Research Guides: Affordable Learning @ Savannah State University: An initiative to promote student success by providing affordable alternatives to textbooks : Liberal Arts

Open Textbooks - ART & ART HISTORY

Art History by Tom Westland
Publication Date: 2008
A wiki book that provides a survey of art history from Prehistoric Art to The 20th Century Art.
Greek Art from Prehistoric to Classical by Michael Norris, et al. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Publication Date: 2011
Included are a brief history of Athens from the sixth to the fourth century B.C.; a look at key aspects of fifth-century Greek life (including myths and religion, philosophy and science, music, poetry, sports, the symposium, and warfare); discussions of Greek art, artists, materials, and the influence of Greek subjects in the art of other eras; suggested activities and lesson plans; a map of the ancient Greek world; a timeline; and a bibliography.
A History of Art for Beginners and Students by Clara Erskine Clement Waters Project Gutenberg
Publication Date: 2011
This text covers architecture, sculpture, painting, poetry, and music.
Smarthistory by Dr. Beth Harris, Dr. Steven Zucker
Publication Date: 2009
smARThistory.org is a free multi-media web-book designed as a dynamic enhancement (or even substitute) for the traditional and static art history textbook. Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker began smARThistory in 2005 by creating a blog featuring free audio guides in the form of podcasts for use in The Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Open Textbooks - ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE

Business English for Success by Scott McLean
Publication Date: 2011
A book that focuses on written communication and writing proficiency as it is applied to the business world.
Exploring Perspectives: A Concise Guide to Analysis by Randall Fallows
Publication Date: 2011
Methods of Discovery: A Guide to Research Writing by Pavel Zemliansky
Publication Date: 2008
Treats research writing as a rhetorical process. Teaches use of research in different genres (not just the generic research paper). This approach allows the text to be used in a variety of writing and rhetoric classes. Discusses the use of various kinds of research sources (academic ones and others). Contains links to resources and multimedia which help students to understand and practice key concepts.
Rhetoric and Composition by Wikibook, multiple authors
Publication Date: 2008
The Rhetoric and Composition Wikibook is designed for use as a textbook in first-year college composition programs, written as a practical guide for students struggling to bring their writing up to the level expected of them by their professors and instructors.
Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, Volume 1 by Lowe, Charles and Pavel Zemliansky, Eds.
Publication Date: 2010
Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, Volume 1, is a collection of Creative Commons licensed essays for use in the first year writing classroom, all written by writing teachers for students. Topics in Volume 1 of the series include academic writing, how to interpret writing assignments, motives for writing, rhetorical analysis, revision, invention, writing centers, argumentation, narrative, reflective writing, Wikipedia, patchwriting, collaboration, and genres.
Writing Spaces: Readings on Writings, Vol. 2 by Pavel Zemliansky & Charles Lowe
Publication Date: 2013
Volume 2 continues the tradition of the previous volume with topics, such as the rhetorical situation, collaboration, documentation styles, weblogs, invention, writing assignment interpretation, reading critically, information literacy, ethnography, interviewing, argument, document design, and source integration.'
Writing for Success by Scott McLean
Publication Date: 2011
Writing for Success is a text that provides instruction in steps, builds writing, reading, and critical thinking, and combines comprehensive grammar review with an introduction to paragraph writing and composition.

Open Textbooks - MUSIC

Choral Techniques by Gordon Lamb
Publication Date: 2010
This is an open textbook that is part of the Connexions collection. CHORAL TECHNIQUES is appropriate for those who rehearse choral ensembles and present them in concert and those who want to learn about choral singing. It will also include areas of interpretation, score study, analysis, diction, music selection, department leadership and others.
Music Tech: An A to Z by C Phelps
Publication Date: 2014
This is a free textbook that is offered by Amazon for reading on a Kindle. Anybody can read Kindle books—even without a Kindle device—with the free Kindle app for smartphones and tablets.

This handy glossary is aimed at students studying Edexcel's AS or A2 level Music Technology courses.
A Popular History of the Art of Music From the Earliest Times Until the Present by W. S. B. (William Smythe Babcock) Mathews
Publication Date: 2013
This is a free textbook that is offered by Amazon for reading on a Kindle. Anybody can read Kindle books—even without a Kindle device—with the free Kindle app for smartphones and tablets.

Published in 1891, this text provides an overview of the history of the art of music until that date.
Western Music History by Wikibook, many authors
Publication Date: 2010
This is a free, online wikibook so it is continually being updated and refined. According to the authors, "Western Music History can be traced back to Medieval times, with the Introduction of Chanting (later termed Gregorian Chanting) into the Catholic church services. Western Music then started becoming more of an art form with the advances in music notation and more focus on secular themes that occurred in the Renaissance period. We then have expansions of range and complexity as we move into the Baroque era. The Classical era gives us the emotional power associated with such composers as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Romanticism then transforms the rigid styles and forms of the Classical era into more individualistic stylizations. Tonality was at its peak during this period, then Impressionist music paved the way to the use of extreme dissonances in the music of the Modern era. This process continued into the current Contemporary period of music."

Supplemental Open Access Resources

Folger Shakespeare Library (Website/Database)

- The Folger Shakespeare Library site includes information about the Folger Library and its collections, performances and programs, library resources, and publications.

The Internet Classic Archives (Website/Database)

- Contains 441 works of classical literature by 59 different authors including Homer, Virgil, Aesop, Aristotle, Plato, and Isocrates. Browse or search. Links to other resources.

Literary Criticism - The Internet Public Library (Website/Database)

- The ipl2 Literary Criticism Collection contains critical and biographical websites about authors and their works that can be browsed by author, by title, or by nationality and literary period.

New York Public Library Digital Gallery: Digital Images (Website/Database)

- The NYPL Digital Gallery provides access to over 300,000 images digitized from primary sources and printed rarities in the collections of The New York Public Library, including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints and photographs, illustrated books, printed ephemera, and more.

No One Writes Alone: Peer Review in the Classroom, A Guide for Students (Video)

- This is a short video featuring students actually doing peer review as feedback in a creative writing course. The students are taught how to give and receive feedback about students' work, hoping to best improve it. Several MIT professors provide suggestions, while students actually are filmed giving this feedback to others.