Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Arts and Humanities

This document presents a collection of terms and their associated definitions or synonyms, aiming to clarify various concepts and expressions.

Rapture

• To seize, usurp, or swipe.

Courtesy

• Politeness, kindness, or a compliment.

Inappropriate

• Unsuitable, inconvenient, or improper.

Work

• Industrious, hard-labored.

Tactic

• A strategy, plan, or methodology.

Cortadura

• A cut or incision.

Aversion

• Antipathy, repulsion, or rejection.

Judgment

• Sanity, a prudent approach.

Barter

• To trade, swap, or replace.

Suspicious

• Distrustful, wary, or reticent.

Manic

• Mindless, obsessive, or alienated.

Agravio

• An insult, outrage, or affront.

Evil

• Wickedness, cruelty, or meanness.

Futile

• Trivial, inconsequential, or insignificant.

Test

• To donate, lead, or leave.

Pinching

• To start the sprouting of plants

The Three Dimensions of Language Learning

The author believes that the three dimensions of language are learned differently, and therefore they must be taught differently. Sometimes we can make strong semantic bonds that help items stick, but that alone is not sufficient to learn a lexical item. Learning use requires that learners develop a sensitivity to context. Certain teaching techniques lend themselves more effectively to teaching one dimension rather than the others.

The Importance of All Three Dimensions

In Linguistics

Knowing that there are three dimensions enriches our understanding of language in communication.

In Language Teaching

Methods of language teaching commonly emphasize one or the other of these three dimensions. Analyzing language... Continue reading "The Challenge Principle in Language Teaching: Form, Meaning, Use" »

Theories on the Origin of Language

The Emotivist Theory posits that human language evolved naturally from gestures or exclamations, reflecting the spontaneous and instinctive animal nature used to express emotions and subjective experiences directly. Initially, communication occurred through natural signs: interjections, shouts, and screams common to all hominids, expressing their emotions and needs. This initial expressive phase evolved, requiring a shared code for effective emotional impact, leading to articulate and conventional speech, entirely symbolic. This second phase, the copy phase, allows for shared and impressed emotions. The qualitative leap between these language forms remains unclear.

The Imitative Theory suggests that language... Continue reading "Origins of Language: Emotivist, Imitative, Instrumental Theories" »

Religious Roots of Early Drama

In Latin Christendom, three main varieties of sacred representations dominated the theatrical landscape: miracles, mysteries, and morals.

• Miracles: Inspired by legends that related the providential intervention of saints in secular life.
• Mysteries: Focused on events and prophecies from the Old or New Testament.
• Morals: Designed to remind the human race of appropriate behavior in the quest for eternal salvation.

Of these, the latter two, mysteries and morals, were the most established and influential in England.

The Role of Trade Associations

Actors often improvised and came from trade associations, which supposedly chose plays related to their craft. For example:

• Carpenters interpreted Noah during the construction of

Enhance your English language skills with this comprehensive collection of essential vocabulary and grammar rules, including conditional sentences and common phrasal verbs. Each term is provided with its Catalan translation for easy learning.

Key Vocabulary by Theme

Theme 7: Travel & Environment Vocabulary

• Billboards - valla publicitària
• Cruise - creuer
• Sink - enfonsar
• Research - investigació
• Damage - dany
• Treacherous - traïdor
• Purpose - propòsit
• Keep in mind - tenir en compte
• Aware - conscient
• Balance - equilibri
• Concerned - preocupació
• Landscape - paisatge
• Belong to - pertànyer a
• Sign up - apuntar-se
• Rescuing - rescatar
• Leak - fuga
• Decide - decisió
• Dark - fosc
• Differ - diferència
• Relation - relació
• Inform - informar
• Possible - possible
• Environmental

Historical Context of 19th-Century Art

In the middle of the nineteenth century, the bourgeoisie became the ruling class following the triumph of the bourgeois revolutions of 1830 and 1848. Against the bourgeoisie, worker movements began to rise.

Romanticism

The Romantic pictorial movement emphasized the exaltation of color, fantasy, feelings, and the appreciation of the individual.

Romantic Characteristics

• The main objective of this art is not beauty, but the expression of words and feelings that open much wider horizons.
• There is a profound experience of religion.
• It imposes a taste for the exotic, valuing what is different, hence the fixed gaze deep into Eastern worlds.
• Exaltation of the individual and national traditions of freedom.
• Reivindication

Friedrich Nietzsche: 19th Century Context and Philosophy

Historical and Cultural Context

Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy emerged during the turbulent 19th century, a period defined by rapid industrialization, social upheaval, and the consolidation of European power.

Political Landscape

The political sphere witnessed the triumph of the bourgeoisie over the proletariat, especially following the revolutions of 1848. This era saw the restoration of the monarchy and the consolidation of major European states (England, Germany, France, Italy).

Significant political milestones include:

• Napoleon's death (1821)
• The American Civil War (1861–1865)
• The foundation of the International Workers' Association (First International) (1864)

Socioeconomic Conditions

Socially,... Continue reading "Friedrich Nietzsche: 19th Century Context and Philosophical Influences" »

Three Nudes in the Woods

Author: Joaquín Rodríguez Miró

Dated: 1913 – 1915

Style: Noucentisme

School: Mediterraneanism

Technique: Oil

Support: Canvas, 1.25 m x 1.51 m

Theme and Iconography

The artwork's theme is closely related to the *bathers* motif, an iconography widely employed by artists in the late 19th century as a pretext to depict the naked female form.

Formal Elements and Composition

• The composition utilizes a high point of view and a vertical orientation. There is a tendency towards segmentation, with vertical stripes drawing the eye towards the center of the canvas. The chromatic scheme is notably asymmetric.
• The rhythm of the painting is established by the positions of the bodies, which tend to converge towards the center, both vertically

Aesthetics, also called the theory of the arts, proposes an explanation of the artistic phenomenon and everything related to it.

The term aesthetics was proposed in 1753 by the German philosopher Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten.

Aesthetics considers whether beauty or ugliness are present in things in an objective manner.

Axiology, a branch of philosophy, studies values.

In 1967, Luis Farré proposed the term aesthetic categories, including the beautiful, the ugly, the sublime, the grotesque, the gracious, the ridiculous, the tragic, and the comic.

The French Impressionists, like Claude Oscar Monet, exemplified these concepts.

Methods in Art Analysis

The methods used in art analysis emerged after and as a consequence of what Immanuel Kant proposes in... Continue reading "Understanding Aesthetics: Art, Philosophy, and Cultural Heritage" »

Understanding Key Literary Concepts

Myth

A myth (from the Greek μῦθος, mythos, meaning 'story') is a traditional narrative of miraculous events, featuring extraordinary or supernatural beings such as gods, demigods, heroes, or monsters.

Interior Monologue

Interior monologue (also known as 'stream of consciousness') is a literary technique that attempts to capture on paper the flow of thoughts and feelings, representing both the real world and the inner world imagined by a protagonist.

Psychological Novel

The psychological novel, or novel of psychological analysis (also known as psychological realism), is a work of prose fiction that emphasizes the internal characterization of its characters, their motives, and circumstances. Internal action... Continue reading "Essential Literary Terms: Definitions and Movements" »