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The glossary for Windows on Humanity is unlike those of other art history survey texts. Windows on Humanity provides a unique treatment of aesthetics terms and includes fewer technical terms. Internet search engines are presumed to be available to the reader to provide encyclopedic technical information. Additionally, the established survey art histories — Gardner, Janson, Stokstad et al — have excellent glossaries for technical terms. While accurate technical art terms are readily available online, online explanations of aesthetics principles and concepts are often confusing or incomplete. Survey glossaries often do not include terms that are essential to our understanding of art and its history — terms like “art,” “dramatize,” and “concretize.” The Windows on Humanity glossary explains art-related principles and concepts, as well as technical terms, in familiar, non-academic language and without terminology from other fields such as Gender Studies, Economics, or Theology.
In the post-authoring phase of the book, glossary entries are being organized to help make the reader’s experience seamless. New terms will appear in the text either italicized or in bold type. Terms are either followed in the text by a brief description in parentheses or they are footnoted. Footnotes at the bottom of the page are more easily referenced than when they appear at the end of chapters. That said, final formatting of the book is not yet settled. Terms will also be listed alphabetically at the back of the book in a glossary with fuller descriptions and examples when needed, giving readers the opportunity to learn more about a term if they want. Welcome to the WINDOWS ON HUMANITY blog! Here you’ll find information on topics and materials related to the book, to art history, and even to tie-in topics about the art world today.
My chief aim is to support the reader experience by answering readers’ questions, developing material presented in the book, and providing supporting information from beyond the book! I’ll be posting on topics like: the best image sources for art, great books on art, and the latest news from the world of art history and arts-related archeology. Posts will also explore the rich subjects of art principles, the purposes for which people have made art in the past, historical trends in artistic style, and changes in the methods that have been used in artistic creation across history. For teachers, helpful tips and suggestions will be offered for how to use WINDOWS ON HUMANITY to support a humanities curriculum, and to create more meaningful and memorable lessons. All this and more … to be continued. |