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

Understanding Parts of Speech

Parts of speech are words classified into different groups based on their function and allowed inflections. They can vary to express, through inflections, gender and number.

Variable Parts of Speech

• Adjectives
• Nouns
• Pronouns
• Determiners
• Verbs

Invariable Parts of Speech

• Adverbs
• Prepositions
• Conjunctions

Noun Classification

Adjectives

Adjectives are words that express qualities or properties of nouns.

Degrees of Adjectives

• Positive: The basic form (e.g., beautiful).
• Comparative: Expresses comparison:
  • Superiority (e.g., more than)
  • Inferiority (e.g., less than)

Sculpture

Key Features

• Stone (royal) and wood (private) materials
• Predominantly free-standing or almost in the round
• Frontal view design
• Statism (lack of movement)
• Arms arranged along the body with fists (block statues)
• Expressionless faces, distant gaze (hieratic)
• Idealized, proportionate representation

Painting

Mural Painting

• Mixed technique (cool and tempera)
• Decorated tomb interiors (e.g., Valley of the Kings)
• Iconography: afterlife and real-life scenes
• Mythology, royal life, daily life themes
• Flat, intense colors (preference for warm tones)
• Precise drawing, gridded surfaces
• Combined perspective and profile view
• Juxtaposed figures, sense of physicality
• Lack of three-dimensional perspective
• Scenes structured by logs (bands with rows of characters)

Santa Maria Novella

Leon Battista Alberti, 1456-1470

(Bows and a decorative circular window in the middle)

The facade consists of two spirals that connect the central body with the sides, thus giving proportion and harmony to the work, which is, after all, the main feature of the Renaissance. Using a classical pediment is another element taken from the repertoire offered by antiquity. Alberti reworked this repertoire with great freedom. To achieve a harmonious relationship between the width of the lower body and the much narrower upper body of this facade, the architect designed the two scrolls already mentioned, which had a great impact on sixteenth-century religious architecture.

Note the use of many geometric shapes in the work, such as the... Continue reading "Santa Maria Novella: A Renaissance Facade in Florence" »

Textual Genres

Textual genres encompass various forms of communication, each characterized by distinct features and purposes. These include:

• Description
• Narration
• Explanation
• Reasoning
• Prediction
• Instruction
• Rhetorical talk and text

Informal Record

Colloquial

• Theme: General
• Channel: Oral
• Intentionality: Subjective
• Degree of formality: Low

Formal Records

Standard

• Topic: General
• Channel: Written / Oral
• Intentionality: Objective
• Degree of formality: Medium

Scientific and Technical

• Focus: Specialized
• Channel: Written or oral
• Intentionality: Objective
• Degree of formality: High

Literary

• Topic: General
• Channel: Written
• Intentionality: Subjective
• Degree of formality: High

Literary Analysis of Broken Mirror

Broken Mirror is a novel divided into three parts, narrating the beginning... Continue reading "Textual Genres and Literary Symbolism in Broken Mirror" »

The Nature of Human Language and Symbols

Humans have the ability to express themselves through a language with meaning, which provides two kinds of elements: a set of words (vocabulary) and a series of rules (grammar). A language has meaning when the order of words and rules allows for the significance of what is said. In language, words are signs; within them, we can distinguish the signifier and the signified, establishing a relationship we call meaning.

Symbols and the Human Imagination

There are signs that refer to a deeper meaning, which is partly hidden and partly revealed in its immediate significance: these are symbols. The relationship with the symbolized object is conventional, social, and cultural. According to Aristotle's formula,... Continue reading "Linguistic Dimensions and the Power of Human Expression" »

English Affixes

Suffixes

Noun Suffixes (added to nouns)

• -eer: profiteer, lanceer
• -er: teenager
• -ess: hostess, priestess
• -ette: cigarette, kitchenette
• -let: booklet
• -ian: politician, technician
• -ion: companion
• -ist: pianist, guitarist, violinist
• -age: wastage, mileage
• -dom: kingdom
• -ery: slavery
• -hood: adulthood, neighborhood
• -ism: criticism, terrorism
• -ship: friendship, sportsmanship, leadership

Noun Suffixes (added to verbs)

• -ant: assistant, consultant, informant
• -ee: employee, trainee
• -ent: respondent, dependent
• -er: singer, painter, dancer, printer, computer
• -or: conqueror, visitor
• -age: linkage, carriage
• -al: dismissal, survival, proposal
• -ance: attendance, performance
• -ion: protection, conversation, decision
• -ence: existence, persistence, preference
• -ing: building,

Understanding Sentence Structure

Simple Sentence

A linguistic unit possessing syntactic and semantic unity.

Compound Sentence

The combination of two or more simple sentences joined together.

Coordinated Sentences

Sentences that are joined without a subordinating nexus, maintaining equal grammatical rank.

Subordinate (Complex) Sentences

Sentences comprising clauses that do not make sense independently (dependent clauses).

Paragraph Structure and Cohesion

Paragraph Definition

A set of sentences dealing with a single question or topic.

Main Clause (Topic Sentence)

The main clause contains the central idea or theme of the paragraph.

Supporting Sentences

These are fundamental statements supporting or developing the main idea (topic sentence).

Supporting Details

Romanesque Art Historical References

Thanks to the introduction of feudalism, the tranquility, and political supremacy of the Church, Europe achieved stability. A new middle class emerged in Europe, divided into groups of artisans and merchants. Monks, who dedicated their lives entirely to God, promised chastity, poverty, and worship Him as superior.

Localization and Artistic Development

Romanesque art acquired a European character. It developed in three stages:

• First Romanesque
• Full Romanesque
• Late Romanesque

Characteristics of Romanesque Art

The term Romanesque arises from the desire to unify different styles, drawing heavily from Roman architecture. Romanesque art placed great importance on precious materials like gold and silver, and on symbolism.... Continue reading "Romanesque Art: History, Architecture, and Painting Styles" »

Journalism: Definition and Key Concepts

Journalism is the collection and treatment of written, oral, visual, or graphic information in all its forms and varieties. A journalist is a person professionally engaged in a newspaper, an audiovisual medium, a literary work, graphic information, or creating opinion.

Classification of Journalistic Genres

News Genres

In news genres, the journalist tries to express information of general interest or specific to any group of people in an impersonal way, adjusted to reality. The most used forms are the story, the chronicle, and the report.

The News

The news is the main informative subgenre. It is characterized by a complete yet brief presentation of a current fact of interest, carried out with objectivity. The... Continue reading "Journalistic Genres: News, Features, Editorials, and Interviews" »

The Catalan Modernism movement, flourishing at the turn of the 20th century, represented a profound shift in art, literature, and social thought. It sought to redefine Catalan culture and challenge the conservative norms of the era.

Core Characteristics of Modernist Art

Its main characteristics are the pursuit of musicality, the presence of nature and allusions to the senses, and the search for the ideal of beauty, especially in formal aspects, to escape a hostile reality. The artist is considered a true bohemian, living an existence focused on pleasure and beauty, far from everyday obligations.

Social and Political Context in Catalonia

In Catalonia, Modernism has a special meaning because it acquires a reformist and revolutionary character. Its... Continue reading "Catalan Modernism: Aesthetic Revolution and Social Transformation" »