Featured Resources
- How Do You Look? “How Do You Look?” is an initiative to promote visual literacy, sponsored by the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University in cooperation with Duke Libraries. Funds for the project were generously provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Using Visual Evidence by
"The scope of this collection is impressively broad, offering international, albeit North American and Western European, perspectives on a diverse range of visual evidence useful for scholars in a number of fields, from history to media studies and social sciences." Erin Bell, University of Lincoln,UK "...two media historians-drawing upon years of detailed research-have compiled a definitive anthology. Clearly, Using Visual Evidence presents a unique interpretation of historical analysis where thirteen writers, under the editorship of Richard Howells and Robert W. Matson, offer strong ideas about a subject that is often overlooked...With numerous illustrations, meticulous case studies, and selective photographs, Using Visual Evidence - a welcome breath of fresh air - is a wonderful addition to media studies." Film and History What do we mean by 'visual evidence'? How should we interpret visual texts, and what can they tell us? Why is 'visual literacy' so important and what benefits does it offer? Visual evidence encompasses a diverse range of media, from painting, cartoons and photography, to film, television and documentary. The central argument of this book is that visual evidence is a key to understanding both history and the present day and should not be relegated to a supporting role as merely illustrating the written word. The book shows students, scholars and researchers how to read the visual media to elicit meaning. As primary sources, visual texts can be studied not only for what is directly depicted in the painting or film but also for what it tells us about the people, cultures and societies that made them. Each chapter features fascinating case studies and examples which situate theory in real life. A major appeal of the book is the wealth of illustrations and photographs of visual texts which are included throughout. The authors make detailed reference to these examples to illustrate the theory surrounding visual evidence. An intriguing case study of an unknown girl's photo album is just one of many examples offered, showing how we can analyze and learn from the visual text. This comprehensive and insightful edited collection brings together international media and cultural theorists, historians and art historians to demonstrate the value of visual evidence not only to media and cultural studies, but also to history, the general humanities and the social sciences.
Location: OnlinePublication Date: 2009
Find Films
- Ethnographic Video Online, Volume I-II: Foundational Films This link opens in a new window Contains classic and contemporary ethnographies, documentaries and shorts from every continent, providing teachers visual support to introduce and contextualize hundreds of cultural groups and practices around the world.
- Academic Video Online This link opens in a new window Academic Video Online delivers more than 67,000 titles spanning a range of subject areas including anthropology, business, counseling, film, health, history, music, and more. It includes documentaries, films, demonstrations, and other content types.
- Kanopy This link opens in a new window Kanopy is a provider of documentaries, training films, and theatrical releases available as streaming video. Clips from the videos can be embedded in presentations or shown in class. Films in the Boston University Libraries catalog are licensed to Boston University for educational and research use only, for BU students, faculty, and staff.
Image Collections
- ARTstor This link opens in a new window ARTstor is a database of images from museums, artists, libraries, colleges and universities, scholars, private collections, and photo archives available for teaching, education, and scholarship, with all images cleared for educational use.
- Associated Press Images Collection This link opens in a new window Associated Press Images Collection is a searchable collection of recent and historical photos from the Associated Press, plus AP graphics, articles, and brief sound clips.
- New York Public Library Digital Library Collections Provides thousands of digital images from the NYPL collections including historical maps, illuminated manuscripts, and prints and photographs. It contains texts and images from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
- Smithsonian Institution Collections Includes millions of records, including images, of resources in the Smithsonian collections.
