An exploration of ways of looking in Renaissance Florence, where works of art were part of a complex process of social exchange Renaissance Florence, of endless fascination for the beauty of its art and architecture, is no less intriguing for its dynamic political, economic, and social life. In this book Patricia Lee Rubin crosses the boundaries of all these areas to arrive at an original and comprehensive view of the place of images in Florentine society. The author asks an array of questions: Why were works of art made? Who were the artists who made them, and who commissioned them? How did they look, and how were they looked at? She demonstrates that the answers to such questions illuminate the contexts in which works of art were created, and how they were valued and viewed. Rubin seeks out the meeting places of meaning in churches, in palaces, in piazzas--places of exchange where identities were taken on and transformed, often with the mediation of images. She concentrates on questions of vision and visuality, on "seeing and being seen." With a blend of exceptional illustrations; close analyses of sacred and secular paintings by artists including Fra Angelico, Fra Filippo Lippi, Filippino Lippi, and Botticelli; and wide-ranging bibliographic essays, the book shines new light on fifteenth-century Florence, a special place that made beauty one of its defining features.

Images and Identity examines how working with contemporary art in classrooms can inspire students to reflect on issues of personal and cultural identity. Highlighting the ways that digital media can be used in interdisciplinary curricula, this edited collection brings together ideas from art and citizenship teachers in the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Malta, Portugal and the UK on producing online curriculum materials.

The pervading theme of this book is the construction and allocation of identity, especially through images and imagery. The essays analyse how the dominant social discourses and imageries construct identity or assign subject positions in relation to the categories of race, nation, region, gender and language. The volume is designed to inform the study of those categories in cultural studies, sociology, anthropology, gender studies, literary studies, philosophy and history. Its coverage is geographically global, multidisciplinary, and theoretically eclectic, but also accessible. The authors include both established and rising scholars from historical, literary, media, gender and cultural studies. This innovative collection will appeal to all those who are interested in the mechanisms of constructing and evolving personal and group identities, in past and present.

Images of the Street captures the vitality, excitements and tensions of the street. Using examples from the U.K, India, Australia and North America the contributors draw on research in cultural geography, sociolgy, cultural studies and planning to explore the making and meaning of urban space. Among the themes examined are:1.the way streetscapes are shaped by interplay between politics, planning and local political economy 2.social differences of individuals experiences' of the street 3.how social identities are shaped and represented in fiction and film 4.the meaning and significance of streets as settings to play out social practices 5.how social life is regulated on the street, formerly by police and indirectly through architecture and urban design

Celebrating fifty years of Pakistani painting and sculpture, this is the definitive story of the introduction and unfolding of modern art in Pakistan.

The lives of Indigenous peoples have long been framed for the outside world by others' cinematic gaze. But during the past thirty years, North America's Indigenous image-makers, particularly in Canada, have used the changing technologies of film, video, television, and computer to present their peoples' histories, identities, and perspectives. This edited collection of essays, conversations, and interviews combines Indigenous and non-Indigenous voices as it sets changing representations of Indigenous people on screen against broader socio-cultural, ideological, and economic considerations.

Concepts of identity are complex and changing, and in this book Katherine Hoffman examines images of individuals and families from ancient Egypt to the presentmore than two thirds of the book covers the twentieth century. Through a comprehensive study of paintings, sculpture, photography, film, television, and other media, Hoffman provides eye-open

What do images of the body, which recent poets and filmmakers have given us, tell us about ourselves, about the way we think and about the culture in which we live? In his new book A Body of Vision, R. Bruce Elder situates contemporary poetic and cinematic body images in their cultural context. Elder examines how recent artists have tried to recognize and to convey primordial forms of experiences. He proposes the daring thesis that in their efforts to do so, artists have resorted to gnostic models of consciousness. He argues that the attempt to convey these primordial modes of awareness demands a different conception of artistic meaning from any of those that currently dominate contemporary critical discussion. By reworking theories and speech in highly original ways, Elder formulates this new conception. The works of Brakhage, Artaud, Schneeman, Cohen and others lie naked under Elder’s razor-sharp dissecting knife and he exposes the essence of their work, cutting deeply into the themes and theses from which the works are derived. His remarks on the gaps in contemporary critical practices will likely become the focus of much debate.

Bringing together leading scholars from Russia and outside experts on Russia, this book looks at the difference between the image Russia has of itself and the way it is viewed in the West. It discusses the historical, cultural and political foundations that these images are built upon, and goes on to analyse how contested these images are, and their impact on Russian identity. The book questions whether differing images explain fractiousness in Western-Russian relations in the new century, or whether distinct 'imaginary solitudes' offer a better platform from which to negotiate differences. Providing an innovative comparative study of contemporary images of the country and their impact, the book is a significant contribution to studies of globalisation and international relations.

Julia Hallam considers the 'image' of nursing and how it has been constructed, contributing to the debates surrounding gender and occupational identity.