impact in diverse cultures across the centuries.

Chapter 2, "The Collective Experience: The Human Condition," introduces authors who confront fundamental problems that have challenged the human species—overpopulation and the availability of food, the conflict between political equity and racism, the damaging effects of colonialism, and power inequities between men and women throughout history.

Chapter 3, "The Historical Dimension: The Importance of the Past," attests to the value of studying how the present has been shaped by events of the past, including an examination of why some civilizations flourish while others fail, whether history makes men or men make history, the causes and effects of war in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the immigrant experience.

Chapter 4, "The Natural World: Instinct and Survival," looks at the impact of Darwin's theories and investigates migration and aggression in animals, the role of genes in the acquisition of language, the age-old question of nature versus nurture, and ethical issues arising from vivisection and cloning.

Chapter 5, "The Physical Universe: Knowledge of Animate and Inanimate Worlds," explores the impact of the oceans on every aspect of human life from biblical times to the present. It looks at changing conceptions of physicists and philosophers about the Earth and its place in the universe and touches on the world-altering implications of technology.

Chapter 6, "The Mind and the Spirit: Understanding the Unknown," presents the compelling ideas that have guided the search for the meaning of human existence, as framed by philosophers, psychologists, artists, the world's major religions, and modern-day skeptics.

Chapter 7, "The Arts of Civilization: The Human Element," examines the profound role that the arts—painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, drama, cinema, music, and dance—have played in enriching human existence. The readings encompass the Greek tragedies, Renaissance paintings and sculpture and the great cathedrals and mosques, through the evolution of English, realism in literature, and abstract art, to the invention of movies, and the pervasive effects of advertising on contemporary society.

EDITORIAL APPARATUS

The introduction, including sections on Critical Reading, Using Rhetorical Patterns to Develop Ideas, Purposes for Writing, Solving a Problem, and Arguing and Persuading, discusses the critical skills of reading for ideas and organization, marking and annotating as you read, keeping a journal, writing summaries, and generating topics for writing. We also explore the way authors, scholars, and scientists have adapted traditional rhetorical patterns (particularly argumentation) to support generalizations, assemble evidence, convey meaning, provide coherence, and persuade audiences to accept their interpretations. This introduction is intended to help students understand how writers develop and support their opinions.

Chapter introductions present the rationale for the organization of the selections in that chapter, and a short overview of how the readings relate to the central theme and illustrate its evolution from the past to the present.

Biographical sketches preceding each selection provide background information on the writer, and a subsequent discussion ("Approaching . . .") provides a context in which to understand the ideas being presented and analyzes salient rhetorical and stylistic features unique to that writer.

End-of-selection questions are of three kinds: (1) "Reading Critically for Ideas,. Structure, and Style" asks students to think critically about the content, meaning, and purpose of the selections and to evaluate the author's underlying assumptions and rhetorical strategies; (2) "Extending Insights Through Writing" affords opportunities for readers to extend their thinking beyond the particular text, in expository and persuasive modes, and by drawing on sources discovered through research in the library and on the Internet; and (3) "Connecting Perspectives" on the theme of the chapter (for example, "Individual Experience") focuses on the relationships between readings within each chapter in ways that illuminate different perspectives on the same idea.

A separate set of "Book Connections" at the end of each chapter link readings between chapters to emphasize the evolution of important ideas across disciplines.

An appendix, "Writing About Great Ideas," discusses the important skills students need in order to write analytical essays that argue for an interpretation (illustrated by a sample comparative essay). Key points include formulating a thesis, drafting an essay, supporting opinions with evidence, paraphrasing, quoting, revising, and documenting sources.

INSTRUCTOR'S MANUAL

An accompanying instructor's manual provides: (1) sample syllabi and suggestions for organizing courses with different emphasis (argumentation, cultural studies, writing across the curric6lum, history of ideas); (2) additional background on the selections; (3) illustrative responses to end-of-selection questions; (4) additional suggestions for writing assignments; (5) sentence outlines for some of the more challenging selections; and (6) bibliographies on the authors and the ideas for students who wish to explore these in greater detail.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A particular debt of gratitude is owed to those teachers of composition who offered thoughtful comments and have given this book the benefit of their collective scholarship, judgment, and teaching experience. We would very much like to thank all the instructors who reviewed various stages of the manuscript, including Roy Stamper, North Carolina State Univ.; Richard Rupple, Viterbo Univ.; Raymond Duda, Univ. of Mich.; MeKonnen Haile, San Antonio College; Annabel Servat, Southeastern Louisiana Univ.; and Nancy Bara-Smith, Slippery Rock Univ. We owe much to the able staff at Prentice Hall, especially production editor Maureen Benicasa and to Fred T. Courtright for obtaining permissions. No expression of thanks can adequately convey our appreciation to our editor, Corey Good, for his enthusiasm and encouragement and to Leah Jewell for her support.

Stuart Hirschberg
Terry Hirschberg

About this edition

• Publisher: Pearson
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0130979481
• ISBN 13: 9780130979483
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 768