Key words Flashcards
Pictograph
A graphic sign or symbol that represents an idea or a concept
Often conveys a pictorial likeness to the physical object it signifies
Is the earliest known form of writing with examples in Egypt and Mesopotamia from before 3000 BCE
Cuneiform
Wedge shaped characters evolved from pictographs into abstract/simplified representations.
Written on clay tablets with a blunt reed
Is one of the earliest forms of writing which emerged in Sumer around the 34th century BCE
Rhetorical triangle
A graphic representation of a rhetorical situation
Ethos(role of the writer in shaping the argument), logo(the text or form of discourse), pathos(the role of the audience)
Author-subject-audience relationship
Understanding rhetorical situations help us better communicate and evaluate all situations in which meaning is being made.
Myth
Traditional story dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors and heroes
Serves to explain the natural world and or the customs of a social group (e.g creational myths)
Fiction-half truth which supports a broader belief system
Popular story that has become associated with a a person, institution, or occurrence
-illustrates a cultural ideal
Mythology
A collection of myths or stories belonging to a particular religious or cultural tradition
- associated with a specific group of people.
It’s a vital feature of every culture
Memorial
Object that serves as a focus for memory or reminder, often connected to grief or remembrance.
Brings an audience together around shared beliefs, memories or ideals
Popular forms of memorials: Landmark objects(sculptures, fountains,statues), gravestones etc.
Can be conceived as an action performance or tribute event. Tells a story or a narrative.
Hieroglyphics
Early form of writing which originated in 28th century BCE in Egypt.
3 distinct forms of hieroglyphics: as image of what it represents ( logogram), as a concept related to what it represents, and or sound of word it represents ( phonogram)
Can be read multiple ways
L to R, R to L, up to down etc.
Depends on the clues given
Only accessible to higher class.
Narrative
Any report of connected events presented in a sequence; a story
It is often passed down from generation to generation and is used to guide the reader on proper behaviour, formation of communal identity, cultural history and values
Found in all forms of human creativity, art and culture.
A part of cultural traditions which leads to an understanding of a shared identity.
Afterlife
Concept of a realm where the essential part of an identity’s consciousness continues to exist after the death of the body.
Spirit, soul, KA.
Belief found in most cultures.
Came from religious beliefs and myths.
Devine judgement is often involved in determining access to the afterlife.
It frames the behaviour of the living/ a behavioural model
A form of political and societal organization
Representation
Is a sign (visual or textual) that stands in for something else.
Recording in which sensory information about a physical object is described through a particular medium.
Is not always realistic or intended to resemble the object it represents.
Always grounded in a particular historical context
Utilizes aesthetic, social and cultural conventions that change over time.
Visual Culture
A field of study that closely examined the images of a particular society and how they circulate.
Considers all kinds of images and how they are seen by the public
Acknowledges that all images are a part of what constructs our identity.
Visual Literacy
Is the ability to read and understand visual forms of communication.
Maps, ads,maps etc.
Aesthetics
Is a set of principals that is concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty. Esp. In art.
Study of the nature of beauty
Philosophy: study promoting critical reflections on art, culture and nature
Considers all sensorial or emotional values, sometimes known as. Judgements of taste.
Preserves/allows a space for art free of any moral, ideological or political purpose ( art for art’s sake)
Humanism
A philosophical/ethical opinion
-emphasizing the value of human beings, putting preference on critical thinking over an established doctrine or faith.
Focused on evidence(rational)
Western idea which considers human achievement to be the measure of all things
Affirms notion of freedom and progress
Democracy
Government by people of the state.
- typically via elected representatives
- emphasis on people’s rights
- equality to all citizens
- based on active participation by people
Origin: Greece 5th century
- only for elite men
Critics argue that ideas of democracy are illusory concepts.
