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

19th Century French Painting Movements

When examining the painting art developed in France during the 19th century, we can identify two distinct yet related movements.

Impressionism: Capturing the Moment

Impressionism was characterized by the use of quick, visible brushstrokes to depict subject matter focused on modern life and the subjective vision of a fleeting moment. Impressionism moved away from the historical and mythological narratives prevalent in Realism. Key characteristics include:

• Bright and pure colors to express feelings and emotions.
• Blurred, undefined contours.
• Fragmented perspectives, influenced by Japanese prints and early photography.

Case Study: Edgar Degas' L'Absinthe

In L'Absinthe, Edgar Degas represents an everyday scene in a... Continue reading "Impressionism vs Post-Impressionism: Key Artistic Differences" »

Organizations and Organizational Theory

Current Challenges: Globalization, ethics and social responsibility, speed of response, digital workplace, and diversity.

Types of Organizations: Large vs. small, manufacturing vs. service, and profit vs. non-profit.

Perspectives on Organizations

Open Systems and Organizational Configuration (Mintzberg): Includes the technical core, technical support, administrative support, and management (top and middle).

Dimensions of Organizational Design

• Structural Dimensions: Formalization, specialization, hierarchy of authority, centralization, professionalism, and personnel ratios.
• Contextual Dimensions: Size, organizational technology, environment, goals and strategy, and culture.

Performance and Effectiveness Outcomes

Key... Continue reading "Organization Theory and Strategic Design Fundamentals" »

Do Schools Destroy Creativity?

1. Both of them feel some of the things they did were good, but not all.
2. Some clever students thought they were not good.
3. It was through her interest in the school theater.
4. She wanted a change in her career.
5. She started moving to the sound of music.
6. The number of kids who leave school between 9th and 12th grade.
7. Students should be given more standardized tests.
8. Good teachers who motivate the students' talents.

The Best Career Advice

1. Although he has quite a lot of gray hair.
2. Is based both on research and fiction.
3. It would have no literary interest.
4. Became an amateur geologist.
5. He remembers his father's words as encouragement.
6. It came after watching the Boston Marathon bombings.
7. To be able to capture the character's

Door Operation Types

• Single Side Hung
• Double Lead
• Sliding
• Swinging (Oscilante)
• Centre Folding (Cierre de casa, varias hojas)
• Folding (Solo dos hojas)
• Revolving
• Overhead Up-and-Over (Garage)

Parts of a Door

1. Frame
2. Leaf
3. Threshold
4. Connecting Jamb
5. Hinge
6. Lock/Hatch

Wooden Folding Frame

Pieza en C cuyos cubretapas miden 60mm de ancho y thickness 16 y cuyo engranaje permite zapar el partition desde 0 hasta +15 o -7mm. Hay que dejar entre el partition y la C 13mm de espacio para el tornillo del hinge.

Steel Frames

Por el lado del eje

1. Built-in (Masonry) Steel Frames

Corner Frame

Solo cubre el corner del partition.

Masonry Frame

Cubre todo el partition

Frame for Gypsumboard Partition

Tiene dos piezas metalicas que sobresalen del core del partition y se atornillan al frame que... Continue reading "Door Operation Types and Construction" »

Organizational Orientations and Structures

• Polycentric:
  • Our affiliates largely operate independently.
  • Host country-oriented.
  • We are loosely connected.
  • Polycentrism’s costs are largely related to coordination challenges.
• Ethnocentric:
  • We have a model that works everywhere.
  • Home country-oriented.
  • We are superior, more... (implies a sense of superiority).
• Geocentric:
  • Our affiliates bring their distinct qualities together.
  • World-oriented.
  • Our ultimate goal is a global integration.

Leadership and Management Styles

Boss vs. Leader

• Boss:
  • She has to be there for the daily business.
  • Provides stability and governance.
  • Manages by pushing people.
• Leader:
  • She can be away and everyone knows what to do.
  • Shows everyone by example how to achieve goals.
  • Opens the door to innovation.

Core Figures of Speech and Rhetorical Devices

Comparison and Representation

Simile

A stated comparison between two unlike things using the words "like" or "as."

• Example: Her cheeks are red like a rose.

Metaphor

A figure of speech where an element represents both itself and another idea or concept, implying a direct comparison without using "like" or "as."

• Example: The curtain of night fell upon us.

Extended Metaphor

A comparison drawn out and sustained over several lines, stanzas, or an entire work.

• Example: Emily Dickinson's poem, "Hope Is the Thing With Feathers."

Dead Metaphor

A metaphor that has become so overused that it no longer evokes the original comparison, often being treated as a literal term.

• Example: Phrases that have lost their figurative

The Legacy of Coco Chanel

Coco Chanel (original name: Gabrielle Chanel) is one of the mythical figures of French fashion and an international reference in the industry. The term "fashion pioneer" is an understatement for this French designer who marked a before and an after in the industry. Her irreverent, controversial, inventive, and revolutionary personality turned her into a fashion icon.

Coco hated the strict and uncomfortable fashion of big hats, corsets, and gauntlets. She firmly believed that elegance in clothes meant "freedom to move," which was the premise of her designs. This led her to design extremely simple, comfortable clothes with straight lines, yet with a touch of distinction (Sandra Vicen, 2017).

Redefining the Feminine Silhouette

She... Continue reading "Coco Chanel: The Revolutionary Icon of Modern Fashion" »

Laura Mulvey and the Male Gaze Theory

• 1. Laura Mulvey's essay about the Male Gaze Theory was initially used to study films.
• 2. Laura Mulvey's article constitutes an attack on the notion of scopophilia.
• 3. Scopophilia, insists Mulvey, refers to the pleasure of looking as well as the sexual objectification of women in film.
• 4. Laura Mulvey's work on visual and film narratives has been particularly influential.
• 5. According to Laura Mulvey's theory, women are often represented in film in relation to male desire.
• 6. Laura Mulvey points out in her article...
• 7. Mulvey argues that cinema should not be obsessively subordinated to the needs of the male ego.

Ideology and the Hollywood Blacklist

• 8. Systems of beliefs, values, and opinions based on underlying

Spanish-American Literature: Beyond European Realism

Spanish-American literature managed to rise over European Realism. These authors do not only reproduce and criticize harsh reality but interpret that reality in a poetical fashion by:

• Depicting a complex reality.
• Projecting fabulous elements on a real background.
• Using the latest narrative techniques and elaborate language.

The 1940s Generation: Foundations of Magic Realism

Jorge Luis Borges

Jorge Luis Borges showed great mastery of artistic creation in poetry. His style includes realistic and fantastic aspects; he makes a philosophical and existential reflection on his own creation. His topics include the separation between reality and fiction, the mystery of consciousness, and difficult reality.... Continue reading "Spanish-American Literature: Magic Realism and the Boom" »

Theme 1: Culture, Identity, and Relationships

Vocabulary Related to Culture and Behavior

• Alike: appropriate, appropriateness, awkward, culture gap, fit in, foreign, language barrier, manners, misconception, narrow-minded, outlook, roots, rude, rudeness, sensitive, sense (n/v), sensitivity, straightforward, subtle, tend to, unheard of, value.
• Anxiety: anxious, attempt, come what may, fetch, heritage, inappropriate, insensitive, insensitivity, long for, lose touch with, overwhelming, resentful, stay behind, trembling, untouched.

Phrasal Verbs (TEMA 1)

• Call on, call off, carry out, dress up, dress down, make of, make for, show off, stand up for, stick to, go ahead, go over.
• Resent, resentment.

Fixed Expressions and Idioms

• Catch a cold = coger un resfriado
• Catch