The West: A New History of an Old Idea by Naoíse Mac Sweeney

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The West: A New History of an Old Idea by Naoíse Mac Sweeney: The West and Modernity

The West and Modernity

BBC Radio 4 - The West: A New History of an Old Idea by Naoíse Mac Sweeney, The West and Modernity

As the west enters into the 19th century, questions about its own narrative are raised.

The narrative of western civilisation may have been at its most potent in the 19th century, but that doesn't mean it wasn't being questioned. Read by Nina Sosanya.

The 19th century may have bene the most strident age of the grand narrative of Western Civilisaiton and the West. Four-time primeminster William Gladstone inherited this legacy but had his own questions about 'the slave question' and Irish home rule. Activist  Edward Said came to challenge the supermacy of the West in his then radical and seminal writings that asked questions we continue to wrangle with today. 

Is 'Plato to Nato' actually true? How has the myth of the West and its exclusively European origins been built and maintained? A brilliant and rigorous interpretation of history that reflects the diversity of ideas and figures in the West.

Using the lives of historical figures from ancient Greece to present day, historian Naoise Mac Sweeney interrogates the idea of the West and its claims to Greco-Roman lineage.

Read by Nina Sosanya
Written by Naoise Mac Sweeney
Abridged by Patricia Cumper
Produced by Naomi Walmsley

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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Factual: History

Naoise Mac Sweeney interrogates the myth of the west and its exclusively European origins.

Book of the Week. Using historical figures from ancient Greece to present day, historian Naoise Mac Sweeney interrogates the myth of the west and its exclusively European origins.

Is 'Plato to Nato' actually true? How has the myth of the West and its exclusively European origins been built and maintained? A brilliant and rigorous interpretation of history that reflects the diversity of ideas and figures in the West.

Using the lives of historical figures from ancient Greece to present day, historian Naoise Mac Sweeney interrogates the idea of the West and its claims to Greco-Roman lineage.

Read by Nina Sosanya

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The West: A New History of an Old Idea by Naoíse Mac Sweeney

The West and Modernity

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