Digital library
Textbooks, references and open learning resources.
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Oregon’s History: People of the Northwest in the Land of Eden
Athanasios Michaels; Kaitlin Hakanson · Open Oregon Educational Resources · 2020
This “open textbook” is a social and cultural history of the people of Oregon representing powerful figures from the dominant Euro-American culture, the marginalized and oppressed, and social and political reformers who shaped the historical legacy of the state. It is a story of the diverse array of immigrants who helped build the state and strengthen it. The title is a recollection of the racial fantasies that European-American settlers created in their expansionist vision of the West and the state of Oregon. Initially the Oregon Territory was built on intolerance and racial exclusivity, but eventually Oregon embraces its diversity, but not without struggle and heartache. Our journey through the past starts with an essential question, “Who are the people of Oregon?”
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Slavery to Liberation: The African American Experience
Joshua Farrington; Norman Powell; Gwendolyn Graham; Ogechi Anyanwu · Encompass Digital Archive · 2019
Slavery to Liberation: The African American Experience gives instructors, students, and general readers a comprehensive and up-to-date account of African Americans’ cultural and political history, economic development, artistic expressiveness, and religious and philosophical worldviews in a critical framework. It offers sound interdisciplinary analysis of selected historical and contemporary issues surrounding the origins and manifestations of White supremacy in the United States. By placing race at the center of the work, the book offers significant lessons for understanding the institutional marginalization of Blacks in contemporary America and their historical resistance and perseverance.
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American Environmental History
Dan Allosso · Minnesota Libraries Publishing Project · 2019
For too long the environment has been considered little more than a neutral background to history. This text surveys findings of the new field of Environmental History about how the environment of the Americas influenced the actions of people here and how people affected their environments, from prehistory to the present.
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Canadian History: Post-Confederation
John Belshaw · BCcampus · 2016
This textbook introduces aspects of the history of Canada since Confederation. “Canada” in this context includes Newfoundland and all the other parts that come to be aggregated into the Dominion after 1867. Much of this text follows thematic lines. Each chapter moves chronologically but with alternative narratives in mind. What Aboriginal accounts must we place in the foreground? Which structures (economic or social) determine the range of choices available to human agents of history? What environmental questions need to be raised to gain a more complete understanding of choices made in the past and their ramifications?
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Tutorials of Visual Graphic Communication Programs for Interior Design, Volume 2
Yongyeon Cho · Iowa State University · 2022
This book is for advanced-level architecture and interior design students who have in-depth knowledge and skills with computer-aided visualization software. The author developed a total of twenty-two chapters to teach practical graphic presentation techniques for architectural presentations. Readers will learn these techniques by following step-by-step tutorials. This book includes multiple exercises for the reader's practice. After completing the tutorials, readers will be able to apply these techniques to their design projects.
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Dress, Appearance, and Diversity in U.S. Society
Kelly Reddy-Best; Abbey Elder; Lesya Hassall · Iowa State University · 2020
This book introduces topics about identity, dress, and the body. Through the content, readers explore how individuals and communities use dress as a way to communicate (i.e. “negotiate” in fashion studies) their various identities. There is heightened attention to social justice, power, privilege, and oppression. That is, the content focuses on the experiences of historically marginalized communities and the ways they navigate dress and dressing their bodies in different contexts. In the first part of the book, readers are introduced to concepts and theories related to fashion, clothing, dress, and/or accessories. In the second part, readers examine the role that fashion, clothing, dress, and/or accessories play in identity development for individuals in marginalized communities in the United States.
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A Practical Approach to Understanding Music Theory
Charles Brooks · University of North Alabama · 2022
A Practical Approach to Understanding Music Theory is a textbook designed for the non-music performance major or music business/audio engineer who needs to professionally interface with musicians without needing to write or compose music. The material is designed around a spiral learning model in which a very simple straightforward concept is introduced, defined and explained. From this point and forward the book adds one element of music theory after another until a broad base of musical understanding and application is achieved. Even though the spiral learning model has a linear approach, the book is also laid out in a manner that any music student or hobbyist may treat it as a research manual to search out specific explanations of musical situations they encounter. This text is meant to be an all-inclusive explanation of how music is created, graphically distributed and performed for those who are not majoring in music theory, performance or education. It is aimed at those who are seeking a career in audio engineering, music business, artist representation, minoring in music, teaching lessons in a local community or someone who just wants to learn to play and understand music on a deeper level. The material is designed around a spiral learning model in which a very simple straightforward concept is introduced, defined and explained. From this point and forward the book adds one element of music theory after another until a broad base of musical understanding and application is achieved. Even though the spiral learning model has a linear approach, the book is also laid out in a manner that any music student or hobbyist may treat it as a research manual to search out specific explanations of musical situations they encounter. This text is meant to be an all-inclusive explanation of how music is created, graphically distributed and performed for those who are not majoring in music theory, performance or education. It is aimed at those who are seeking a career in aud
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Storytelling on Screen: An Online Playback Theatre Archive and Guidebook
Jordan Rosin; Heidi Vogel; Sammy Lebron · Virginia Tech Publishing · 2021
Playback Theatre is a form of community-centered storytelling theater where the audience tells stories, which are then reflected by a company of actors and musicians. Storytelling on Screen: An Online Playback Theatre Archive and Guidebook is an open education resource consisting of a collection of full-length recordings of online Playback Theatre performances, and a 55-page explanatory guidebook. The guidebook, featuring a foreword by Playback Theatre co-founder, Jo Salas, explains the adaptation to online performances and some of the key concepts, roles, and forms involved in online Playback Theatre. The resource as a whole is suitable for a wide range of theatre students in courses such as applied theatre, theatre for social justice, improvisation, theatre appreciation, or acting. The guidebook contains hyperlinks to specific sections of the archive where students can see a given form or concept in action, allowing for a comparison of how different companies approach a given form. If you are an artist, educator, or theatre-maker using this resource, please help us understand your use by filling out this form https://bit.ly/playback_interest
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Technical Theatre Practicum
Christopher Boltz · College of the Canyons · 2019
Welcome to the exciting world of technical theatre. Studying this topic can lead to many different careers in several different sectors of the economy. The general skills needed for any of the careers or sectors have many things in common. Workers need to be dead-line oriented, as most productions have firm timelines that cannot be altered. Critical thinking and analysis are much needed skills. Almost every project in the field is unique and technicians and designers alike must discover the best way of reaching a project’s goal. Creative problem solving is trait successful practitioners have in common. With every project being unique, there are no guaranteed solutions to the problems that are presented. Technicians draw on their vast experience of what worked in the past that can be adapted to be a solution to the current problems. Clear communication and collaboration round out the necessary skills. No technical theatre project is ever handled by one person on their own. Collaboration with many people is the norm, and successful collaboration requires clear written and verbal communication skills.
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Teaching Low Brass
Steven Maxwell · New Prairie Press · 2018
The purpose of this textbook is to provide resources about teaching low brass instruments to music educators and future music educators. The book was developed by the author as part of the open/alternative textbook initiative at Kansas State University. It Is the textbook used for the Kansas State University course Music 239-Low Brass Techniques and Materials. The textbook focuses on two areas: basic information including pedagogical material for teaching low brass students and low brass etudes. The information is divided into several categories including brass history, the overtone series, general intonation tendencies, embouchure, instruments and equipment, literature, maintenance, vibrato, and low brass in the marching band. Pedagogical material is interspersed throughout each of the chapters. Etudes are incorporated in the appendix of the textbook. These etudes are intended to be used in a laboratory setting with future music educators learning each low brass instrument for the first time. Instrument fingerings, slide positions, and simple warm-up material is also available in the appendix.
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Moving Pictures: An Introduction to Cinema
Russell Sharman · University of Arkansas · 2020
Textbook for 1000- level Communication course: Introduction to Films Studies
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Sight-Reading for Guitar
Chelsea Green · Rebus Community · 2020
Sight-Reading for Guitar: The Keep Going Method Book and Video Series teaches guitar players from all musical backgrounds to understand, read and play modern staff notation in real time. The Keep Going Method is designed to impart the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for sight-reading with efficiency, fun and encouragement. The skill of sight-reading is a difficult to develop, primarily because it is traditionally taught inefficiently. Further, students encounter high levels of emotional discomfort in the beginning stages of skill acquisition. The method in this book is designed to impart the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for sight-reading with efficiency, clarity and encouragement. All types of guitars apply: electric, steel-string and nylon-string. Each unit contains brief descriptions of musical symbols, play-along duet exercises and compositions, encouragement and methods for self-assessment. The series contains 20 units that start at the beginner level and progress to the intermediate/advanced level. At the completion of the series guitarists will be able to sight-read most rhythms, pitches and other notations relevant to guitar notation. The series also features 30 original duet compositions, of varying styles, created exclusively for this series!
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An Introduction to Technical Theatre
Tal Sanders · Pacific University Press · 2018
An Introduction to Technical Theatre draws on the author’s experience in both the theatre and the classroom over the last 30 years. Intended as a resource for both secondary and post-secondary theatre courses, this text provides a comprehensive overview of technical theatre, including terminology and general practices. Introduction to Technical Theatre’s accessible format is ideal for students at all levels, including those studying technical theatre as an elective part of their education. The text’s modular format is also intended to assist teachers approach the subject at their own pace and structure, a necessity for those who may regularly rearrange their syllabi around productions and space scheduling.
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No-Nonsense Filmmaking
Jessy Livingstone; Mischa Livingstone; Vanessa Newell · Loyola Marymount University · 2025
No-Nonsense Filmmaking is an OER textbook uniquely designed for student filmmakers who have a story to tell. It guides students through the key choices professionals make, while providing comprehensive technical information. From inception of ideas to shot design to modes of storytelling, this text demystifies complex concepts and makes film production accessible to all.
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Rhetorical Communities: Understanding Language, Power, and Communication Across Contexts
Leigh Meredith; Phil Choong; Melisa Garcia · Leigh Meredith, Phil Choong, and Melisa Garcia · 2025
Rhetorical Communities guides students in analyzing and engaging with the practices, values, and expectations that shape communication within different communities. Beginning with foundational concepts of rhetoric and discourse community theory, the text progresses through genre analysis, audience and context, composing processes, collaboration, and ethical considerations, while highlighting how identity and power influence discourse. Emphasizing real-world examples and community contexts, this book helps students understand and participate in rhetorical practices across academic, professional, and civic settings.
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Advanced Indonesian
Agustini; Juliana Wijaya; Rajiv Ranjan · Michigan State University · 2026
In response to the lack of advanced Indonesian instructional materials, our lessons aim to elevate learners’ language skills to an advanced-mid to advanced-high level, aligning with ACTFL proficiency guidelines. The lessons in this textbook address the dearth of advanced Indonesian language resources by delving into current topics and events related to gender, lifestyle, human rights, environment, economy, and language preservation. We utilize authentic materials sourced from online newspapers, editorials, blogs, vlogs, journals, and YouTube, ensuring that learners engage with real-world language contexts.
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Virgil, Aeneid 4, with Study Questions, Vocabulary, and Commentary
Ingo Gildenhard · Open Book Publishers · 2026
In Dido’s encounter with Aeneas, the Aeneid explores abiding themes of love and loyalty, fate and fortune, the justice of the gods, imperial ambitions and its victims, as well as cross-cultural encounters and the geopolitics of colonial settlement. As Aeneas’ most significant other, Dido also assumes a crucial role in Virgil’s epic aetiology of Roman history and the Augustan principate. She owns the dark plot of Aeneid 4, in which divinely engineered erotic obsession culminates in divinely orchestrated sex that leads to personal and political tragedy: the cave encounter in Carthage entails a world-historical curse that operates in counterpoint to Jupiter’s triumphal destiny. Poetry that has fascinated readers since antiquity is here presented in an innovative, student-friendly edition, with study questions, vocabulary, commentary and visual material designed to facilitate engagement with Virgil’s text. The companion volume Teaching Dido: Critical Perspectives on Aeneid 4 (OBP 2026), also edited by Ingo Gildenhard, brings together interpretative essays and select works of scholarship to further enhance readers’ appreciation of the psychological depth, literary artistry, and thematic complexity of Virgil’s Dido.
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Ahora Entendemos
Denise Hatcher · LibreTexts · 2026
Ahora Entendemos is an intermediate level Spanish textbook that consists of ten chapters. Each chapter begins with a useful vocabulary list and a series of exercises to practice the words and idiomatic expressions. Then, three grammar points are explained with ample practice exercises after each explanation. Each chapter concludes with sections entitled Para Expresarte, Música, Cultura, and Otro Paso to provide extra opportunities and activities to expand learning. Chapter ten includes useful and cumulative explanations and activities that review and practice the indicative, the imperative, and the subjunctive as well as thirteen different verb tenses included in this publication. Ahora Entendemos was written for individuals with some background in Spanish who want to develop intermediate language skills. Instructors, learners, and individuals can use it alone, in a classroom, or with others outside of a formal educational setting. The author of Ahora Entendemos teaches college, but the text could be used in high school or other programs as well.
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Musics: Diversity, Difference, and Synergies
Ted Conner · Muhlenberg College · 2026
Musics: Diversity, Difference, and Synergies is a radical re-imagining of how music can be studied. Non-Western, vernacular, and Western art music are valued equally and studied at the same level of depth. Of equal importance is the emphasis placed on hands-on doing. Scales common to Jazz and Western art music are learned by playing them on the piano. Rhythmic skills are embodied on the darbuka, a Middle Eastern goblet drum, through the study of Turkish rhythmic cycles called usuller. Pitch recognition is developed by singing paltas (pitch patterns) for Indian ragas and melodic studies for Turkish makamlar using fixed-do solmization systems. Training in moveable-do solfege for Western art music begins with conducting as a foundation. This is followed by the addition of takadimi syllables for rhythm, solfege syllables aligned with scale degrees, and, finally, pitch. Exploring improvisational practices from diverse cultures and genres is also prioritized. The study of Turkish usuller begins with basic forms that are then embellished through a series of ornamented variations that serve as models for developing improvisational skills. The preparatory exercises for ragas and tetrachord and pentachord studies for makamlar provide the foundation for improvisational techniques explored in these genres. Improvising over harmonic progressions common in Jazz is the first practical application of playing major scales on the piano. This first step is followed by the development of more focused improvisational approaches that parallel the growth of knowledge and skill sets. Another important principle in Musics is applying the pedagogical approaches used by practitioners of the musics in the cultures in which they are situated. Pedagogies are often intertwined with the epistemological and methodological frames that define the role and function of music within a culture. Developing an understanding of why and how music is practiced speaks toward an integrative model of engaging wi
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Westonia: Selected Works of Elizabeth Jane Weston
Bret Mulligan; Mary Ball; Felix Bieneman; Hannah Cohen · Pixelia Publishing · 2025
Elizabeth Jane Weston (1581-1612) was born in England, but spent most of her life in the intellectual hub of early-modern Europe: the imperial court of Rudolph II in Prague. She is remarkable for her determination to work professionally as a poet and to publish her writings, a path not generally open to women of the time. Her numerous Latin poems and letters were widely read and admired, both within the court and across the informal “republic of letters” that stretched across Europe. Although she became one of the most successful women poets in the history of Latin, her works have long been inaccessible to students in the absence of editions meant for the classroom. This volume presents, for the first time, a collection of Weston’s works in the original Latin alongside aids to her vocabulary and grammar.