and into the early 21st century and permitted the rise of new social media with profound consequences, linking the world as never before. In the West, the internet allowed free access to vast amounts of information, while outside the democratic West, as in China and in Middle Eastern nations, a range of censorship and monitoring measures were instigated, providing a new socio-political contrast between east and west. Historiography Chicago historian William H. McNeill wrote The Rise of the West (1965) to show how the separate civilizations of Eurasia interacted from the very beginning of their history, borrowing critical skills from one another, and thus precipitating still further change as adjustment between traditional old and borrowed new knowledge and practice became necessary. He then discusses the dramatic effect of Western civilization on others in the past 500 years of history. McNeill took a broad approach organized around the interactions of peoples across the globe. Such interactions have become both more numerous and more continual and substantial in recent times. Before about 1500, the network of communication between cultures was that of Eurasia. The term for these areas of interaction differ from one world historian to another and include world-system and ecumene. His emphasis on cultural fusions influenced historical theory significantly. See also Outline of the history of Western civilization Role of Christianity in civilization History of Europe Eurocentrism Media Civilisation: A Personal View by Kenneth Clark (TV series), BBC TV, 1969 The Ascent of Man (TV series), BBC TV, 1973 References Further reading Cole, Joshua and Carol Symes. Western Civilizations (Brief Fifth Edition) (2 vol 2020) Kishlansky, Mark A. et al. A brief history of western civilization : the unfinished legacy (2 vol 2007) vol 1 online; also vol 2 online Perry, Marvin Myrna Chase, et al. Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics, and Society (2015) Rand McNally. Atlas of western civilization (2006) online Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization (10th ed. 2017_ Bruce Thornton Greek Ways: How the Greeks Created Western Civilization Encounter Books, 2002 Tim Blanning The Pursuit of Glory: Europe 1648–1815 Penguin Books, 2008 Niall Ferguson Civilization. The West and the rest Penguin Press, 2011 Ian Kershaw To Hell and Back: Europe 1914–1949 Penguin Books, 2015 Richard J. Evans The Pursuit of Power: Europe 1815-1914 Penguin Books, 2017 Ian Kershaw To Hell and Back: Europe 1914–1949 Penguin Books, 2015 Ian Kershaw The Global Age: Europe 1950–2017 Penguin Books, 2020 Historiography Allardyce,