Synopses & Reviews
CULTURE AND VALUES: A SURVEY OF THE WESTERN 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 the eighth 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, and high-quality images with clear captions. Volume 1 covers early civilizations through the High Renaissance.
Review
"The liveliness and the greater focus on art, literature, and other humanistic developments shift 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 and 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."
Review
"Despite having read many textbooks on the same topics, I found reading this book pleasurable due to the writing style."
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. 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. His most recent academic book is INTRODUCTION TO CATHOLICISM (Cambridge University Press, 2010) and is currently serving as the Christianity editor for the forthcoming NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF WORLD RELIGIONS. 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. Reich 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 Art Department 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. She has authored grants, contributed to books, curated exhibitions, published articles in professional journals, and exhibited her large-format photographic prints. She is also the author of UNDERSTANDING ART, Tenth Edition, and FOUNDATIONS OF ART AND DESIGN. She resides in New York.
Table of Contents
The Arts: An Introduction. 1. Beginnings. 2. The Rise of Greece. 3. Classical Greece and the Hellenistic Period. 4. Rome. 5. The Rise of the Biblical Tradition. 6. Early Christianity: Ravenna and Byzantium. 7. Islam. 8. The Rise of Medieval Culture. 9. The High Middle Ages. 10. The Fourteenth Century: A Time of Transition. 11. The Renaissance in the Fifteenth Century. 12. The High Renaissance and Mannerism in Italy. Glossary.