Powered by a book like {foo}
Recommendations based on The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility, and Other Writings on Mediaby Walter Benjamin
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
Illuminations: Essays and Reflections
by Walter Benjamin
Collection of philosophical and literary essays on a range of topics.
Essays and reflections from one of the twentieth century’s most original cultural critics, with an introduction by Hannah Arendt . Walter Benjamin was an icon of criticism, renowned for his insight ... (Barnes & Noble)
Ways of Seeing
by John Berger
A critical analysis of visual culture and how it shapes our perception of the world. It challenges traditional ways of seeing and encourages a new perspective.
John Berger’s Classic Text on Art John Berger's Ways of Seeing is one of the most stimulating and the most influential books on art in any language. First published in 1972, it was based on the BBC ... (Goodreads)
Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography
by Roland Barthes
An exploration of the nature of photography and its power to evoke emotion.
A graceful, contemplative volume, Camera Lucida was first published in 1979. Commenting on artists such as Avedon, Clifford, Mapplethorpe, and Nadar, Roland Barthes presents photography as being ... (Goodreads)
The Society of the Spectacle
by Guy Debord
A critical analysis of the commodification of society and the power of the media.
Few works of political and cultural theory have been as enduringly provocative as Guy Debord's The Society of the Spectacle. From its publication amid the social upheavals of the 1960s up to the ... (Goodreads)
The Communist Manifesto
by Karl Marx
A treatise on the fundamental principles of communism, and its role in society.
A rousing call to arms whose influence is still felt today Originally published on the eve of the 1848 European revolutions, The Communist Manifesto is a condensed and incisive account of the ... (Goodreads)
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
by Friedrich Nietzsche
A philosophical treatise exploring morality, religion, and the meaning of life.
Mythologies
by Roland Barthes
A collection of essays that deconstructs the myths of modern society, revealing their hidden meanings and cultural significance.
"No denunciation without its proper instrument of close analysis," Roland Barthes wrote in his preface to Mythologies . There is no more proper instrument of analysis of our contemporary myths than ... (Goodreads)
The Story of Art
by E.H. Gombrich
Comprehensive overview of art history, from prehistoric to modern times.
The Story of Art, one of the most famous and popular books on art ever written, has been a world bestseller for over four decades. Attracted by the simplicity and clarity of his writing, readers of ... (Goodreads)
The History of Sexuality, Volume 1: An Introduction
by Michel Foucault
Examination of the power dynamics and social constructions of sexual behavior.
Michel Foucault offers an iconoclastic exploration of why we feel compelled to continually analyze and discuss sex, and of the social and mental mechanisms of power that cause us to direct the ... (Goodreads)
Art in Theory, 1900–2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas
by Charles Harrison
A comprehensive collection of writings on art theory and criticism from the 20th century, exploring the evolution of artistic ideas and movements.
This popular anthology of twentieth-century art theoretical texts has now been expanded to take account of new research, and to include significant contributions to art theory from the 1990s. New ... (Goodreads)
The Birth of Tragedy
by Friedrich Nietzsche
A philosophical exploration of the nature of tragedy, and its role in the development of culture & civilization.
A compelling argument for the necessity for art in life, Nietzsche's first book is fuelled by his enthusiasms for Greek tragedy, for the philosophy of Schopenhauer and for the music of Wagner, to ... (Goodreads)
The Medium is the Massage
by Marshall McLuhan
Examining how media shapes and influences society.
The Medium is the Massage is Marshall McLuhan's most condensed, and perhaps most effective, presentation of his ideas. Using a layout style that was later copied by Wired , McLuhan and ... (Goodreads)
Philosophical Investigations
by Ludwig Wittgenstein
Wittgenstein's exploration of language and meaning, challenging traditional philosophical concepts and proposing new ways of understanding language games.
Philosophical Investigations, ( German : Philosophische Untersuchungen ) is a work by the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein . The book was published posthumously in 1953. Wittgenstein discusses ... (Wikipedia)
Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
by Ludwig Wittgenstein
A philosophical treatise on language, logic, and the limits of human understanding.
Perhaps the most important work of philosophy written in the twentieth century, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus was the only philosophical work that Ludwig Wittgenstein published during his life. ... (Goodreads)
Black Skin, White Masks
by Frantz Fanon
Examining the psychological and social effects of colonialism on people of color.
A major influence on civil rights, anti-colonial, and black consciousness movements around the world, Black Skin, White Masks is the unsurpassed study of the black psyche in a white world. Hailed for ... (Goodreads)
Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?
by Mark Fisher
Critique of late capitalism, exploring the oppressive power of neoliberalism.
After 1989, capitalism has presented itself as the only realistic political-economic system. What effects has this “capitalist realism” had on work, culture, education and mental health? Is it ... (Goodreads)
The Prince
by Niccolò Machiavelli
A timeless political treatise on the art of acquiring and maintaining power.
Machiavelli needs to be looked at as he really was. Hence: Can Machiavelli, who makes the following observations, be Machiavellian as we understand the disparaging term? 1. So it is that to know the ... (Goodreads)
The Wretched of the Earth
by Frantz Fanon
A political analysis of colonialism and its effects on the global underclass.
A distinguished psychiatrist from Martinique who took part in the Algerian Nationalist Movement, Frantz Fanon was one of the most important theorists of revolutionary struggle, colonialism, and ... (Goodreads)
On the Genealogy of Morals / Ecce Homo
by Friedrich Nietzsche
Philosophical examination of power, morality, and the history of human values.
The Genealogy of Morals consists of three essays exploring morality and its origins where Nietzsche makes ample use of his training as a philologist. These works contain Nietzsche's most thorough and ... (Goodreads)
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
by Joan Didion
Collection of essays exploring the cultural landscape of 1960s America.
The first nonfiction work by one of the most distinctive prose stylists of our era, Joan Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem remains, decades after its first publication, the essential portrait of ... (Goodreads)
Poetics
by Aristotle
A philosophical treatise on the nature of tragedy and its effects on audiences.
‘The plot is the source and the soul of tragedy’ In his near-contemporary account of Greek tragedy, Aristotle examines the dramatic elements of plot, character, language and spectacle that combine to ... (Goodreads)
Phaedo
by Plato
Philosophical dialogue on the nature of death, the immortality of the soul, and the afterlife.
The Phaedo is acknowledged to be one of Plato's masterpieces, showing him both as a philosopher and as a dramatist at the height of his powers. For its moving account of the execution of Socrates, ... (Goodreads)
Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason
by Michel Foucault
Examination of the changing attitudes towards mental illness over time and the implications of social control.
Librarian note: an alternate cover for this edition can be found, here,. Michel Foucault examines the archeology of madness in the West from 1500 to 1800 – from the late Middle Ages, when insanity ... (Goodreads)
Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison
by Michel Foucault
Examines the emergence of the modern prison system and its effects on society.
Librarian note: an alternate cover for this edition can be found, here,. Barely two hundred and fifty years ago a man condemned of attempting to assassinate the King of France was drawn and quartered ... (Goodreads)
On Ugliness
by Umberto Eco
A philosophical exploration of the concept of ugliness in art, culture, and society, challenging our perceptions and prejudices.
In the mold of his acclaimed "History of Beauty," renowned cultural critic Umberto Eco's "On Ugliness" is an exploration of the monstrous and the repellant in visual culture and the arts. What is the ... (Goodreads)
History of Beauty
by Umberto Eco
An exploration of the concept of beauty throughout time, from antiquity to the present day.
Umberto Eco’s groundbreaking and much-acclaimed first illustrated book has been a critical success since its first publication in 2004. What is beauty? Umberto Eco, among Italy’s finest and most ... (Goodreads)
The Republic
by Plato
A philosophical discourse on justice, examining morality, politics, and virtue.
Presented in the form of a dialogue between Socrates and three different interlocutors, this classic text is an enquiry into the notion of a perfect community and the ideal individual within it. ... (Goodreads)
The Complete Maus
by Art Spiegelman
A graphic novel depicting a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust and his son's journey to understand the past.
On the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of its first publication, here is the definitive edition of the book acclaimed as “the most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the ... (Goodreads)
Meditations
by Marcus Aurelius
Reflections on Stoic philosophy, exploring the nature of existence and how to live life.
Written in Greek by the only Roman emperor who was also a philosopher, without any intention of publication, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius offer a remarkable series of challenging spiritual ... (Goodreads)
Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy
by René Descartes
Philosophical treatise on the nature of knowledge and reality, examining the limits of human understanding.
La figura de Descartes como filósofo no ha sido objeto de unánime interpretación. Sobre todo en la actualidad se juzga y pondera su obra. no menos que su personalidad, de manera diferente. Para ... (Goodreads)
