Digital library
Textbooks, references and open learning resources.
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American Encounters: Art, History, and Cultural Identity
Angela Miller; Janet Berlo; Bryan Wolf; Jennifer Roberts · Washington University Libraries · 2018
American Encounters provides a narrative of the history of American art that focuses on historical encounters among diverse cultures, upon broad structural transformations such as the rise of the middle classes and the emergence of consumer and mass culture, and on the fluid conversations between "high" art and vernacular expressions. The text emphasizes the intersections among cultures and populations, as well as the exchanges, borrowings, and appropriations that have enriched and vitalized our collective cultural heritage.
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Bioethics: A Coursebook
Daan Kenis; Mayli Mertens; Franlu Vulliermet; Varsha Paleri · Open Book Publishers · 2025
This coursebook offers an expansive exploration of bioethics, an interdisciplinary field examining ethical, social, and legal dilemmas in medicine, life sciences, and beyond. It challenges conventional boundaries, embracing Van Rensselaer Potter’s vision of bioethics as a global, holistic ethics of life—integrating human health, environmental considerations, and transdisciplinary insights. Through engaging discussions, thought experiments, and case studies, the book empowers students to critically reflect on ethical questions without dictating rigid answers. Topics range from the historical roots of ethical thought to cutting-edge debates in molecular biology, such as epigenetics and exposomics, demonstrating how interconnected human, animal, and environmental health truly are. Central themes include the limits of scientific knowledge, the biases shaping research, and the evolving interplay between moral philosophy and empirical science. Students will encounter key philosophical frameworks—ontology, epistemology, and ethics—woven into practical bioethical applications. Feminist philosophy, experimental bioethics, and embedded ethics enrich this perspective, urging readers to question assumptions, embrace diverse viewpoints, and connect ethical principles with real-world science. Targeted at students in philosophy, biology, biomedical sciences, and bioengineering, this book is a toolkit for future thinkers, fostering a nuanced understanding of how ethical science advances humanity in a complex, ever-changing world.
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Making Public Histories: Australian History Beyond the University
Nikita Vanderbyl; Kat Ellinghaus; Clare O'Hanlon · Council of Australian University Librarians · 2023
This book is created for, and ultimately with, students in Making History HIS3MHI. It is used heavily in this capstone history subject to harness the principles and power of open education. This is a book and subject that asks broadly what it means to ‘make history’ – in particular, what history means beyond schools and universities. We ask, what are the different forms and functions of historical knowledge in the modern and contemporary world? What does history mean in the public sphere, in parks, on webpages, in museums, and in people’s homes? What happens when historians operate in the public sphere? How is the past utilised by politicians? How does it bind us (or not) as a nation? How is it used to inform debates about the future both inside and outside universities, in schools, and in the mainstream community? How is history presented in commemorations, films, heritage sites, historical fiction, memorials, museums, re-enactments, and tours? What are the ethical and moral obligations historians have as ‘gatekeepers’ of the past?
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Foundations of Exercise Science
Laura Ellingson-Sayen; Jennifer Taylor-Winney · Open Oregon Educational Resources · 2025
Foundations of Exercise Science is designed to provide a foundation for students and future professionals interested in the study of human movement, health, and performance. Through its interdisciplinary approach, this book explores the principles, practices, and societal impacts of exercise science, including an overview of its evolution and applications.
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Just YA
Sarah Donovan · Oklahoma State University · 2024
This open-access anthology features short texts that can be read in a single class period and are designed to spark deep conversations. Organized around themes of being, love, land, world, and futures, these poems, essays, and flash fiction offer inclusive and affirming perspectives to align with junior high and high school English language arts (ELA) curriculum. With contributions from acclaimed young adult authors, flash fiction writers, and teacher-poets, Just YA provides educators with contemporary texts that resonate with and inspire today’s students to write their own stories. The overall work, JustYA, is licensed CC BY. Each of the chapters, however, are licensed CC-BY-NC-ND. This means you may re-use and share portions of the book, but the authors request that individual pieces be left intact as originally written when used in subsequent works.
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Español down under: Spanish for Australia and New Zealand
Ramón López Castellano; Israel Holas; Fanny Rios Rodriguez · Deakin University · 2023
This book focuses on a hands-on, student-centric approach to learning Spanish. Designed for the Australian and New Zealand environment for use at Deakin University, currently available is foundation level content, suitable for a first introduction to Spanish speaking. The resource is still in development with additional content progressing to more advanced skill levels currently under development.
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Ancient Greek II: A 21st-Century Approach
Philip Peek · Open Book Publishers · 2025
In this elementary textbook, Philip S. Peek draws on his twenty-five years of teaching experience to present the ancient Greek language in an imaginative and accessible way that promotes creativity, deep learning, and diversity. The course is built on three pillars: memory, analysis, and logic. Readers memorize the top 550 most frequently occurring ancient Greek words, the essential word endings, the eight parts of speech, and the grammatical concepts they will most frequently encounter when reading authentic ancient texts. Analysis and logic exercises enable the identification of clitics and full words as well as the translation and parsing of genuine ancient Greek sentences, with compelling reading selections in English and in Greek offering starting points for contemplation, debate, and reflection. A series of thirty entries by James F. Patterson, using a simplified morphophonemic approach to understanding language improve readers’ understanding of word formation, their vocabulary, and their ability to read and understand Ancient Greek. This combination of memory-based learning and concept- and skill-based learning gradually builds the confidence of the reader, teaching them how to learn by guiding them from a familiarity with the basics to proficiency in reading this beautiful language. Ancient Greek II: A 21st-Century Approach is written for high-school and university students, but is an instructive and rewarding text for anyone who wishes to learn ancient Greek.
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Learning Digital Photography
Eric Demattos · North Idaho College · 2024
This textbook is designed to guide you through the essential skills and techniques needed to become a proficient photographer. Over the course of this book, you will learn how to: Understand Your Camera: Get to know the functions and features of your camera, from basic DSLR models to advanced DSLRs and mirrorless systems. Control Exposure: Learn how to use aperture, shutter speed, and ISO to achieve the perfect exposure in any lighting condition. Harness Light: Explore the different qualities of natural and artificial light, and how to manipulate them to enhance your photographs. Master Composition: Discover the rules and guidelines that can help you create visually compelling images, including the rule of thirds, leading lines, and symmetry. Color Theory: Understand some of the basic color relationships and how to use them effectively in your images. Thinking Creatively: Exercise the creative side of your brain to see the world in a new way and develop creative ways to make your vision into pictures. Develop Your Style: Find your unique photographic voice by experimenting with different genres, from landscape and portrait photography to macro and street photography.
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Vocal Techniques for the Instrumentalist
Amy Rosine · New Prairie Press · 2021
Vocal Techniques, the course title used at many institutions, is essentially a voice class for instrumentalists, and is often a required course for instrumental music education majors seeking all-level certification. Students take at least one Vocal Techniques course to learn proper singing technique along with basic pedagogy. Some courses include teaching techniques as they apply to adolescent singers. The focus of the course is the development of the individual singing voice. This includes breathing, tone production, articulation, musicality and textual expression and understanding. Students also develop confidence in front of groups, improve their general vocal quality, and learn that a healthy voice serves them well in general and performance classrooms. The purpose of this text is to teach instrumental music education students about vocal production as it applies to solo singing. Beginning with a foundational understanding of breathing, singers will learn about the vocal instrument (anatomy), how to create clear, pleasant, tone (phonation and resonance), pronounce words clearly (articulation and diction) and the similarities and differences of singing technique when compared to that of their major instrument. This is the first textbook to explore teaching voice as it directly pertains to playing an instrument.
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Noteworthy: Reading Strategies in Practice
Rebecca Campbell · University of Arizona Global Campus · 2025
Noteworthy: Reading Strategies in Practice introduces students to skills and strategies for college reading. This reader-style textbook contains excerpts from several texts that serve as both explorations of reading strategies and opportunities for students to practice using those strategies. Original chapter features, including introductions and Tip! boxes, present new topics and guide students as they engage with each reading.
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The Art of Music: Music Appreciation with an Equity Lens
Amy McGlothlin; Jennifer Bill · ROTEL · 2024
The Art of Music: Music Appreciation with an Equity Lens is a music appreciation textbook that features musical examples and photographs that represent the demographics of our students today. Special attention has been paid in choosing to represent women and minorities. World Music photographs and videos represent the music's areas of origin.
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Introduction to Philosophy
Sondra Peron · ROTEL · 2025
This Introduction to Philosophy: An Anthology is a collection of essential readings from a wide variety of contemporary writers and philosophers designed to help students unfamiliar with philosophy understand that they know more than they think. This OER asks students to think about how they think and how they know what they know. Students will start by challenging assumptions and flexing those critical thinking skills we all have—not just in an abstract way but in a practical, everyday way. Students will explore the branches of philosophy, including metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and aesthetics.
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A Guide to Composition
Sandra Leonard · The Pennsylvania Alliance for Design of Open Textbooks (PA-ADOPT) · 2025
A Guide to Composition (2025) is an introduction to college writing and research. The text begins by defining basic principles of rhetoric and composition using popular texts such as advertisements, speeches, and news media. This textbook then moves to the specific genres of narrative and argument. Elements of the writing process are emphasized throughout the text in addressing writing center use, idea generation, library use, peer review, and ethical attribution including some discussion of A.I. Each chapter is written by current or former Kutztown University faculty and students, making it particularly well-suited to Kutztown University students; however, chapters two through eight are particularly inviting to wider audiences. Each chapter contains a number of writing process activities that may be useful as classroom activities or homework assignments.
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Semillas: Elementary Spanish I
Gabriela Olivares; eden jones; Rachel Klevar; Giovanni Zimotti · University of Iowa · 2024
Semillas: Elementary Spanish I is a comprehensive introductory Spanish open-access textbook with reading, listening, speaking, and writing practice. This Open Educational Resource (OER) aims to help students begin learning Spanish in a comprehensive manner. This textbook was created in Pressbooks, a versatile platform that allows us to integrate interactive activities (h5p) and present authentic material such as video interviews with Spanish speakers and other resources. Grammar is not presented just as a standalone topic, but rather is seamlessly integrated into all parts of this book. To ensure that our textbook is diverse and inclusive we have built a team of writers who cross gender, age, and nationality. We have consulted with people whose voices represent diverse demographic segments of the Spanish-speaking world to include a plurality of pronunciations and appearances. We have elected to use the feminine as the base form in our vocabulary lists and have introduced students to non-binary endings. This textbook underwent a rigorous review process that included professionals from more than ten higher education organizations in the United States.
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Navigating the Arts
Lucia Colombari; Catherine Juliano-Lykins · SHAREOK · 2024
Navigating the Arts delves into the visual elements and principles of design throughout art history and is tailored for classroom use. It aims to deepen students’ understanding of these concepts and their application across different artistic forms, fostering critical thinking and visual literacy. The accessible language, logical structure, clear objectives, and wealth of examples and images make this journal an ideal tool for everyone interested in developing class discussions on how to understand and interpret images.
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Beyond Cook: Explorers of Australia and the Pacific
Claire Brennan · James Cook University · 2022
When Europeans entered the Pacific they entered a place they thought they knew, and a place that was already peopled. European explorer accounts of Australia and the Pacific are fascinating in what they reveal about the people and places explorers encountered, and about European expectations of what they would find. This book is a guide to European exploration of Australia and the Pacific; to those accounts of contact and how to interpret them in the light of European preconceptions and misunderstanding; and to the actions taken by the people descended from the regions' original explorers.
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Huma 207: Exploring the Arts and Culture of the World
Karen Brown; Michal Yadlin · College of Western Idaho · 2024
Welcome to Humanities 207. This course is designed to introduce you to a broad range of the Humanities (encompassing History and Geography, Art and Architecture, Religion, Literature and the Performing Arts. This course meets CWI’s requirements for General Education’s GEM 5 (Humanistic and Artistic Ways of Knowing) and it meets the Research and Writing requirement for the General Studies Program. Additionally it can transfer to Boise State University’s degree program in Humanities and Cultural Studies as part of the University Foundations prerequisites.
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First-Year Arabic
Ragy Mikhaeel · Northwestern University Libraries · 2024
First-Year Arabic focuses on Egyptian Colloquial Arabic, the most widespread spoken Arabic variety which is perceived as the lingua franca in the Arab world. The material of the book covers about 15-16 weeks of study for classes meeting twice a week (80 minutes/session). This material can be modified according to the teacher’s plan and speed. Students with only one introductory course of Arabic can use the book for self education. The learner can tell easily from the introductory chapter, the quality of the grammatical notes, verb conjugations and exercises spread all over the book that the book is written for both regular language class purpose at the university level and for self education. The book has recordings that are essential for learners.
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Music Composition & Theory
Justin Rubin · University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing · 2024
A Step-by-Step Method for student composers to write in a variety of styles, genres, and forms. Driven by simple model examples and accompanied by audio samples, it is intended to develop individual creativity and confidence in writing and, in so doing, explore the student’s inherent expressive talents. Each chapter provides reference examples from the literature for the student to discover works by master composers.
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Polyphony: Reader and Explorations for First-Year Writing
Jennie Snow; Elise Takehana; Diego Ubiera · ROTEL · 2024
Polyphony is a functional, creative, and radical resource for facilitating critical conversations about multilingualism, the politics of language, and linguistic justice in the first-year writing classroom. Texts and activities explore diverse perspectives on themes like silencing/voicing, language extinction and reclamation, (in)visibility, translation, agency, and validation, among others. Designed for use by both instructors and students, this book is meant to be used in a variety of combinations and highlights multiple modes of writing, including personal narrative, textual analysis, argumentation, reflection, and research. Embracing a “polyphonic” approach to first-year writing, this book presents connections between texts, authors, and ideas that actively engage students and instructors in critical conversations about language, education, and the institutionalization of both.