A fresh approach to the interdisciplinary humanities course that takes a strong multicultural approach to the visual and performing arts. Organized thematically, the text covers painting, printmaking, sculpture, camera arts, architecture, music, and drama.

History is taught from the perspective of the individual - artists come alive as students discover the artists' backgrounds and where they fit in the social history and cultural context.

The text builds an appreciation for the language of the arts with discussion of techniques, vocabulary, and definitions.