Book Description
This comprehensive and engaging introduction to visual culture provides an overview of a range of theories about how we understand visual media and how we use images to express ourselves, to communicate, to experience pleasure, and to learn. Using over 175 illustrations, Professors Sturken and Cartwright examine how images - paintings, prints, photographs, film, television, video, advertisements, news images, the Internet, digital images, and science images - gain meaning in different cultural arenas, from art and commerce to science and the law, how they travel globally and in distinct cultures, and how they are an integral and important aspect of our lives. These images are analyzed in relation to a range of cultural and representational issues (desire, power, the gaze, bodies, sexuality, ethnicity) and methodologies (semiotics, marxism, psychoanalysis, feminism, postcolonial theory). Practices of Looking provides an explanation of the fundamentals of these theories while presenting visual examples of how they function. Central concepts such as ideology, the concept of the spectator, the role of reproduction in visual culture, the mass media and the public sphere, consumer culture, and postmodernism, among others, are explained in depth and in accessible, informative language. Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright provide the best introductory book for students coming to the study of visual culture for the first time. Truly interdisciplinary, this book aims to be the key text for courses across a range of disciplines including media and film studies, art history, photography, and communication media.
Customer Reviews:
one of the best books about visual culture.......2007-09-21
The authors of this book very clearly articulate the considerable factors of the visual culture in mass media and visual art. Not only the pictures cited in the texts are also quite helpful to better understand the details of description, but also more importantly this book provides knowledgeable contents and information enabling readers to be aware of the significant roles of visual culture and how it is embedded in our lives, influencing the whole culture, society, industry and other many impacts of social forces.
excellent!.......2007-02-26
This is an excellent book for anyone interested in media studies. The language is simple and articulate. The authors provide plenty of visual evidence in each chapter. If you enjoy reading about popular culture, even advertising strategies- this is the book for you.
Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture.......2006-03-25
I actually returned this book after leafing through it. It was a little disappointing and did not have much information other than common sense kind of info. Where was the meat?
Review of Chapter Nine.......2003-09-30
As a class assignment, I closely studied chapter nine of Practices of Looking, and researched several of the listed source materials. This chapter is entitled "The Global Flow of Visual Culture" and deals with the globalization of Western media, primarily in the form of television and the internet. The authors explore such topics as the history of media globalization, its effects on non-western cultures, pros and cons of the internet, and possibilities that new global technologies afford us.
This chapter was well-presented, persuasive, and useful. It offered a cohesive and informative discussion of a broad variety of topics, dealing with each one in satisfactory depth and detail. After researching a few of the listed sources, I found that while some of them seemed to be surplus to the actual chapter content, those that were used were, on the whole, represented accurately and fairly.
I recommend this book to anyone studying visual culture, due to its detailed and informative treatment of this broad and varied topic.
Brief on Practices of Looking (with emphasis on Chapter 8).......2003-04-26
In Practices of Looking, imagery in culture is shown to play on the way we perceive, initiate, and direct ourselves in our daily life. This book, indicates that we rely on imagery to guide us daily. This book explains how imagery is the most relied upon role model of today; basically, due to the fact that it is the most direct measure for a humans consumption of information. It provides input on how imagery sells goods through advertising, how images evoke personal memories, and how images can provide us with scientific data. In Society, Imagery can be found in all areas of the social arena. Influence of imagery is never counted alone in any arena. It is quoted in Practices of Looking "That images are never singular, discrete events, but are informed by a broader set of conditions and factors. The identity of science in correlation with imagery is explained in a wide spectrum of social engagements. Anything in the fine arts, film, television, and advertising, to visual data, can provide insight into the way we see things.
In Practices of Looking, written by Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright, mediums of influence and expression for Science and Imagery are identified in Chapter 8, Scientific Looking, Looking at Science. This chapter projects ideas with scientific imagery from the early 19th century to modern day. The chapter opens your eyes to the realization that we are constantly being fed ideas from imaging dealing with any subject matter. Whether the ideas are correct or not, most people today take the information and the images they see very seriously, especially when there are relations to science. Maybe due to the fact that science has proved itself in time, at least this is one opinion written in Practices of Looking; life science is seen as the "truth" and is accepted as objective knowledge due to the fact that doctors have a clearer understanding for the body through their experience. The understanding and the experience of Doctors is covered very thorougly throughout this chapter. It explains how imagery even comes into play in arenas we would never correlate influence from imagery, like (law and medicine). This chapter provides us with archival proof, predictions, perspective for current and past issues, time frames, and also developmental measurements. I found this book to be a great resource for understanding the influence that imagery has upon us in society. It really gives one a great look at the daily impact that imagery plays, and how it effects the publics outlook. I would definately recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about "how art and media plays a role in society".
Book Description
This new edition of Gillian Rose’s bestselling
Visual Methodologies text has been comprehensively revised and updated.
Visual Methodologies, Second Edition provides a critical introduction to the study and interpretation of visual culture. An introductory chapter contextualizes the theoretical approach to working with visual materials. Subsequent chapters each examine a visual method in detail and assess the method’s strengths and weaknesses. The methods discussed in the new edition are: compositional interpretation, content analysis, semiology, psychoanalysis, discourse analysis, audience studies (new), an anthropological approach to understanding visual materials (new), and on making images as part of social science research (new).
New to the Second Edition:
- A completely new chapter on how to use the book
- Each chapter follows the same structure, making comparisons between methods easier
- Three extra chapters, each discussing a method not covered in the
First Edition
Visual Methodologies is essential reading for students and researchers involved in the study of visual culture in the social sciences.
Book Description
Visual studies is a rapidly expanding intellectual field, growing throughout colleges and universities around the world. But is it asking the most interesting questions? And is it just too easy to do?
In his latest book, James Elkins offers a road map through the field of visual studies, describing its major concerns and its principal theoretical sources. Then, with the skill and insight that have marked his successful books on art and visuality, Elkins takes the reader down a side road where visual studies can become a more interesting place. Why look only at the same handful of theorists? Why exclude from one's field of vision non-Western art or the wealth of scientific images?
The centerpiece of Visual Studies is Elkins's proposal for ten ways in which visual studies could be made more difficult -- theoretically, practically, and in terms of its interpretative and historical range. As Stories of Art offered an antidote to the authorized version of art history, Visual Studies: A Skeptical Introduction proposes a refreshingly open-minded introduction to a growing field.
This handsome volume is illustrated throughout.
Customer Reviews:
several points.......2005-01-16
I was initially interested in the newly emerging field of visual studies, however after reading several of elkins' other books as well as taking a course taught by the author, I have lost what interest I had. This book follows similar themes as his others and while it does a fantastic job of presenting problems within the field, it does not present any feasible alternatives.
Concerning the images included, it is problematic that elkins does not then interpret at least some of the images. However, I do not believe that elkins is leaving this task for the reader to do. Having listened to his lectures I believe that elkins includes the images simply because they strike him in some way or another, not because they have any relevance to the field in question. This lack of relevance seems to pervade the majority of his literature and indeed the field as a whole.
If you have the time..........2004-08-06
Not by any means an introduction to the field of visual studies, however it is true to its title in that it indeed is skeptical. If you do not have a previous knowledge of visual studies, this book will not provide much clarification. The text comes across as a curriculum guide for educators. Elkins is proficient at pointing out the flaws of the discipline, and I'd agree that it is "too easy." Elkins provides many great examples of images from science to dogtags that could be de-coded under the rubric of visual studies. However, after providing these examples, he does not actually go through any interpretative process. Perhaps he is leaving this task for the reader to do..? Knowing how intelligent Elkins is, I would have loved to read his interpretations of the examples he provides. Elkins also provides a good precis of the canonical literature.
This is not a ground-breaking book, but if you are involved in any way with this field of knowledge, I'd definately suggest it. Otherwise, seek elsewhere for a more thorough introduction.
Book Description
The emerging field of visual culture poses rough terrain for beginners with its nuanced distinctions and reliance on postmodern theory. Not until An Introduction to Visual Culture has any book attempted to present a comprehensive and accessible approach to this exciting new subject.
Nicholas Mirzoeff begins by defining what visual culture is, and explores how and why visual media--fine art, cinema, the Internet, advertising, performance, photography, television--have become so central to contemporary everyday life. He argues that the visual is replacing the linguistic as our primary means of communicating with each other and of understanding our postmodern world, demonstrating this through powerful examples, from Diana's funeral to the Latina singer Selena, and from the X-Files to Independence Day.
Mirzoeff then examines the importance of race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, and the body in visual culture. These various forms of social discourse provide essential tools for reading images and thus define the study of visual culture as an inherently political project. Mirzoeff tackles the difficult subject of the gaze and the "other" and offers the reader a clear synthesis of these concepts.
Lively and provocative, An Introduction to Visual Culture offers an accessible entry to this new way of understanding images.
Customer Reviews:
What's going on?.......2000-03-29
The life we lead today is very different from the one we grew accustomed to twenty, ten, or even five years ago. Information that took centuries to accumulate can now be sent from Singapore to San Antonio at the click of a button. More and more, our digital culture is depending on non-textual imagery to translate this information into a vast collage of cultural messages. It is the study of these images and the culture that interacts with them that Dr. Nicholas Mirzoeff is concerned with in his book An Introduction to Visual Culture (1999, Publisher: Routledge). Much of Mirzoeff's book is dedicated to examining the expansive manner in which the image is playing a role in the development of our global culture. While in the midst of this examination, the reader will soon find him or herself amazed by what the naked eye can now see. From the creation of the x-ray in 1895 to the Hubble telescope's visualization of distant galaxies, our technology creates a culture that has the capacity to, as Mirzoeff writes, "make visible things that our eyes cannot see." What is more, it is not the images themselves that intrigue Mirzoeff the most; rather, he is interested in the manner in which these images create a new reality. Or, as he puts it, "visual culture does not depend on pictures themselves but the modern tendency to picture or visualize existence." As an example, by simply turning on CNN the audience has the capacity to see images from parts of the globe that may have been unknown to them when they awakened in the morning. Not only that, but now the world can see the travesties that occur in these far away places. In Kosovo, the world was alarmed by video feeds of the very young and the very old being forced from their homes in the name of ethnic cleansing. Twenty years ago, this is something most of the world would have only read about. Depending on someone else to visualize the event as he or she saw fit, the textual relay of the event would have seemed distant or even nonexistent to the person who simply chose to quite reading. Today's images not only make Kosovo very close, they make what's happening there very real. It is up to students of visual culture to decide what kind of impact this visualization will have on the formation of the global community. The most important part of this book, however, is the claim Mirzoeff stakes for "visual culture" in the traditional and monotonous universe of academia. It is true that anything new is a threat to everything old. Knowing this, Mirzoeff guides his reader gently into the theory of "visual culture" by showing how it is both a relevant and necessary study in the afore mentioned digital arena. There are, of course, those who will charge that Mirzoeff's interests are cast too broad and his manner of interpreting them too fluid. To this valid concern, Mirzoeff argues that a fluid interpretive structure is paramount if academia wants to understand the world that lies beyond the gates of the university (like Kosovo). Visual Culture, writes Mirzoeff, "hopes to reach beyond the traditional confines of the university to interact with people's every day lives." In other words, visual culture is an attempt to ask a set of questions entirely alien to the modern university. Mirzoeff proves himself quite capable of setting out these new questions while keeping the avenue wide open for the reader or the "viewer" to answer them.
Superb overview of historical and modern cultural imagery.......1999-11-02
This is a fascinating reader that will appeal to the novice and academic alike - providing a broad overview of how vision has come to dominate all of our senses. No one way of seeing is ever accepted and this book demonstrates how history and convention has altered the way we look at the world. From perspective in the Renaissance world to sculpture, painting, TV, the internet, to issues of race, gender and sexuality and even to the global visual impact of the death of Princess Diana - this book will inform and open your eyes in ways you couldn't imagine.
Average customer rating:
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Visual Culture: An Introduction
John A. Walker , and
Sarah Chaplin
Manufacturer: Manchester University Press
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The Visual Culture Reader
ASIN: 0719050200 |
Book Description
This book is about the expanding realm of visual culture: in architecture, art, design, advertising, photography, film, television, video, theatre performance, computer imagery and virtual reality. It is also about Visual Culture Studies, a relatively new academic discipline, or rather range of disciplines, that scholars employ to analyse visual artefacts. Unlike many other texts on the same subject, it foregrounds the ‘visual’ and is systematic and accessible. Visual culture provides an overview of the subject that pays heed to the achievements of both traditional and new theory whilst directing the reader to a large body of literature via references and an extensive bibliography.
Walker and Chaplin discuss the concepts of ‘the visual’ and of ‘culture’ as well as the field and origins of Visual Culture Studies; coping with theory; models of production and consumption; institutions; pleasure; the canon and concepts of value; visual literacy and poetics; modes of analysis; culture and commerce; and new technologies.
This book is designed for those studying the history and theory of fine arts, design and the mass media.
Book Description
This fascinating examination of visual experience offers an explanation and assessment of the traditional means of analyzing visual culture. Most of our experience is visual--we obtain most of our information and knowledge through sight, whether from reading books and newspapers, from watching television, or from quickly glimpsing road signs. Many of our judgments and decisions, as well as our entertainment and recreation, are based on the visual experience. Using a wide range of historical and contemporary examples, this book argues that the groups which artists and designers form, the audiences and markets which they sell to, and the different social classes which are produced and reproduced by art and design are all part of the successful explanation and critical evaluation of visual culture.
Book Description
An exciting new entry in the beginning Spanish market,
Entrevistas (Interviews) fulfils the market demand for an innovative treatment of culture within a four-skills approach. A manageable fifteen chapters,
Entrevistas has as its principal objective the development of communicative language proficiency and the integration of culture as a content area into the language acquisition process.
Entrevistas sets itself apart from other first-year Spanish texts through the integration and treatment of authentic (real) speech samples in the text, video, audio, and website.
Customer Reviews:
Much help.......2007-10-11
Manual de practica que acompana Entrevistas: Primera Parte
This necessary workbook for the Spanish textbook Entrevistas offers mandatory practice for the college course of Foreighn Language Spanish 101. The exersizes are very good. Everything is provided with necessary links.
The authors think too much of themselves.......2007-05-25
I attend a school where one of the author's works. I have yet to hear of one student who thinks this is a good text book, and my teacher for the second semester (of 4 total required) even (rather subtly and carefully) indicated she was not impressed. The concept is solid, but there are many errors/typos in the text and workbook - a crime for trying to use it when you're learning a subject in which precise translation is vitale. Also, the book offers many activities, but unless your teacher goes over the answers there's little point in doing them since there's no answer key to check how you did! The workbooks are a little better, with answer keys whenever possible, but I ended up buying five supplementary books, including books on grammar, verb usage and conjugation and practical application exercises.
A textbook for college shouldn't require so many additional purchases just to figure out what you're suppose to be learning.
Godawful.......2007-03-16
There's no nice way of putting it. This book is plain lousy. Even my Spanish professor hates it; he told us that the only reason he uses it is that the university forces him to. There is no order to this book; it just throws words at you, and discussions of phonics are nearly nonexistent. Do yourself a favor and buy "Spanish for Dummies." That will get you speaking Spanish A LOT faster than this book will, and if you are taking Spanish in school, it will help you prepare for tests A LOT better than this book will.
Entrevistas: An Introduction to Language and Culture (2nd Edition).......2006-09-28
This book is for junior high school students, not college students. This book lacks the content needed to really learn Spanish proficiently. This book was required by our Spanish instructor and I am not a bit impressed with it.
Average customer rating:
- Needs Revision
- Learn the sounds
|
Introduction to Choctaw
Gregg Howard
Manufacturer: V I P Publishing, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Ring-bound
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ASIN: 1884655025 |
Book Description
Over 2 hours with workbook. Endorsed by the Language Retention Committee of the Choctaw Nation as a valid laqnguage learning program. Elder Charley Jones describes the pronunciation of the language and teaches the Choctaw numbers, months, days of the week, animal names, food words, asking directions and many useful phrases. Highly recommended.
Customer Reviews:
Needs Revision.......2002-05-10
This book needs to be edited and revised so that the language presented flows on a smoother gradient from simple to complex. It begins very simply and ends with a story containing a great deal of grammatical complexity, most of which has not been explained or presented. Also, it is impossible with the data given in the course to do some of the exercises. I found it very frustrating. Its greatest feature, however, is Charley Jones as a native speaker.
Learn the sounds.......1998-10-15
This is a great way to learn how the sounds of the language should be. One of the hard points about the language is trying to understand how the words should sound or be pronounced like. This tape helps you in learning the language and speaking it correctly. If you want to learn more about the language, this is the tape series you need.
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INTRODUCTION TO VISUAL CULTURE: 2ND EDITION
Nichol Mirzoeff
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 041532758X |
Books:
- reGeneration: 50 Photographers of Tomorrow
- Robert Rauschenberg: Combines
- SIGN with your BABY Complete Learning Kit: US DVD Version, Book, Training Video (DVD), Quick Reference Guide
- Skin: The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing, and Retouching Faces and Bodies
- Sticker Graphics: all you need is...
- Ten Days in the Hills
- The Big Bad Wolf (Alex Cross novels)
- The Contemporary Blacksmith
- The Dance of Connection: How to Talk to Someone When You're Mad, Hurt, Scared, Frustrated, Insulted, Betrayed, or Desperate
- The Invisible Landscape: Mind, Hallucinogens, and the I Ching
Books Index
Books Home
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Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices (Culture, Media and Identities Series)
Ways of Seeing: Based on the BBC Television Series
Visual Culture: The Reader (Published in association with The Open University)
Visual Communication: Images with Messages (with InfoTrac®)
