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Cultures and Values: A Global View of the Humanities, Volumes I & II, 10th Edition

Lois Fichner-Rathus

  • Copyright 2026
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Cultures and Values: A Global View of the Humanities, Volumes I & II 10th Edition by Lois Fichner-Rathus
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Overview

Fichner-Rathus’ CULTURE AND VALUES: A GLOBAL VIEW OF THE HUMANITIES, VOLUMES I & II, 10th Edition, introduces students to the humanities — literature, art, architecture, music, philosophy and religion — from early civilization to contemporary times with a new global focus. Arranged chronologically with representation from Western and non-Western geographical regions, the text makes connections between many cultural developments happening at the same time in different parts of the globe. The text encourages students to place their own backgrounds and beliefs in context and consider how understanding both their own and other heritages contributes to becoming a citizen of the world in the 21st century.

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Meet the Authors

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Lois Fichner-Rathus

Lois Fichner-Rathus is a professor of art in the Department of Art and Art History of The College of New Jersey. She holds a combined undergraduate degree in fine arts and art history, an M.A. from the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art and a Ph.D. in the History, Theory and Criticism of Art from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her areas of specialization include contemporary art, feminist art history and criticism and modern art and architecture as well as the theory and foundations of art and design. Dr. Fichner-Rathus is also the author of the Cengage Learning textbooks, UNDERSTANDING ART and FOUNDATIONS OF ART AND DESIGN. She teaches study-abroad programs in Paris, Rome, Spain and Cuba and resides in New York.

What's New

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  • A new subtitle, A Global Approach to the Humanities, reflects the expanded emphasis of the book on presenting cultural developments globally and chronologically, interweaving their narratives so that students see connections between the human creative impulse happening at the same time but in different geographical places.
  • The New Chapter Preview feature engages students by connecting art, literature and visual culture to the ideas explored in each chapter. It promotes curiosity, anticipation and reinforces connections to previous chapter knowledge.
  • The New Ideas and Ideals feature gathers cultural beliefs, practices and ideals that sprang from human intellect and become guideposts for the journey through life.
  • Numerous new artworks, illustrations, and primary texts throughout enliven the text and engage students. While keeping the most popular works, this edition expands the offerings to provide a more diverse, global selection.
  • In order to show the connections and contexts of creation of humanistic works, chapters have been revised to have a chronological, global lens. Content from non-Western chapters is now integrated with Western chapters. For example, content in Chapter 18, Africa, is now integrated into the chronological framework, showing the connections between cultural creations there with those going on Europe, Asia, and the Americas. All chapter titles have changed to show the years being covered rather than the location or geographically specific artistic movement.
  • A comprehensive set of digital resources, available via MindTap and compatible with most LMS platforms, includes a host of resources and tools for both your course and your students. MindTap resources include an interactive eBook with zoomable images, links to related videos and Google Map locations, links to full versions of the literary works excerpted in the text, flashcards, quizzes, Spotify playlists to streaming music and more.
  • Resources for instructors include chapter PowerPoint presentations, a comprehensive test bank and an Instructor’s Manual with discussion prompts and activity ideas.
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Features

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  • Feature #2 The New Chapter Preview feature engages students by connecting art, literature and visual culture to the ideas explored in each chapter. It promotes curiosity, anticipation and reinforces connections to previous chapter knowledge.
  • The New Connections feature brings to light commonalities among cultures and cultural output, contemporary perspectives on relationships to historical events and parallels between works from different disciplines within the humanities.
  • Timelines have been redesigned to illustrate global historical periods and seminal events and/or cultural and technological milestones. An eye-catching, color-coded bar graph design -- keyed to specific geographic locations -- invites students to think about global developments in time in relation to one another.
  • The maps in this text serve as visual representations of history and culture shaped by geography. As such, the text features an assortment of maps including map projections with topography and inset global locators along with thematic maps. Maps have been revised to show the connections between cultures across the globe.
  • The Compare and Contrast feature presents two or more works of art and/or literature, side by side, to encourage students to focus on stylistic, technical, conceptual, and cultural similarities and differences. This feature hones analytical and interpretive skills and promotes critical thinking by encouraging students to consider the larger context in which works were created.
  • The text is available as a bundled package containing Volumes I and II or as two volumes split at the Renaissance. Volume I includes Chapters 1–11 (2,500BCE–1500 CE); Volume II includes Chapters 11–20 (1400 CE–Present Day).
  • Phonetic spelling accompanies non-English-language words where they appear in the running text, making it possible for students to refer to people, places, periods, and cultures correctly and confidently.
  • The Big Picture feature at the end of each chapter summarizes the cultural events and achievements that shape the character of each place and period. Organized into categories (Language and Literature; Art, Architecture and Music; Philosophy and Religion), the Big Picture reinforces for students the simultaneity of developments in history and the humanities from a global perspective. Now with a new and improved design for the 10th edition.
  • Author Lois Fichner-Rathus gives a fresh, unified voice to the revision in this 10th edition. As an active instructor at The College of NJ, she brings to the textbook her daily experience teaching the Introduction to Humanities course to a diverse student body. Fichner-Rathus combines a conversational writing style with exciting high-resolution images to connect with students and foster their understanding.
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Table of Contents

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Fichner-Rathus, Cultures and Values Volumes 1 & 2 Table of Contents
1. 2,500,000–3000 BCE.
2. 3000–1000 BCE: PART 1.
Mesopotamia: The Fertile Crescent. Egypt: The Nile Ribbon. South Asia: The Indus River Valley. East Asia: The Yellow River Valley.
3. 3000–1000 BCE: PART 2.
The Settlements, Cities, and Cultures of the Aegean Sea. The Levant. Mesoamerica: The Gulf of Mexico.
4. 1000–500 BCE.
Greece. Italy. Nubia. Mesopotamia. India. China.
5. 500–200 BCE.
Persia. Greece. India. China.
6. 200 BCE–300 CE.
Rome Ascendant. The Middle East. North and West Africa. South Asia. China. Mesoamerica: Teotihuacán. South America: The Andean Cultures.
7. 300–600.
The Transformation of the Roman Empire. Byzantium. India.
8. 600–900.
India: Faith and Empire. The Rise of Medieval Culture in Europe. China. Mesoamerica.
9. 900–1300.
Christian Europe in the Middle Ages. The Islamic World in the Middle Ages. South Asia and Southeast Asia. The Mongol Empire. China. Japan. North America.
10. 1300–1400.
Europe. Islamic Lands in the Middle Ages: The Nasrids and Ottoman Turks. Africa. China.
11. 1400–1500.
Crosscurrents: Christian Europe and the Ottoman Turks. The 15th Century in Northern Europe and Italy. The Iberian Peninsula. The Americas.
12. 1500–1600: Part 1.
Africa. The Iberian Peninsula: Voyages of Exploration, Voyages of Conquest. Italy in the 16th Century. The Islamic World in the 16th Century.
13. 1500–1600: Part 2.
Northern Europe in the 16th Century. India: The Mughal Period. China: The Late Ming Dynasty.
14. 1600–1700.
Edo Japan. China: The Qing Dynasty. Europe in the 17th Century. European Colonization of the Americas.
15. 1700–1800.
A Century of Revolutions. The Enlightenment. The Late 18th Century: Time of Revolution.
16. 1800–1870.
Political, Technological, and Industrial Revolutions in Europe and the United States. The Arts: From Neoclassicism to Romanticism in Europe and America. Realism in Art and Literature. Human Rights, Equal Rights. South Asia: British Colonial Rule in India. East Asia: China and Japan.
17. 1870–1914.
War, Peace, and Modernity. The Turn of the 20th Century. The 20th Century. Imperialism and Colonization.
18. 1914–1939.
“A War to End All Wars”. Literature and Art in the Midst and Wake of War. Russia and the U.S.S.R.: Art and Revolution. European Art in the 1920s. The Mexican Revolution. Surrealism. The Harlem Renaissance: Representing Race and Place. The Great Depression. The Arts: Abstraction, Social Realism, Architecture, and Film. The Rise of Totalitarianism and the Path to a Second World War.
19. 1939–1980.
A Second World War: Events and Their Impact. Postwar Philosophy and Literature. The Cold War Era: An Age of Anxiety. Visual Arts in the 1940s and 1950s. The Civil Rights Movement in America. The Sixties: Disaffection and Rebellion. Visual Arts in the 1960s and 1970s. Global Events and Their Cultural Impact.
20. 1980–Present.
Globalization. New Philosophies, Science, and Technology. Postmodernism. Postmodern Architecture. The Visual Arts: Pluralism in Postmodernism. Postmodern Literature. Postmodern Music. Art, Identity, and Activism. Sexuality and Gender Identity. Representing Race, Identity, and Place. Social and Political Commentary. Cultural History and Identity. Historical Trauma and Memory. Parallelisms: Diaspora Identities in Art and Literature. “Us”.

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This Cengage solution can be seamlessly integrated into most Learning Management Systems (Blackboard, Brightspace by D2L, Canvas, Moodle, and more) but does require a different ISBN for access codes. Please work with your Cengage Learning Consultant to ensure the proper course set up and ordering information. For additional information, please visit the LMS Integration site.

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Cengage provides a range of supplements that are updated in coordination with the main title selection. For more information about these supplements, contact your Learning Consultant.

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ISBN: 9780357667330
MindTap for Fichner-Rathus' CULTURE AND VALUES: A GLOBAL VIEW OF THE HUMANITIES, VOLUMES I & II, is the digital learning solution that powers students from memorization to mastery. It gives you complete control of your course to provide engaging content, challenge every individual and build their confidence. Empower students to accelerate their progress with MindTap. MindTap: Powered by You. MindTap provides students with an interactive eBook with high resolution images, image flashcards and authentic and meaningful assessments tied to learning objectives. The learning path begins with cumulative assessments that build comprehension and confidence. Challenge students with chapter-level tests as a summative assessment to evaluate student learning. The flashcards provide images to help students remediate on key terms and critical visual elements of art works. Engage students with a virtual trip to famous cultural sites by using the Google Earth coordinates that accompany many of the images. MindTap gives you complete ownership of your content and learning experience. Customize the interactive learning path, emphasize the most important topics and add your own material or notes in the eBook.