Culture and Values: A Survey of the Humanities - Softcover

Cunningham, Lawrence S.; Reich, John J.; Fichner-Rathus, Lois

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1133945333 ISBN 13: 9781133945338

Publisher: Cengage Learning, 2013

Synopsis

CULTURE AND VALUES: A SURVEY OF THE HUMANITIES takes you on a fascinating tour of some of the world's most significant examples of art, music, philosophy, and literature, from the beginnings of civilization to today. New features in this edition are designed to make it easy for you to understand the influence of historical events and values on the works produced by each culture--guided discussions of all of the readings, chapter previews, timelines, "Compare and Contrast" sections, "Big Picture" reviews at the end of each chapter, expanded coverage of Asia and Africa, and high-quality images with clear captions.

About this title

About the Author:

Lawrence S. Cunningham is John A. O'Brien Professor of Theology (Emeritus) at the University of Notre Dame. The author or editor of over 25 books and hundreds of essays and reviews, his books reflect his interest in the history of Christian spirituality, hagiography, the intersection of theology and culture, as well as the relationship of contemplation and action. Professor Cunningham is the recipient of three honorary doctorates and the winner of Notre Dame's Presidential Award for service to academy and church (2002) and the Christus Magister award from the University of Portland in 2011 for distinguished scholarship and teaching. He has served as a visiting lecturer in this country and in Europe, Asia, and South Africa.

A native of England, John J. Reich was trained as a classical archaeologist and did both his undergraduate and graduate work at the University of Manchester. He is an authority on Minoan civilization, pre-Roman Italy, and music. Professor Reich is associated with the Syracuse University study program in Florence, Italy. He lectures frequently in Europe and the United States on history, art, and the humanities and is the author of many scholarly articles and several books, including ITALY BEFORE ROME (1979).

Lois Fichner-Rathus is professor of art in the Department of Art and Art History of The College of New Jersey. She holds a combined undergraduate degree in fine arts and art history, an M.A. from the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art, and a Ph.D. in the History, Theory, and Criticism of Art from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her areas of specialization include contemporary art, feminist art history and criticism, and modern art and architecture, as well as the theory and foundations of art and design. Dr. Fichner-Rathus is also the author of the Cengage Learning textbooks UNDERSTANDING ART and FOUNDATIONS OF ART AND DESIGN. She teaches study-abroad programs in Paris, Rome, Spain, and Cuba and resides in New York.

Review:

"The liveliness, the greater focus on art, literature and other humanistic developments, shifts the focus away from the 'history with pictures' approach to a more truly integrated discussion of human endeavors. I like the tone, the examples, and the additional images especially. I note that throughout the text there are references to other cultural developments (stories from Ovid serving as inspiration for Shakespeare plots, for example). I like these connections very much. The 'Compare & Contrast' section is potentially more valuable because of the images paired with it, which will give the students a stronger idea of the concept under discussion. I do like the Colosseum/sports arena pairing, which I find useful. The Colosseum is certainly one of Rome's major monuments and the choice of this to connect with modern examples is logical and useful. The separate section is an extension of this comparative theme as a whole, one with a bit more depth. I think it is a positive one; I like it."

"Despite having read many textbooks on the same topics, I found reading this book pleasurable due to the writing style."

About this edition

• Publisher: Cengage Learning
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1133945333
• ISBN 13: 9781133945338
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 976