American Encounters: Art, History, and Cultural Identity

Reviewed by Bianca Rawlings, Adjunct, Tidewater Community College on 2/1/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Quite comprehensive! A good look at American interactions and historical context.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

This book seems very accurate. Perhaps more could be included from outside (international) perspectives to give a more nuanced understanding.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Definitely relevant, though again, more in terms of intersectionality would be preferable.

Clarity rating: 5

Easy to read and follow.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is quite consistent in its framework. The foundations are good.

Modularity rating: 5

This could certainly be split into assigned readings for groups.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Clear and organized. A good flow.

Interface rating: 5

Straight forward navigation.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Solid grammar and spelling.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

As per previous comments, more intersectionality.

Reviewed by Ellie Leonhardt, Art History Adjunct, Rogue Community College on 5/26/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This text covers Ancient times to contemporary times in American Art with inclusion of various perspectives such as post-nationalism, post-colonialism, and feminist theory in combination with a “visual studies” approach to art history in the United States. There are many aspects in which the text frames various topics in such a way that both the topic of the art and context of the America's controversial history are explored in synergy.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The material is accurate and fluent in its content. I appreciate the attention to the complex issues of history that can have more than one "truth". The facts and images are well supported and researched.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This text appears to have a full scope of academic perspectives to view American historical art which will continue to be important in the study of art and culture in America for the next generation of students. As such, it seems as to have substantial longevity the text will need to be updated with the new issues that artists have faced over the past few years. There is no doubt that the American art world has changed because of Covid and the impact will be important to document in the context of the “cultural traditions and boundaries” presented in this text.

Clarity rating: 5

The material in the text is very clear and straight forward. What helps with this is how the images are used within the content as well as all examples are defined within a context of other cultural elements. For the most part, the art is presented chronologically which helps the reader follow the progression of the cultural traditions. When there could be some confusion, like the way in which the definition of feminism changed from the 1970s to the 1980s, there are direct explanations in the text explaining how this type of cultural shift is represented by the artists and their concepts.

Consistency rating: 5

This text is consistent across each chapter and section. The way in which new rhetorical concepts are introduced are clearly indicated in bold. The general organization introduces a concept and then offers specific examples of artists that fall within the theoretical modalities described within the concept. The conclusions are consistent and helpful: At the end of each chapter these sections help to rephrase key terms from that section within the context of the whole book.

Modularity rating: 5

The modularity of this text seems positive in that each chapter could be used independently though the flow of the entire text is well integrated. This text covers 19 substantial chapters and, as such, I would imagine some instructors would need to edit out some chapters for schools that teach on a term schedule. Because there is significant substance on the cultural aspects of the art within the rhetoric, these chapters could also be used in courses as supplements beyond art history based classes.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

I appreciate the flow and the depth in which the cultural significance is illuminated. There is a nice balance of information between the culture, the art, the theory, and the artists. There is good analysis of how and why these aspects interacted with each other. The way the material is organized shows that this is a textbook that could be used for someone who wants to teach more than a list of names and dates in history.

Interface rating: 5

This book displays as a PDF download and I do not see any issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I do not see any errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The cultural relevance is the highlight of this text. It integrated indigenous primary source material, a variety of political and theoretical perspectives, images from folk arts and crafts, high art, installation art, and architecture. Although these genera can often be seen in a limited and factual ideation, this text adds the depth of a multicultural context, geography, and a global understanding to how artists in America evolved their values, conflicts, and struggles as represented by meaningful artifacts and images.

Comments

If I was teaching a course in American Art History I would use this textbook.