BiblioVault - Books about Arts & Humanities

Past and Future Presence

Approaches for Implementing XR Technology in Humanities and Art Education

Lissa Crofton-Sleigh and Brian Beams, editors

Amherst College Press, 2024

While uses and studies of XR technology within STEM-based education have been plentiful in recent years, there has been lesser or even, at times, a lack of coverage for this novel learning tool in the arts and humanities.Past and Future Presence aims to bridge some of that gap by presenting research-based theory and case studies of successful application and implementation of XR technology into postsecondary educational settings, ranging in topics from ancient to modern languages, classical and contemporary art, and reenvisioned historical scenes and events presented in ways never seen before. The studies also contemplate how this novel medium can enhance and supplement learning in classrooms and other formal or informal learning environments. The volume as a whole is intended to demonstrate to educators, scholars, and researchers in higher education the potential value of integrating XR technology into their classrooms and to provide a strong argument for college and university administrators to invest in training and development of new research and content for classrooms inside and outside of STEM. The authors of these chapters come from a diverse range of backgrounds at different stages of their careers, providing a broad crosssection of scholastic work within the humanities and arts. Each chapter offers a different angle or approach to incorporating XR technology into teaching or research within different subject areas. As the volume suggests, this technology also places additional emphasis on the humanity within the humanities, by focusing on increasing connection between users and different cultures, time periods, and perspectives.

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Philadelphia Mural Arts @ 30

Jane Golden

Temple University Press, 2014

The Mural Arts Program of Philadelphia began in 1984 as a summer youth program with modest support from city government. Under the guidance of Jane Golden, however, it gradually grew into one of the largest and most successful public art organizations in the country, garnering support from local corporations, foundations, and individuals to extend the reach and effectiveness of its innovative programs.

Now three decades later, the Mural Arts Program has created more than 3,800 murals and public art projects that have made lasting imprints in every Philadelphia neighborhood. In the process, Mural Arts has engaged thousands of people of all ages from across the city, helped hundreds of ex-offenders train for new jobs, transformed the face of struggling commercial corridors, and developed funding partners in both public and private sectors.

While the Mural Arts Program has significantly changed the appearance of the city, it has also demonstrated how participatory public art can empower individuals and promote communal healing around difficult issues. Philadelphia Mural Arts @ 30 is a celebration of and guide to the program's success. Unlike Philadelphia Murals and the Stories They Tell and its sequel, More Philadelphia Murals and the Stories They Tell, Philadelphia Murals @ 30 showcases the results of 21 projects completed since 2009 and features essays by policy makers, curators, scholars, and educators that offer valuable lessons for artists, activists, and communities to emulate.

Philadelphia Mural Arts @ 30 traces the program's history and evolution, acknowledging the challenges and rewards of growth and change while maintaining a core commitment to social, personal, and community transformation.

Contributors include: Dr. Arthur C. Evans, Jr., Arlene Goldbard, Thora Jacobson, Rick Lowe, Dr. Samantha L. Matlin, Paulette Moore, Jeremy Nowak, Maureen H. O'Connell, Elisabeth Perez Luna, Robin Rice, Dr. Jacob Kraemer Tebes, Elizabeth Thomas, Cynthia Weiss, Howard Zehr, and the editors.

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Producing Excellence

The Making of Virtuosos

Wagner, Izabela

Rutgers University Press, 2015

Driven by a passion for music, for excellence, and for fame, violin soloists are immersed from early childhood in high-pressure competitions, regular public appearances, and arduous daily practice. An in-depth study of nearly one hundred such children, Producing Excellence illuminates the process these young violinists undergo to become elite international soloists.

A musician and a parent of a young violinist, sociologist Izabela Wagner offers an inside look at how her young subjects set out on the long road to becoming a soloist. The remarkable research she conducted—at rehearsals, lessons, and in other educational settings—enabled her to gain deep insight into what distinguishes these talented prodigies and their training. She notes, for instance, the importance of a family culture steeped in the values of the musical world. Indeed, more than half of these students come from a family of professional musicians and were raised in an atmosphere marked by the importance of instrumental practice, the vitality of music as a vocation, and especially the veneration of famous artists. Wagner also highlights the highly structured, rigorous training system of identifying, nurturing, and rewarding talent, even as she underscores the social, economic, and cultural factors that make success in this system possible.

Offering an intimate portrait of the students, their parents, and their instructors, Producing Excellence sheds new light on the development of exceptional musical talent, as well as draw much larger conclusions as to “producing prodigy” in other competition-prone areas, such as sports, sciences, the professions, and other arts. Wagner’s insights make this book valuable for academics interested in the study of occupations, and her clear, lively writing is perfect for general readers curious about the ins and outs of training to be a violin soloist.

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Pronunciation Myths

Applying Second Language Research to Classroom Teaching

Linda Grant with Donna M. Brinton, Tracey Derwing and Murray J. Munro, John Field, Judy Gilbert, John Murphy, Ron Thomson, Beth Zielinski and Lynda Yates

University of Michigan Press, 2014

This volume was conceived as a "best practices" resource for pronunciation and speaking teachers in the way that Vocabulary Myths by Keith S. Folse is one for reading and vocabulary teachers. Like others in the Myths series, this book combines research with good pedagogical practices.

The book opens with a Prologue by Linda Grant (author of the Well Said textbook series), which reviews the last four decades of pronunciation teaching, the differences between accent and intelligibility, the rudiments of the English sound system, and other factors related to the ways that pronunciation is learned and taught.

The myths challenged in this book are:

§ Once you’ve been speaking a second language for years, it’s too late to change your pronunciation. (Derwing and Munro)

§ Pronunciation instruction is not appropriate for beginning-level learners. (Zielinski and Yates)

§ Pronunciation teaching has to establish in the minds of language learners a set of distinct consonant and vowel sounds. (Field)

§ Intonation is hard to teach. (Gilbert)

§ Students would make better progress if they just practiced more. (Grant)

§ Accent reduction and pronunciation instruction are the same thing. (Thomson)

§ Teacher training programs provide adequate preparation in how to teach pronunciation (Murphy).

The book concludes with an Epilogue by Donna M. Brinton, who synthesizes some of the best practices explored in the volume.

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Public Humanities

Engaging Community, Empowering Civic Discourse, and Reshaping Academia

Molly Todd

Michigan State University Press, 2025

Engaged public scholarship is transforming the humanities. Divided into four parts, this provocative volume examines historical and contemporary sites of education and pedagogy, challenges dominant narratives about certain symbolic sites in the United States and across the Americas, highlights the struggle of marginalized communities as they wrestle to rewrite individual and collective memories of violence and trauma, and features public humanities projects that address themes relating to place and environment. Each chapter is concerned with the importance of personal relationships in educational settings, power relations in public humanities projects, and the nurturing of “new” civic spaces and places. This volume makes an important contribution to timely debates about public-facing and publicly engaged scholarship, especially in the humanities.

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