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Open Educational Resources : Arts & Humanities

This guide is designed to be a resource for available Open Educational Resources that can be adopted or adapted for LMC curriculum.

Browse the lists below for open textbooks and resources in

Art & Art History, English (Literature and Composition), Performing Arts,

Philosophy, and World Languages

Art and Art History

Art & Art History OERs

From Open Course Library: The course includes a brief study of art history and in depth studies of the elements, media, and methods used in creative process and thought. 

Combining the best elements of both a traditional textbook and a reader, it introduces such issues in art as its meaning and purpose; its structure, material, and form; and its diverse effects on our lives.

Download, share, and reuse millions of the Smithsonian’s images. 

A growing collection of contemporary ceramics images by recognized artists. Images are available with different creative commons licenses.

 

Phiosophy

Philosophy OERs

An introduction to formal logic suitable for undergraduates taking a general education course in logic or critical thinking, and is accessible and useful to any interested in gaining a basic understanding of logic. 

Introduction to Philosophy surveys logic, metaphysics, epistemology, theories of value, and history of philosophy thematically.

This text examines some of the main threads of discussion of Ethics that have developed over the last couple of Millenia, mostly within the Western cultural tradition.

Philosophy of Religion introduces some of the major traditional arguments for and against the existence of God, as well as some less well-known, but thought-provoking arguments for the existence of God, and one of the most important new challenges to religious belief from the Cognitive Science of Religion. 

This textbook combines readings from primary sources with two pedagogical tools.

English / ESL

English Writing & Literature OERs

 The course takes an expanded view of American literary movements, bringing in a diversity of voices and tracing the continuity among them. The materials, which are coordinated with the Norton Anthology of American Literature, can be used as the basis of a one or two-semester college-level course or for teacher professional development.

This book contains three levels of interactive grammar lessons and reading activities for beginning students of ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages). 

How Arguments Work takes students through the techniques they will need to respond to readings and make sophisticated arguments in any college class.  This is a practical guide to argumentation with strategies and templates for the kinds of assignments students will commonly encounter. It covers rhetorical concepts in everyday language and explores how arguments can build trust and move readers.

Children's literature is written for children and youth, but the analysis of children's literature requires careful attention to text as well insightful interpretation of the ways in which authors and illustrators present the human condition, the physical world, imaginative experiences, and global forces. 

“It’s All Greek to Me!” has everything—entertaining stories, academic articles in a variety of disciplines, vocabulary crossover in literary and academic readings, connections to local, American, and Western culture, and plenty of chances for critical thinking for advanced students of English as a Second Language (ESL). All readings are authentic with minimal adaptation from a variety of sources.

Part of the Open SUNY collection of textbooks, this text covers a range of literature, including Homer, Sir Philip Sidney, Pope, Henry Fielding, Joseph Andrews, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Dickens, and George Eliot.

The goal of this book is to guide you through this process of research writing by emphasizing a series of exercises that touch on different and related parts of the research process.

Project Gutenberg is an online library of free eBooks.

A free, comprehensive, peer-reviewed, award-winning Open Text for students and faculty in college-level courses that require writing and research.

Volumes in Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing offer multiple perspectives on a wide-range of topics about writing. In each chapter, authors present their unique views, insights, and strategies for writing by addressing the undergraduate reader directly.

Performing Arts

Music and Theater OERs

"Lecture notes, internet links and vocabulary lists for a core curriculum Introduction to Theatre college level course."

This text provides a comprehensive overview of technical theatre, including terminology and general practices.

This book is intended to cover the "bare essentials" of music theory, such as those covered in a fundamentals or prerequisite course at a high school or college level. 

Languages

World Languages OERs
Arabic Language: 

This open textbook is intended for beginning students of Arabic in their first and second semester.  This OER is unique in its presentation of Arabic language content through theme-based modules. Each theme is addressed through vocabulary, grammar, reading, speaking, and writing components. 

American Sign Language:

This is a textbook for ASL - American Sign Language. Here you will find information and resources to help you learn ASL and improve your signing. 

Chinese Mandarin Language:

This course is designed for learners with no background in Chinese. It introduces basic structures of the Mandarin Chinese language with emphasis on listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.

French Language:

This French book is aimed at a first-year college student. 

Le Littéraire dans le quotidien represents a new pedagogical approach to reading and writing at the lower levels and is applicable to all languages.

German Language:

This is an introduction to German free textbooks for students who have no prior knowledge of German.

Japanese Language:

Spanish Language:

Designed for the true beginner with U.S. college students in mind this textbook contains themed chapters, which are divided into 8 sections. Each section has its own set of learning objectives, and is further separated into three types of assignments, detailed explanations, homework, and classroom activities. 

 The textbook focuses on the development of communication skills in interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational modes while centering student voices.

An intermediate level textbook in Spanish for students to practice their language skills and learn about the culture in Spain.