In Defense of Humanism: Value in the Arts and Letters is a response to the critique of traditional humanism, and particularly its cultural dimension, which has been at the heart of intellectual discourse for the past decade. In simple, clear language, Richard Etlin articulates the nature of aesthetic experience through analysis of works in a wide variety of media, including painting, sculpture, architecture, drawing, literature, and dance. Establishing categories for determining value in the arts and letters, Etlin also explores the operations of the creative process in a discussion of artistic genius. He reaffirms the transcendent moral and enduring qualities in great works of art. Etlin offers, moreover, a critique of the fundamental premises of the post-structuralist thinkers, including Jacques Derrida, Stanley Fish, Hayden White, Pierre Bourdieu, and Edward W. Said, whose work is placed within the context of modern intellectual history.

"Art, Culture, and Media Under the Third Reich explores the ways in which the Nazis used art and media to portray their country as the champion of "Kultur and civilization. Rather than focusing strictly on the role of the arts in state-supported propaganda, this volume contributes to Holocaust studies by revealing how multiple domains of cultural activity served to conceptually dehumanize Jews and other groups.
Contributors address nearly every facet of the arts and mass media under the Third Reich--efforts to define degenerate music and art; the promotion of race hatred through film and public assemblies; views of the racially ideal garden and landscape; race as portrayed in popular literature; the reception of art and culture abroad; the treatment of exiled artists; and issues of territory, conquest, and appeasement. Familiar subjects such as the Munich Accord, Nuremberg Party Rally Grounds, and "Lebensraum (Living Space) are considered from a new perspective. Anyone studying the history of Nazi Germany or the role of the arts in nationalist projects will benefit from this book.
Contributors:
Ruth Ben-Ghiat
David Culbert
Albrecht D cmling
Richard A. Etlin
Karen A. Fiss
Keith Holz
Kathleen James-Chakraborty
Paul B. Jaskot
Karen Koehler
Mary-Elizabeth O'Brien
Jonathan Petropoulos
Robert Jan van Pelt
Joachim Wolschke-Bulmahn and Gert Gr 6ning

Exploring the social and cultural hierarchies established in 18th-century France, this volume illustrates how the conceptual basis of the modern house and the physical layout of the modern city emerged from debates among theoretically innovative French architects of the 18th-century. Examining a broad range of topics from architecture and urbanism to gardening and funerary monuments, he shows how the work of these architects was informed by considerations of symbolic space. Richard Etlin asserts the 18th-century city was a place in which actual physical space was subjected to a complex mental layering of conceptual spaces. He focuses on the design theory of Boullee and Durand and charts their legacy through the architecture of Paul Philippe Cret, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Louis Kahn. He defines the distinctive features of neoclassicism and outlines the new grammar for classical architecture articulated by theorists and architects such as Laugier, Leroy, and Ledoux. After discussing the 18th-century "hotel", revolutionary space, and the transformation of the image of the cemetary, Etlin examines the space of absence as embodied in commemorative architecture from Boullee and Gilly to Cret, Wright, and Terragni. This book provides an accessible introduction to a century of architecture that transformed the classical forms of the Renaissance and Baroque periods into building types still familiar today.

The Cambridge Guide to the Architecture of Christianity offers a wide-ranging overview of one of the most important genres of Western architecture, from its origins in the Early Christian era to the present day. Including 103 essays, specially commissioned for these two volumes and written by an international team of scholars, this publication examines a range of themes and issues, including religious building types, siting, regional traditions, ornament, and structure. It also explores how patrons and architects responded to the spiritual needs and cult practices of Christianity as they developed and evolved over the centuries. This publication is richly illustrated with 588 halftones and 70 color plates. 856 additional images, nearly all in color, are available online and are keyed into the text. The most comprehensive and up-to date reference work on this topic, The Cambridge Guide to the Architecture of Christianity will serve as a primary reference resource for scholars, practitioners, and students.

This work explores the social and cultural hierarchies established in 18th-century France to illustrate how the conceptual basis of the modern house and the physical layout of the modern city emerged from debates among theoretically innovative French architects of the 18th-century. Examining a broad range of topics from architecture and urbanism to gardening and funerary monuments, the author shows how the work of these architects was informed by considerations of symbolic space. For Etlin, the 18th-century city was a place in which actual physical space was subjected to a complex mental layering of conceptual spaces. He focuses on the design theory of Boullee and Durand and charts their legacy through the architecture of Paul Philippe Cret, Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Kahn. He defines the distinctive features of neoclassicism and outlines the new grammar for classical architecture articulated by theorists and architects such as Laugier, Leroy and Ledoux. After discussing the 18th-century hotel, revolutionary space and the transformation of the image of the cemetery, Etlin examines the space of absence as embodied in commemorative architecture from Boullee and Gilly to Cret, Wright and Terragni. His book provides an accessible introduction to a century of architecture that transformed the classical forms of the Renaissance and Baroque periods into building types still familiar today.