Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture

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".

Average customer rating:
Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture
Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright
Manufacturer: Oxford Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KWWOUC

Average customer rating:
Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture
Lisa Cartwright Marita Sturken
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OLKJGA

Average customer rating:
Riding a hobby in the classical lands
Walton Brooks McDaniel
Manufacturer: Published for the Dept. of the Classics [by] Harvard University Print. Office
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006DWZPO

Book Description

Cairo's celebrities flocked to Studio Van Leo for that glamourous Hollywoodesque portrait that had become the studio's signature during the second World War. The Studio continued to thrive until the late sixties, glamorizing the new breed of starlets and intellectuals.

Book Description

This sourcebook for the Blue Planet RPG gives moderators and players alike everything they need to run exciting wilderness scenarios and roleplay characters experienced in wilderness survival on Poseidon.

Customer Reviews:

Recommended.......2006-07-10

...An inspirational book to me on my journey (and one of the single greatest cover photos in the history of publishing!).
This wonderful book, and the wisdom and joy inside it, deserve a wider audience. Enjoy it for yourself.

Joe Miller The Ordinary Joe.......2003-01-19

Joe, my best freind and the guy I chose to miss a day of work to walk with him and his wife Guinn every week in Golden Gate Park. More than this, he inspired Shambhala Publications and was the silent Guru to many practicioners, setting them straight, during the sprititural shopping era of the 60's and 70's. He practiced meditation in the 1930's in San Fransicos's China Town, a lone Westener, and lived a life of a Bodhisattva and Guru until his death. He did this with no thought of gain or without ever promoting himself. His favorite saying was " Give Love with no thought of return". He practiced and taught this daily. Not with words only, but through his being. The people he worked with are many and some are famous, but that is not the point, His ordinary-ness "is", and it is captured in this book.

a true saint.......1999-12-23

i used to walk in golden gate park with Joe. This book captures his essence and the power of his teaching. He was a remarkable hidden homegrown saint in america. If you want to taste a bit of his teaching then read this book. It can change your life.

Great Song: The Life and Teachings of Joe Miller

Average customer rating:

Great Song: The Life and Teachings of Joe Miller
Joe; Power, Richard [editor] Miller
Manufacturer: Maypop
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KPR6AC

Book Description

Three Coins in the Fountain * Undecided * Moments to Remember * Crazy 'Bout Ya, Baby * No, Not Much! * Cry * Sixteen Tons * Catch a Falling Star * Heart and Soul * Shangri-La * Rags to Riches * Love Is a Many Splendored Thing.

Customer Reviews:

Vocals from Forever Plaid.......2005-09-12

This is one of the best musicals I have ever seen. The arranger has done a wonderful job transposing the pieces. The only thing the book doesn't have that I would like is the four part harmony. Other than that, this is a fantastic book and I highly recommend it.

Book Description

"Yeeeeehaaah!" Nightly that raucous cry breezes out from beneath the broad-brimmed Stetsons of boot-scootin line dancers at boisterous bars called Cadillac Ranch, Cactus Moon, or Stallions & Stars. And that, Michael Johnson tells us, is just one of the many signs that Americans have rekindled--and refashioned--their love affair with the American West.

These "New Westers," Johnson reveals, line-dance and two-step, listen to Garth Brooks and George Strait, drink beer from long-neck bottles, wear clothes ordered from Sheplers, watch rodeo on ESPN, play Wild West arcade games, eat fajitas and tacos in stucco-style Mexican cafes, collect Western art and Native American crafts, and vacation in and move to the West.

"New Westers" rewrite the history and biography of the West. They reimagine the West in cowboy sagas and poetry, Native American novels, Mexican-American drama, nature writing, revisionist films, eclectic visual artwork, and neo-traditional music. They flock to movies like Thelma and Louise, Unforgiven, and Dances with Wolves or mini-series like Lonesome Dove and read bestsellers like The Crossing and All the Pretty Horses.

"New Westers" are men and women who may or may not have ever hitched up a horse but who want a "personal" West. At the end of an urbanized century adrift in confusing change, they seek a more natural home, a fuller and wider sense of place, and a deeper and more colorful personal identity. They also want, Johnson shows, to revive the dream of the mythic West-but on new and different terms. They overrun the Old West and yet strive to preserve it, raising troubling new concerns about the differences between the mythic and the real, between traditional and contemporary cultural influences.

Infused with true grit and true affection, Johnson's immensely entertaining book takes us on a lively jaunt through a colorful and amazing landscape. His celebration of things Western will be treasured by all armchair cowpokes or anyone who's ever dreamed of riding the high country.

Amazon.com

Virginia's Shenandoah Valley was a crucial avenue for Confederate armies intending to invade Northern states during the Civil War. Running southwest to northeast, it "pointed, like a giant's lance, at the Union's heart, Washington, D.C.," writes Jeffry Wert. It was also "the granary of the Confederacy," supplying the food for much of Virginia. Both sides long understood its strategic importance, but not until the fall of 1864 did Union troops led by Napoleon-sized cavalry General Phil Sheridan (5'3", 120 lbs.) finally seize it for good. He defeated Confederate General Jubal Early at four key battles that autumn.

In addition to a narrative of the campaign (featuring dozens of characters, including General George Custer and future president Rutherford B. Hayes), this book is a study of command. Both Sheridan and Early were capable military leaders, though each had flaws. Sheridan tended to make mistakes before battles, Early during them. Wert considers Early the better general, but admits that few could match the real-time decision-making and leadership skills of Sheridan once the bullets started flying: "When Little Phil rode onto the battlefield, he entered his element." Early was a bold fighter, but lacked the skills necessary to make up for his disadvantage in manpower. At Cedar Creek, the climactic battle of the 1864 Shenandoah campaign, Early "executed a masterful offensive against a numerically superior opponent, only to watch it result in ruin." With more Confederate troops on the scene, history might have been different. Wert relates the facts of what actually happened with his customary clarity and insightful analysis. --John J. Miller

Customer Reviews:

Good Study of the 1864 Shennandoah Valley Campaign.......2005-12-26

Wert has written what is probably the best account to date of the confrontation between Sheridan and Early in the 1864 Shennandoah Campaign. While the book was originally published in 1987, I am not aware of any new studies of the campaign. The only other title on the campaign I have read is the one by Edward Stackpole that was published sometime in the 1950s - 1960s and I believe Wert's title is better written and more up to date.

Wert's writing style can be described as entertaining without being simplistic. He lacks the detail of other authors (for example, read Harry Pfanz' titles on Gettysburg if you want detail), but is able to keep the reader's attention. I enjoyed reading his descriptive accounts of the major characters (Sheridan, Early, Custer, Rodes, Ramseur, Russell, etc.) and the battles of Winchester, Toms Brook, Fisher's Hill, and Cedar Creek.

My major complaint with the book concerns the maps. The maps in this title and Civil War titles by other authors are too few and lack necessary detail. In my humble opinion, there could have been at least 7-10 more. Having more maps and more detail in the maps makes it much easier for a student (not a professional) of the Civil War like me to follow the actions and flow of the book.

Complaint aside, I do recommend the book as the definitive account of the 1864 Shennandoah Valley Campaign (unless there is a newer one that I am not aware of). Read and enjoy.

Overrated Study.......2001-11-18

Wert's books are generally overrated by Civil War readers. He is not a great researcher, but rather plays to the popular reader. If you want to read underresearchered, popular history Wert is your boy; if you want in-depth perceptive analysis then look elsewhere. If you hold him up to the stardard of Richard Summers, John Hennessey or Harry Pfantz then reading Wert is like eating candy: fun but easily forgotten. A list of the sources he did not consult when writing this book might be as long as his text.

Very good study with a few omissions.......2001-03-06

This is a very good, useful close study of the Valley campaign in the fall and winter of 1864. Wert primarily focuses on studies of the major battles, giving enough first-person quotes to keep the narrative interesting. Occasionally his descriptions of the battlefield action are confusing, but that's probably a characteristic of the available sources. His discussion of the controversy over plundering at Cedar Creek is good, although I'm not entirely convinced. I find it a little surprising that, in discussing Early's failure to use his cavalry effectively, he does not mention the general's refusal of Mosby's offer of help, something which he brings up in his bio of Mosby. Also, in analyzing Early as a general, it might have been appropriate to mention the absolutely scathing and, in my view, entirely inappropriate speech which Early made to his troops after Cedar Creek blaming them for the defeat. Overall, this book has to be considered the canonical work on the campaign.

Best book on 1864 Valley Campaign.......2000-05-24

This is the best book on the Valley Campaign of 1864 and features lots of research on the 4 battles that occured during the campaign. The book is well-written, but I found that it could be dry at times. However, this is still a very good book. One of the best points about this book is Wert's analysis of Sheridan's and Early's generalship. Wert gives well-reasoned and sound conclusions on the analysis of the two generals. The book also features a terrific chapter on John Mosby and his Rangers role in the campaign and features a pretty good look at the role the campaign played in Lincoln's 1864 reelection campaign. All in all a very good book, but due to the amount of detail and research perhaps only Civil War and history buffs will enjoy this book.

Good analysis of the Shenandoah Campaign.......2000-02-14

An excellent narrative of the campaign. It's as if the thoughts of Philip H. Sheridan and Jubal A. Early were downloaded into print.

The details of battle are refreshing and go far into showing how these commanders handled themselves and their men in battle. Not only has the military aspect of the campaign been supported and thoughly researched, but the civilian population as well. Also, the statistics on both sides have been balanced to give proper respect to the men without playing favorites to one cause or another.

Old Abe owed much to Sheridan for his victories over Early. The President road into the Whitehouse on the coat-tails of these victories, and this book describes them in excellent detail.

This book comes highly recommended and a must for your Civil War collection!

Average customer rating:

The West's Last Chance: Will We Win the Clash of Civilizations

We Have Been Warned!

A must read

The West's Last Chance: Will We Win the Clash of Civilizations?
Tony Blankley
Manufacturer: Regnery Publishing, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Relations | International | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Terrorism | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Church & State | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It

The Politically Incorrect Guide(tm) to Islam (and the Crusades) (Politically Incorrect Guides)

Future Jihad: Terrorist Strategies against the West

While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within

The West's Last Chance: Winning the Clash of Civilization

ASIN: 1596980214

Book Description

Blankley paints the picture of a Europe in which radical Islam is triumphant - a threat that becomes more real with every passing day. Blankley also shows what the United States must do to avoid the same fate.

Customer Reviews:

The West's Last Chance: Will We Win the Clash of Civilizations.......2007-01-09

This is a must read for every interested American as we think through our challenge from barbarians threatening to destroy our country and way of life.

We Have Been Warned!.......2007-01-03

This book details the problem of the Islamic activism that is causing so many of the problems in the world. Our low birthrates in contrast to the high birthrates of the Muslim countries is even a of more long term concern than the present military/terrorism that we read about in the daily press. If this trend continues, the West will loose Europe and ultimately be involved in the choice of "convert or die!"

A must read.......2006-11-10

This is a thought provoking book that everyone should read. It is frightening and we can already see parts of it coming true in Europe. The book discusses the clash of civilizations in a very understandable way and should be in every thinking person's library.

The West's Last Chance: Will We Win the Clash of Civilizations, Library Edition

Average customer rating:

The West's Last Chance: Will We Win the Clash of Civilizations, Library Edition
Tony Blankley , and Mark Warner
Manufacturer: Blackstone Audiobooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

General | Books on Cassette | Audiobooks | Formats | Books

Terrorism | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Church & State | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0786144181

The West's Last Chance: Will We Win the Clash of Civilizations? (Unabridged)

Average customer rating:

The West's Last Chance: Will We Win the Clash of Civilizations? (Unabridged)
Tony Blankley
Manufacturer: audible.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Download

Terrorism | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000ES16RY

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books