Hello and welcome to the very first installment of the culture corner. This little column is meant to give the students of Skyline and maybe even the faculty some new, and somewhat random and esoteric information of the world, that will be useful to bettering your breadth of knowledge, vocabulary and be able to conquer professor Wong, Jeopardy, and any fifth grader you come across.
Each week either online or in the print edition, I will write about a word that isn’t necessarily one that lay people would typically use, as well as a subject-be it a person, place, idea or ideaology.
These words should not only impress any academic you come across hopefully spark some sort of creative and imaginative surge that sometimes can be lost on a purely academic setting. Without further ado, here are your word and subject of the week.
The Word of the day is: defenestration
Defenestration (noun) is the act of throwing a person or thing out of a window, or a swift dismissal or expulsion usually from a political party or office.
Defenestration is most famously used in the Defenestration of Prague, where the Czech nobility threw two governors out of the window, marking the “uprising of the Czech estates,” and the beginning of the Thirty Years War.
The subject of the week: Baroque style
Baroque (pronounced Bar-row-k) is a style of art, architecture and entertainment, which started in Italy in the 1600s. It was promoted by the Roman Catholic Church and spread throughout Europe. Baroque style is characterized by bold, extravagant ornamentation, and the careful placement of contrasting elements such as light and shade. There is a manner of tension and drama, and is supposed to invoke a manner of awe. Famous Baroque artists include Bernini, Caravaggio and even Michelangelo.
Baroque architecture emphasizes the usage of domes and colonnades, which are long rows of columns. Famous Baroque architecture includes Ludwigsburg Palace in Stuttgart, Germany and Welk Abbey in Austria.
Baroque literature heavily relies on metaphor and allegory and is championed by writers such as Copernicus. Similarly music changed in the Baroque style bringing into the existence and greater use of concertos, sonatas and sinfonia. Such composers that were famous for their Baroque style of music include Bach and Handel.