2007年專八真題
Mini-lecture
PART 1
Good morning. Today's lecture is the very first of a series of lectures on art history. So I'd like to spend some time discussing with you the following topic: Why do we need to study art history and what can we learn from it? First of all, I'd say, if you study art history, this might be a good way to learn more about a culture than is possible to learn in general history classes. You know, most typical history courses concentrate on politics, economics and war. But art history focuses on much more than this, because art reflects not only the political values of a people, but also their religious beliefs, emotions etc. In addition, information about the daily activities of our ancestors can be provided by art, like what people did for a living, what kind of dress they wore, what ceremonies they held etc.