 |
Craig White's Literature Courses
The Golden Age |
Abraham Bloemaert (1566-1651), The Golden Age |
Most societies have stories or narratives of a "golden age" (or ages) when the nation, people, or world were at peace and behaved honorably. Often these golden ages appear at the origins or founding of a society.
In Western Civilization and American culture, selective "golden ages" might include . . .
The Garden of
Eden (Genesis)
"The Glory
that was Greece, the Grandeur that was Rome"--see
classical myths of the Golden Age
The Apostolic
Generation when those who knew Jesus awaited his return as a community--see
Book of Acts
the
Renaissance (for art conoisseurs)
The Pilgrims
(1600s)
The Founders
(late 1700s)
The Greatest
Generation (World War 2)
Recent
decades of perceived prosperity or liberation? (e.g. 60s as Civil Rights, 70s as
sexual liberation / equality, 80s as Reagan family values and Cold War victory,
90s as peace and prosperity, 2000s as hope-your-daddy's rich?
For American Indians: America before contact with Europeans
For African Americans: Civil Rights Movement of mid-20c; Some nostalgia for Africa before incursions of New World slavery
