Humanities Textbooks

Prose Fiction: An Introduction to the Semiotics of Narrative

Contributor: Ribó

Publisher: Open Book Publishers

License: CC BY

This concise and highly accessible textbook outlines the principles and techniques of storytelling. It is intended as a high-school and college-level introduction to the central concepts of narrative theory – concepts that will aid students in developing their competence not only in analysing and interpreting short stories and novels, but also in writing them. This textbook prioritises clarity over intricacy of theory, equipping its readers with the necessary tools to embark on further study of literature, literary theory and creative writing. Building on a ‘semiotic model of narrative,’ it is structured around the key elements of narratological theory, with chapters on plot, setting, characterisation, and narration, as well as on language and theme – elements which are underrepresented in existing textbooks on narrative theory. The chapter on language constitutes essential reading for those students unfamiliar with rhetoric, while the chapter on theme draws together significant perspectives from contemporary critical theory (including feminism and postcolonialism). This textbook is engaging and easily navigable, with key concepts highlighted and clearly explained, both in the text and in a full glossary located at the end of the book. Throughout the textbook the reader is aided by diagrams, images, quotes from prominent theorists, and instructive examples from classical and popular short stories and novels (such as Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Franz Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis,’ J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, or Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, amongst many others). Prose Fiction: An Introduction to the Semiotics of Narrative can either be incorporated as the main textbook into a wider syllabus on narrative theory and creative writing, or it can be used as a supplementary reference book for readers interested in narrative fiction. The textbook is a must-read for beginning students of narratology, especially those with no or limited prior experience in this area. It is of especial relevance to English and Humanities major students in Asia, for whom it was conceived and written.

(6 reviews)

Spunti: Italiano intermedio

Contributor: Viale

Publisher: Muhlenberg College

License: CC BY-NC-SA

Welcome to Spunti: italiano intermedio – a unique program, authored by the Italian faculty of Muhlenberg College, that takes the place of a traditional language textbook. Spunti is a fully designed course that a college instructor of Italian can use and adapt.

(1 review)

Spunti: Italiano elementare 2

Contributors: Leisawitz and Viale

Publisher: Muhlenberg College

License: CC BY-NC-SA

Welcome to Spunti: Italiano elementare 2 – a new, unique program, authored by the Italian faculty of Muhlenberg College, that takes the place of a traditional language textbook. Spunti is a fully designed course that a college instructor of Italian can use and adapt.

(1 review)

Spunti: Italiano elementare 1

Contributors: Leisawitz and Viale

Publisher: Muhlenberg College

License: CC BY-NC-SA

Spunti: Italiano elementare 1 is a unique program for Italian language learning, authored by the Italian faculty of Muhlenberg College (Pennsylvania, USA). Spunti 1 provides fully elaborated course materials for first-semester Italian that college instructors can use and adapt, or students can use on their own. Spunti 1 consists of: 1) an online Pressbook with grammar explanations, cultural material, vocabulary, videos, and self-correcting interactive exercises; 2) printable packets of in-class activities; and 3) complete lesson plans for one semester. Users are free to use Spunti 1 in whole or in part, and are free to adapt it to their needs. Spunti: Italiano elementare 2 and Spunti: Italiano intermedio are the companion texts for second-, third- and fourth-semester Italian, and are still under development.

(2 reviews)

Grammatical theory: From transformational grammar to constraint-based approaches

Contributor: Müller

Publisher: Language Science Press

License: CC BY

This book introduces formal grammar theories that play a role in current linguistic theorizing (Phrase Structure Grammar, Transformational Grammar/Government & Binding, Generalized Phrase Structure Grammar, Lexical Functional Grammar, Categorial Grammar, Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar, Construction Grammar, Tree Adjoining Grammar). The key assumptions are explained and it is shown how the respective theory treats arguments and adjuncts, the active/passive alternation, local reorderings, verb placement, and fronting of constituents over long distances. The analyses are explained with German as the object language.

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(0 reviews)

Introduction to Philosophy: Ethics

Contributors: Matthews and Hendricks

Publisher: Rebus Community

License: CC BY

We often make judgments about good and bad, right and wrong. Philosophical ethics is the critical examination of these and other concepts central to how we evaluate our own and each others’ behavior and choices.

(3 reviews)

Writing Unleashed: Content and Structure - 3.0

Contributors: Priebe, Marman, and Anderson

Publisher: North Dakota University System

License: CC BY-NC-SA

Welcome to Writing Unleashed, designed for use as a textbook in first-year college composition programs, written as an extremely brief guide for students, jam-packed with teachers’ voices, students’ voices, and engineered for fun.

(4 reviews)

Bad Ideas About Writing

Contributors: Ball and Loewe

Publisher: West Virginia University

License: CC BY

We intend this work to be less a bestiary of bad ideas about writing than an effort to name bad ideas and suggest better ones. Some of those bad ideas are quite old, such as the archetype of the inspired genius author, the five-paragraph essay, or the abuse of adjunct writing teachers. Others are much newer, such as computerized essay scoring or gamification. Some ideas, such as the supposed demise of literacy brought on by texting, are newer bad ideas but are really instances of older bad ideas about literacy always being in a cycle of decline. Yet the same core questions such as what is good writing, what makes a good writer, how should writing be assessed, and the like persist across contexts, technologies, and eras. The project has its genesis in frustration, but what emerges is hope: hope for leaving aside bad ideas and thinking about writing in more productive, inclusive, and useful ways.

(9 reviews)

Responsible Innovation: Ethics, Safety and Technology

Contributor: Kormelink

Publisher: TU Delft Open

License: CC BY-NC-SA

This textbook is based on the MOOC Responsible Innovation offered by the TU Delft. It provides a framework to reflect on the ethics and risks of new technologies. How can we make sure that innovations do justice to social and ethical values? How can we minimize (unknown)risks?

(2 reviews)

Tout un Monde: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Intermediate French

Contributor: Soueid

Publisher: Mavs Open Press

License: CC BY

This book is intended for use with intermediate level college French classes. Its multidisciplinary approach introduces students to topics and vocabulary associated with fields such as medicine, advertising, travel, business, agriculture, and relationships.

(5 reviews)